Pran was highest-paid villain in Bollywood amidst 60s 70s and 80s
Pran was highest-paid villain in Bollywood amidst 60s 70s and 80s
For those unversed the highest-paid villain in Hindi Cinema wasn’t Amitabh Bachchan but, villain Pran, who charged more than Amitabh Bachchan.
In the midst of the 60s, 70s, and 80s, heroes in Indian cinema were considered the key to a film’s success or failure. With major screen time and higher paychecks, heroes dominated the film industry. Likewise,in the 70s, when Amitabh Bachchan was getting all the right attention.
Over the years, Pran, emerges as one of the most iconic villains in Hindi cinema. He began his career as a hero in Punjabi and Hindi films in the 1940s before transitioning to playing negative roles by the late 1940s.
From then until the 1980s, Pran ruled as the top villain in Bollywood, delivering memorable performances in films like Ram Aur Shyam, Madhumati, Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai, and Kashmir Ki Kali, among many others.
By the late 60s, Pran became the face on film posters. His inclusion in films became a major selling point, which led him to become the highest-paid actor in the industry.
Pran charged several lakhs per film between 1968 and 1982. This amount was even higher than the fees of several lead actors, including Manoj Kumar, Jeetendra, Dharmendra, Sunil Dutt, Vinod Khanna, and even Amitabh Bachchan.
For a while, Rajesh Khanna was the leading and highest-paid actor in the country. However, in the mid-70s, Rajesh Khanna’s stardom experienced an abrupt downfall.
But, Pran held the top spot in the industry until Amitabh Bachchan raised his fees to over Rs 12 lakh in the early 80s, which challenged Pran’s dominance.
Even at the peak of his career, Pran continued to experiment with his roles. He began taking on more positive and character-driven roles, in addition to his well-established villainous characters. In the 1960s, he started to shift his focus from negative roles to more diverse characters in films with Manoj Kumar, such as Shaheed, Upkar, and Purab Aur Pashchim.
In the 1970s, Pran’s positive roles began to overshadow his villainous characters, with notable appearances in films like Zanjeer, Victoria No. 203, Amar Akbar Anthony, and Sharaabi, among others.
Reports suggest that many parents chose not to name their children Pran during that time, leading to a significant decline in the number of people named Pran in India.
In 2000, Stardust honoured Pran with the “Villain of the Millennium” awarded.
Pran passed away in 2013 at the age of 93.
News Edit KV Raman
