MUMBAI: Veteran Indian actor Pran, who played villains and character roles in more than 400 movies, was cremated on Saturday in the western city of Mumbai following his death at the age of 93.
Pran Sikand, dubbed the “icon of Indian villains” and best known by his first name, was one of Bollywood’s most beloved actors for nearly six decades.
Pran, who died late Friday after a bout of ill health, ruled the industry with his baritone voice and his ability to bring charm to his villainy.
In a condolence message, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said: “Pran entertained several generations of Indians with his riveting performances in hundreds of celluloid roles.
“He worked with doyens of film industry among which he was an icon.”
Family, fans, friends and Bollywood celebrities attended his funeral in Mumbai.
Pran’s roles had an enormous impact on Indian audiences and parents stopped naming their children ‘Pran’ (life) at the height of his fame because of his role as a “Bollywood baddie.”
Born into a wealthy family in New Delhi, Pran grew up in Lahore where he pursued a course in photography before landing his first film role.
After British rule over the subcontinent ended with its split into India and Pakistan, Pran moved to the entertainment capital of Mumbai and worked his way into more film roles.
Pran appeared in over 400 films and played the villain opposite all the top cinema heroes of his era — from Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand and Raj Kapoor to Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan.
“Truly the end of a magnificent and glorious era. He was a gentleman superstar,” tweeted leading Bollywood director Karan Johar.
In his private life, Pran was renowned as a gentleman — far removed from the dark characters he played on screen.
The actor is survived by his wife Shukla, daughter Pinky, sons Arvind and Sunil as well as grandchildren.
Bollywood mourns beloved actor Pran
Bollywood mourns beloved actor Pran
Arts festival’s decision to exclude Palestinian author spurs boycott
- A Macquarie University academic who researches Islamophobia and Palestine, Abdel-Fattah responded saying it was “a blatant and shameless act of anti-Palestinian racism and censorship,” with her lawyers issuing a letter to the festival
SYDENY: A top Australian arts festival has seen the withdrawal of dozens of writers in a backlash against its decision to bar an Australian Palestinian author after the Bondi Beach mass shooting, as moves to curb antisemitism spur free speech concerns.
The shooting which killed 15 people at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Dec. 14 sparked nationwide calls to tackle antisemitism. Police say the alleged gunmen were inspired by Daesh.
The Adelaide Festival board said last Thursday it would disinvite Randa Abdel-Fattah from February’s Writers Week in the state of South Australia because “it would not be culturally sensitive to continue to program her at this unprecedented time so soon after Bondi.”
FASTFACTS
• Abdel-Fattah responded, saying it was ‘a blatant and shameless act of anti-Palestinian racism and censorship.’
• Around 50 authors have since withdrawn from the festival in protest, leaving it in doubt, local media reported.
A Macquarie University academic who researches Islamophobia and Palestine, Abdel-Fattah responded saying it was “a blatant and shameless act of anti-Palestinian racism and censorship,” with her lawyers issuing a letter to the festival.
Around 50 authors have since withdrawn from the festival in protest, leaving it in doubt, local media reported.
Among the boycotting authors, Kathy Lette wrote on social media the decision to bar Abdel-Fattah “sends a divisive and plainly discriminatory message that platforming Australian Palestinians is ‘culturally insensitive.'”
The Adelaide Festival said in a statement on Monday that three board members and the chairperson had resigned. The festival’s executive director, Julian Hobba, said the arts body was “navigating a complex moment.”
a complex and unprecedented moment” after the “significant community response” to the board decision.
In the days after the Bondi Beach attack, Jewish community groups and the Israeli government criticized Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for failing to act on a rise in antisemitic attacks and criticized protest marches against Israel’s war in Gaza held since 2023.
Albanese said last week a Royal Commission will consider the events of the shooting as well as antisemitism and social cohesion in Australia. Albanese said on Monday he would recall parliament next week to pass tougher hate speech laws.
On Monday, New South Wales state premier Chris Minns announced new rules that would allow local councils to cut off power and water to illegally operating prayer halls.
Minns said the new rules were prompted by the difficulty in closing a prayer hall in Sydney linked to a cleric found by a court to have made statements intimidating Jewish Australians.
The mayor of the western Sydney suburb of Fairfield said the rules were ill-considered and councils should not be responsible for determining hate speech.
“Freedom of speech is something that should always be allowed, as long as it is done in a peaceful way,” Mayor Frank Carbone told Reuters.
