Legendary Indian actor Pran Krishan Sikand, popularly known as Pran, was born on 12 February 1920 in Delhi’s Ballimaran. From the 1940s until the 1990s, the prolific actor was noted for his iconic roles in a plethora of films.
Despite his reputation for playing negative roles, his persona was too larger than life to fit into any single framework, and his skills were too varied to be contained in any stereotypical narrative. Pran’s birth anniversary will be on 12 February.
Pran used to charge more than lead actors:
Pran with his exceptional acting prowess used to own the role he played on screen. He gained huge popularity because of his brilliant acting. His prominence may be gauged by the fact that in the 1960s and 1970s when actors charged 2-4 lakh rupees for their work, Pran’s pay was 5 to 10 lakh rupees.
It is said that only Rajesh Khanna and Shashi Kapoor were paid more than Pran at the time. Many of Pran’s films are still talked about and his roles in them are cherished by cinephiles.
However, we share with you an anecdote from Pran’s life. The legendary actor did something that made Helen furious.
When Helen became furious at Pran
In 1965, Pran was shooting for Gumnaam, a loosely inspired adaptation of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. The film also starred Helen. When the shoot used to get over, all the actors used to indulge in frolics.
A song was being shot in a swimming pool. Nobody knew what got into Pran as he dragged Helen into the swimming pool. It was a playful act on Pran’s part but Helen did not know how to swim, so her condition worsened due to fear. Helen was so furious after getting out of the swimming pool that she directly went to the director to complain about Pran’s mischief.
Pran had a football team:
Apart from movies, Pran loved sports. According to reports in the media, he had his football team in the 1950s. Pran was content with his life. Other actors aspired to be like him.
