The most hated actor in India was so notorious that parents stopped naming their kids after him for years
Actors can inspire a range of emotions in fans, from love and admiration to respect and awe. The biggest stars often brig out a combination of all of these. Some stars intimidate too. But very seldom are popular actors hated openly. One Bollywood star was so despised at his peak that despite his popularity, parents refused to name their kids after him. And what’s more, he was richer and better paid than the top stars but the ‘hatred’ did not die down
1. India’s most hated actor
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Pran, the yesteryear villain and character artiste, is probably the most hated actor India has seen. The actor, who was Bollywood’s top villain in the 1950s and 60s, was so infamous for his negative roles that parents refused to name their kids Pran in those days
2. How Pran became bigger than heroes
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Pran was the industry’s top villain in a time when Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor, and Rajendra Kumar were the top stars. But from 1969-82, Pran was Bollywood’s highest-paid star. He was so popular that his name was highlighted on the posters, often bigger than the heroes
3. When Pran earned more than Big B
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From 1969-82, Pran worked in eight films with Amitabh Bachchan and even though the latter was Bollywood’s top hero at the time, Pran commanded a bigger salary
4. Pran’s refusal to do lead roles
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Pran began as a hero but soon moved to negative roles. After he became a star, he was again offered leading roles in romantic films. But as per reports, he rejected them all, saying he did not like to ‘dance around trees’
5. Pran’s transition to character artiste
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In the mid-70s, Pran began doing character roles that were not always negative, starting with Purab Pashchim and Zanjeer. Pran continued to act in supporting roles through the 80s and 90s
6. Pran’s retirement from films and death
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In 2000, Pran finally retired from films after a six-decade long career. He was approaching 80 at the time. The legendary actor passed away in 2013 at the age of 93
