SwapnilSansar.Pran Krishan Sikand (12 February 1920 better known by his mononym, Pran, was a multiple Filmfare and BFJA award-winning actor, known as a movie villain and character actor in Hindi cinema from the 1940s to the 1990s He acted as a hero from 1940–47 and as a villain from 1942–1991 and played supporting and character roles from 1948–2007.
Pran was born on 12 February 1920 in Ballimaran, kotgarh Old Delhi, into a wealthy Punjabi family. His father, Kewal Krishan Sikand, was a civil engineer and a Government civil contractor; his mother was Rameshwari, Pran was one among their seven children, being four sons and three daughters.
Pran was academically gifted, especially in mathematics. His father had a transferable job, and so Pran studied in various places, including Dehradun, Kapurthala, Meerut andUnnao (Uttar Pradesh), finally completing his matriculation from Hamid School, in Rampur (U.P.). Thereafter, he joined A. Das & Co., Delhi as an apprentice as to become a professional photographer. He travelled to Shimla and played the role of Sita in a local staging of “Ramlila“. Madan Puri enacted the role of Rama in this play
In a long and prolific career he appeared in over 350 films. He played the leading man in films like Khandaan (1942), Pilpili Saheb (1954) and Halaku (1956). His roles in the films like Madhumati (1958), Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai (1960), Upkar (1967), Shaheed (1965), Ram Aur Shyam(1967), Aansoo Ban Gaye Phool (1969), Johny Mera Naam (1970), Victoria No. 203 (1972), Be-Imaan (1972), Zanjeer (1973), Don (1978), Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) and Duniya (1984) are considered to be among his best performances.
Pran has received numerous awards and honours in his career. He won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award in 1967, 1969 and 1972 and was awarded the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997. He was awarded as the ‘Villain of the Millennium’ by Stardust in 2000.The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 2001 and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2013 for his contributions towards Indian cinema. In 2010, he was named on the list of CNN’s Top 25 Asian actors of all time. He died on 12 July 2013 at the age of 93 after a prolonged illness in Mumbai.