Pran starred in more than 350 films as the villain extraordinaire. He was sophisticated, well-dressed—even when it was the ubiquitous white jacket—and he was evil down to his gentlemanly white shoes. His early years in Lahore saw him cast as both hero or villain but once he had arrived in Bombay after the Partition, his oeuvre was the stylish scoundrel. He succeeded so well that he played the baddie to three generations of heroes. In those early days, he was already so typecast that when someone tried to give him a sympathetic role, as Raj Kapoor did in Aah, the audience resoundingly booted out the possibility.
The film flopped, though not for that reason alone. The actor in Pran, however, vindicated himself with Raaka in Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai. But his most memorable role remains Ram Aur Shyam for his ceaseless cruelty.
However, just as Dilip Kumar gave up playing tragic roles since it ate away at his soul, Pran too yearned for a change. Of course, there is another dimension to his decision to seek character roles. After a while, he was no longer credible as a romantic rival to ever younger heroes. In the same year as Ram Aur Shyam he starred in Manoj Kumar’s Upkaar and established himself as a character actor often with a comic side. In this he is very much like Ashok Kumar who acted for over 60 years and was comfortable in all personas once he could not play a lead role. But Ashok Kumar remained unmistakably Ashok Kumar in every role he played. Pran tried to project different personalities since he was completely unlike his characters.
One of the welcome features of this book is that it highlights the invaluable, though sometimes absurdly unrealistic, contribution of make-up artists and wig-makers in helping Pran develop his characters. Thus who can forget in Halaku, as Chenghiz Khan’s grandson, his metamorphosis as a Mongol prince (understandably that required a lot of make-up and wigs) or indeed his Pathan role in Zanjeer which set Amitabh Bachchan on his irreversible rise.
It is amazing to discover in the excellent filmography given in this book that Pran has acted in as many as 370-plus films which averages at six per year over 60 years. Bunny Reuben has for once written a well-researched book, free of the starry-eyed low gossip which he has peddled in some of his earlier books. Thankfully, he has taken the straight and narrow path of a biographer, though he still cannot resist narrating feeble and pointless anecdotes and overusing the exclamation mark. The story of Pran’s private life: a happy and long marriage free of scandal, a stable family with affectionate children, is interwoven with the almost relentlessly renegade reel life. Reuben has a unique library of press cuttings which he has supplemented with interviews with most of the people who worked with the gentle villain.
Finally, the long film career paints a picture of a man who is thoroughly professional—hardworking, punctual, full of innovative ideas about enlivening the roles he has to play, helpful to fellow actors as well as to directors and producers. One suspects that it is almost too good to be true and that, unfortunately yet again, Reuben has been overwhelmed by the fame of those he writes about. Yet, it has also long been a film industry legend that none of Pran’s onscreen evil has ever rubbed off on him. He has escaped the sudden adulation that romantic heroes enjoy which often subsides as quickly, leaving many broken, cynical men in its wake. His fans have been won against the grain. They have had to learn to love him despite his roles. This is where the actor has had to convince, not just the audience but the hard-nosed producers in investing in him over and over again. By playing an unlikable role well, the good actor has won admiration the hard way. Through hard work and serious study of his roles, Pran has maintained the epitome of evil in film after film. Of his generation perhaps only Dilip Kumar and Ashok Kumar match Pran in his versatility. This book is a fitting tribute to the man.
