I recall one incident when my aunty came home after watching a very famous hindi film and instead of praising the movie, she kept sayingthat she hated Pran. This man shouldn't be in films. I can imagine how natural this person would have looked on screen to evoke such strong emoions. How many of today's actors in negative roles can live up to this actor's versatility?Not even one worth mentioning. But on flip side, in his personal life he is known a gentleman , most adorable and loved artistes in Indian Film Industry.

Once googling I found his webbsite (find it in Link section) and sent him a personal message greeting him on his birthday. I am sure a family member would ave launched this site but came a reply soon thanking me for witing to him. Every year comes February and I remember his birthday and send him wishes. He still watches Cricket matches and television and spends his quality time with his fanily.Below is reply I received from him:

fromPran Sikand <pransikand@gmail.com>toPran Sikand <pransikand@gmail.com>
dateWed, Sep 9, 2009 at 8:09 AM subjectThank youmailed-bygmail.comsigned-bygmail.com
hide details 8:09 AM (15 hours ago)
Thank you for your good wishes. I thank you for your love and support over the years. I recently celebrated my birthday with friends and family. It is my family and well wishers like you, who keep my spirits high

My autobiography, titled ‘…and PRAN ’ by the late Bunny Reuben, published by Harper Collins was released by Amitabh Bachchan . The book is now available in Hindi and Marathi as well,at all leading book stores. I now spend my time watching sports and current affairs on the television. With warm regards to you and your family.

Here is piece of news clip from The Statesman

Pran Colourful villain The Statesman 28 March 2005 (on line)
... And Pran: A Biography By Bunny Reuben HarperCollins India 446pp, Rs 500
'Some actors aren't artistes we admire, or chessmen in a strange game.They are us, expressing our brightest and darkest thoughts, enacting agamut of roles ranging from the psychologically complicated to theabsolutely simple," writes Amitabh Bachchan in the foreword to thisbiography of the arch villain of the Indian screen. It is indeed aneye opener to many actors who look up to Pran as an idol.
The book stretches across Pran Sikand's career spanning a period ofalmost six decades. It vividly captures his early days at Lahore, andgoes on to discuss his marriage. As Reuben rightly says, ''Marriagewas a new chapter in Pran's life.'' His destination was Mumbai and histryst with destiny as interesting as that of any leading actor of histimes.
Though Pran acted in a number of films like Yamla Jat, Choudhury andKhandaan in the early forties, he was noticed as an actor in BombayTalkies' Ziddi in 1948. His co-stars were Dev Anand and KaminiKaushal. Reuben aptly traces Pran's career and specially mentionsPran's association with the trio of Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor and DevAnand. Pran shared excellent working as well as personal rapport withall the three stalwarts.
A biography of Pran is incomplete without his association with ShammiKapoor. Reuben does mention at length the screen encounters of ShammiKapoor and Pran. An interesting anecdote in this context is the momentwhen Shammi really punched Pran hard during a fight sequence in TumsaNahin Dekha in 1958. Shammi was very repentant about his action butPran took it very sportingly, stating it was an accident.
In the sixties Pran still ruled the roost and acted in the maximumnumber of films. Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai, Jis Desh Mein Ganga BehtiHai, Brahmachari etc were some of his major releases. Reuben superblyrecounts icon Pahari Sanyal's compliments to Pran after seeing JisDesh Mein Ganga Behti Hai in Kolkata in the early 60s.Pran is a versatile actor who never shied away from accepting offbeatroles. So he experimented with the maximum make-ups and mannerisms.Reuben makes due mention of this aspect of the actor.
Upkar in 1967 totally transformed Pran's image. So did Nanha Farishta.Reuben mentions at length these aspects of Pran's career with rareinterviews of Manoj Kumar and Vijay Anand, who directed Pran in thesuper hit Johny Mera Naam in 1970. Pran himself rates Gulzar'sParichay as one of his best performances.
How Pran along with Amitabh Bachchan made a superhit duo in Zanjeerforms an integral part of the book. Reuben mentions the superbrelations Pran shared with juniors like Amitabh Bachchan and RandhirKapoor.
Though he is terrifying on screen, Pran is a thorough gentleman. He iswarm, generous and very down to earth. Reuben sketches these personalaspects of Pran in detail, providing a rare picture of one of thegenuine immortals of the Hindi film industry.A must read for all serious film buffs. – Ranjan Das Gupta .

Tree of Hindi Films

When DadaSaheb Phalke made first silent film "Raja Harishchandra "in 1913 he would have never imagined that he was planting a sapling which would eventually grow to huge tree in twenty first century and Bombay ( Mumbai) Studios will be churning out as many as 200 films in a year and about one thousand films would be made nation wide in year earlier part of this century.

The success of Hindi Cinema can be attributed to many stalwarts and artistes who worked hard . Several names from Ashok Kumar to present generation of actors come to mind. Balraj Sahni, Devanand, DilipKumar, Motilal, Raj Kapoor, Rajendra Kumar,Pran,Madhubala,Meena Kumari,Nargis,Vyjantimala, Waheeda Rehman became the icon stars in this family tree of Indian Cinema industry and will shine and be part of its history forever. They ruled from 1950s to late 60,s. Seventies saw Rajesh Khanna born as a new shining star. Amitabh Bachchan was to follow with equal and more powerful performances and history continued to be written.Sanjeev Kumar was another actor without whose mention history will remain incomplete.

1980s saw new generation of actors like Amrish Puri,Naseeruddin Shah, Ompuri, Smita Patil ,Shabana Azmi,Nana Patekar coming to limelight of Indian Cinema.

Dilip Kumar in an interview

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1D8_P5p_7qQ

Devanand at 86 premiers Jewel Thief in Aug 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RG5a7xBEI4

Dharmendra

August 10,2009
In 1968 results for Grade 8 were announced for Board exams in Ranchi and our principal Dubyji was thrilled to have 100 percent success for his students. He announced to screen a film for all staff and students . A 35 Mm Projector was brought in and I watched Dharmendra's movie "Devar" . I didn't like the story but was amazed at good looks of Dharam. He became one of my favourites. I didn't watch all his movies but remember not missing a single of his very good films.
From Haqeequt , Satyakam, Guddi , Anpad( Movie was released much before I started admiring him but I saw on rerelease couple of times), Naya Zamana, Chupke Chupke and several others I will write again.

August 8,2009

Watched "Welcome to Sajjanpur" "A must see" for true film lovers. Will write more about film and artistes.

Amitabh Bachchan's Blog

http://bigb.bigadda.com/

Amitabh Bachchan

August 9,2009

Amitabh Bachchan's Blog is worth read and I always appreciate his flow of expression and few lines he quotes from Harivansh Rai Bachchan's Madhushala. They are so inspiring. Click on my resources tab to read about him and his blog. His down the memory lane of 1960's and Karori Mal college days was so much interesting and personally relate to every one in India.

Read his Day 475 of his Blog.

August 10,2009

Heard of Dev Anand 's book 'Romancing With Life and wish One day I will read it.

ISBN: 0670081248

Marilyn French

Women's Room by Marilyn French is interesting Book

Tare Zamin Par

After watching Taare Zameen Par no one can say that Indian films have now been maturing to new heights of quality and realistic cinema. All credit will obviously go to Aamir Khan who in his first directorial and home production venture has created a niche for himself and will go in the history of indian cinema as one of select band of film personalities. His this work will hopefully bring in great acclodes and will be praised by all. His need to be congratulated for this masterpiece he has created. Undoubtedly child artiste Darsheel Safary will be a new star and will be remembered for his acting in years to come.

It was not so much out of conscious choice and pre-planning than because of compulsion of circumstances that actor Aamir Khan to become the director of Taare Zameen Par .Aamir had never made a secret of his desire to turn director someday. But even he did not anticipate that his desire would materialize sooner than expected.
It all started when Aamir’s good friend Amol Gupte approached him with a subject that caught Aamir’s imagination. After having worked with children for many years, Amol had penned a story that Aamir found “deeply touching and enlightening”.So fascinated was Aamir by the subject that he decided to produce it and act in it as well. Amol took the role of writer and director. He also found the cute kid Darsheel Safary from Shiamak Davar’s troupe to play the child protagonist in the film.Everything was going smooth and the film’s shooting began. But one week into the shooting Aamir saw the rushes of the film and he was disappointed. He felt the movie was not turning out as good on celluloid as it was on paper.Creative difference sprang between Aamir and Amol. It was time for a serious meeting.Aamir says he frankly expressed his reservations to Amol in the meeting and offered to back out of the project. Without bringing their egos in between, the two decided that the director’s baton must pass on to someone else.But there was one more problem. Aamir says finding a new director at that point in time meant delaying the project for eight months. This was not feasible because in that period the child artist Darsheel Safary would have grown older.Says Aamir: “Amol had suggested that I take over as the film’s director. For a whole night I thought deeply about it. It was a very tough decision. But the next morning I was on the sets as the director.”Aamir re-shot many of the scenes that Amol had already canned. The actor did face some initial difficulty in his new role. But gradually as the shooting progressed, Aamir became more deft at direction. Amol, who was relieved from directorial responsibilities, was still part of the project, as a creative director and writer. But it was Aamir who was calling the shots.

Balraj Sahni

Born in Rawalpindi on May 1,1913 he graduated from Goverment college in Lahore.He mastered in English and had his bachelor's degree in Hindi. A great human being, artiste and actor, he started his career as Hindi broadcaster in BBC and then moved to Bombay to join films. An articulate writer ,he had passion for reading contributed short stories and poems in magazines.

His movie break came in DHARTI KE LAL in 1946 followed by highly acclaimed and successful film DO BIGHA ZAMEEN in 1953.
Jag Parvesh Chandra former congress leader and friend of Balraj Sahni wrote in Hindustan Times in an aricle published on Sept 12 2000 :
Balraj Sahni had a handsome, radiant face and transparent personality and the warm, carefree abandon with which he mixed with others endeared him to all. He had a very sensitive, literary bent of mind. He wrote poems in English and was also fond of writing stories. A few of these appeared in Ravi, the monthly college journal. Prem Bhatia, one of the most reputed and respected journalists of our times, was its editor at that time. Prem Bhatia, Balraj and myself were class fellows in Government College, Lahore, in the early Thirties.
Balraj was very fond of theatre. I saw him on stage in the role of a young lady in a delightful play called The Man Who Ate the Popomack.While watching him in that frivolous role, little did I know at that time that one day the young Balraj would develop into one of India's foremost screen actors.
After doing his MA in English, Balraj went back to his hometown of Rawalpindi and joined his father in the family business. But business did not interest him. In early 1937, Balraj,along with his newly married wife Damyanti, came to my house and we went to the improvised hut of our common friends, the Bedis.
A scheme was hatched there to bring out a weekly English paper. Besides Balraj and
myself, B.P.L. Bedi and his British wife Freda (the parents of the famous screen actor Kabir Bedi), with Ramesh Chander, formed the group that launched the paper. It was called Monday Morning. In those days, besides The Tribune, a nationalist daily, there was the pro-British Civil and Military Gazette published from Lahore. On Mondays, neither of them brought out any edition. So, thinking that there would be a ready clientele for our weekly venture, we brought it out on Monday, naming it Monday Morning. The paper became the mouthpiece of the nationalist movement and was a success from the start.
Balraj, however, fell ill and left us soon after. There were also other vistas that pulled him away. A few months after he left, we learnt that he, along with his wife, had reached Shantiniketan and got the job of a Hindi teacher.
His political consciousness was full of depth. It took him to Sevagram in 1938 to work for Gandhiji?s new venture of Basic Education. He was too excited to live with the saint-politician.
After the war started in 1939, Balraj, with the permission of Gandhiji, went to London to workin the BBC. He was there for four years.
In 1955, Balraj led the Indian Youth Delegation to the World Youth Festival held in Warsaw, Poland. He then went to China as a member of the Indian film delegation led by Prithviraj Kapoor.
In 1960, Balraj went on a tour of Pakistan and wrote Mera Pakistani Safar. In 1969, he flew to the Soviet Union and wrote Mera Roosi Safarnama. The book won the Soviet Land Nehru Award.
In 1944, Balraj entered a new phase of life in Bombay. He got his first break in the film Justice.
Later, he made his name in Hum Log as an unemployed youth. However, his talent was finally recognised in Do Bigha Zamin.
It was in this film that he achieved his reputation as a serious actor.
Since he believed that film had become a powerful medium influencing the minds of millions,he acted in over 100 films. His commendable contribution to the films earned him the Padma Shri.
Sometimes he dreamt of establishing a simple abode on the lines of Shantiniketan after returning back to Punjab. But following a heart attack in 1973, death took him away and along with that withered away his dream of having, his own little Shantiniketan?.