Every cinema has it's great character actor. In Hollywood's silent era it was Lon Chaney, 'The Man With a Thousand Faces". In Japanese cinema there is Nakadai Tatsuya. In Indian popular 'Bollywood' cinema the place of the great character actor belongs to Pran. His career has spanned 60 years and encompasses 100s of films from the 1940s to the 1990s. Often he played the villain, and in the 1960s he was ubiquitous as the 'bad guy' in nearly every major Bollywood release of that decade.

Pran is said to be a consummate thespian, immersing himself in his roles with enthusiasm and relish. He is a master of disguise, bleaching his hair or growing a beard and using to full effect what actor's call 'business' to lend flavor to a role. Whether it was a 'Nargis' style nose itch as in "Bluff Master" or the thick glasses like in ""Purab Aur Pachhim", Pran could always be counted on to give a colorful performance.

In January 2000 'Stardust' awarded Pran "The Villain of the Millennium" award, it was a title well deserved. However he acted in many films where his character had a sympathetic role. Frequently these sympathetic roles were 'common man' characters, fringe outcasts, and even for example as in "Ganga Ki Saugandh" [1978] a member of the leather working 'untouchable' caste. Where he plays a man declared 'unclean' by society but possesses more personal integrity than the rest of his village and becomes the hero's (Amitabh Bachchan) moral guide.

Pran's characters are always 'outlaws' in one form or another who are either working against the system or have been wronged or oppressed by it. His characters are always possessed with an 'alternate' form of wisdom contrary to the status quo. Even the Pran 'bad guy', as a rule, is a hyper intelligent sort. He brought depth of character to all his roles.

Pran is an integral part of Hindi popular culture and the history of Bollywood and deserving of further critical study. He is the unique, thinking villain, of Hindi popular film.

links:

**Great article on Pran from hinduonnet.com**

Pran, Villain of the Millennium - Dedicated web site

'The Pran Interview - rediff.com

Pran profile - ZeeNext.com