Pran 12-February

Pran was born in a very wealthy Delhi-based Sikand family on February 12, 1920. His dad, Kewal Krishan Sikand was a renowned civil contractor, Kalsi bridge in Dehra Dun was just one of his projects.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="310" caption="Pran"][/caption]

As a child he had studied in Meerut, Kapurthala, Unao, Dehra Dun, & Rampur. He is very fond of dogs, and has always had a dog for a pet since his childhood to date.

He wanted to become a professional photographer and joined A. Das & Co. as an apprentice, for which he re-located to Simla.

It was in Simla that he landed his very first role as an actor, albeit on stage with Madan Puri, and played the role of Sita in 'Ramleela'. He went to star in a Punjabi movie 'Yamla Jat' as a villain. Ironically his foray into Hindi movies started as a hero in 'Khandaan' opposite actress Noor Jehan.

After 1948 he re-located to Bombay and launched his career in Bollywood with 'Ziddi'. In this manner 'villainous Pran' was born and went on to star in over 270 films, often as a villain, then in character roles, and is now unofficially called 'Villain of the Millenium'.

He married Shukla in 1945, and both became parents of Arvind, who was born on August 11, 1946. Subsequently they also gave birth to Sunil and Pinky. All three are now married, while Arvind, married to Chitra, is doing business in London, and is the father of two; Sunil is married to Jyoti & has a son; Pinky is married to Vivek Bhalla, and has two children. The names of Pran's grandchildren are Yuvraj Bhalla, Siddharth Sikand, Arjun Sikand, Swati Bijlani, and Sunaina Anand.

He states that he is satisfied with his life so much so that if he were re-born he would like to be Pran all over again.