Pran receives Phalke award

Veteran character actor Pran received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for lifetime service to cinema from information and broadcasting minister Manish Tewari Friday at his home in Union Park, Bandra.

In a respectful gesture, Tewari flew down to Mumbai today to present the award. The 93-year-old actor, whose full name is Pran Kishan Sikand, is ill and had been unable to travel to New Delhi for the National Film Awards function held May 3.

Pran is the 44th recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award that was instituted in 1969, the birth centenary year of Dadasaheb Phalke, the father of Indian cinema. The minister presented the coveted award comprising a Swarn Kamal, citation, shawl and a cash prize of Rs 1 million. Tewari said he was honoured to present the award to Pran Sahab in person in the centenary year of the Indian cinema.

Pran's performance in Half Ticket, Azaad, Madhumati, Devdas, Dil Diya Dard Liya, Ram Aur Shyam, Don and Majboor, among other films, draws eyeballs to this day. Parents had stopped naming their sons Pran owing to his villainous acts. That trend may well be reversed now.