Our Funarena!

Veteran actor and the most beloved villain of Bollywood (read Hindi Cinema) passed away at 93 in a Mumbai hospital on the evening of July 12, 2013. He had not been keeping well for a long time and could not attend the National Awards Ceremony held in New Delhi on May 3, 2013. In an emotionally charged function at Pran's Residence in Mumbai on May 10, 2013 the Indian Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewary accompanied by top officers presented the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke Award to the ailing legend.  The legendary actor and the classic villain of Bollywood had been cremated with full honors at Shivaji Park in Mumbai around noon yesterday. His body already in a deteriorating state could not be taken home and therefore directly transported to the crematorium in a symbolic last journey. Apart from thousands of fans cutting across the age barrier top stars of Bollywood including Amitabh Bachchan offered their tearful tributes. The national TV channels have been

Pran—a name that terrorized us as little kids; a name that we loved to adore as we grew older and a name that has remained with us till now and forever. We were struck with awe by his villainous portrayals and yet we could not stop liking him—his gait, his style of talking, his looks, his smart dress code and the eternal cigarette in his hands. That time we were not capable of judging him as an actor, but the way he kept us spellbound was only due to his intensely powerful and effective performances. Since we loved him so much even as a villain we longed to see him as a good guy on the side of the fighting-for-truth hero. And, we got that hugely satisfying and gratifying experience too. Pran Krishan Sikand (born 1920) turned 93 in February this year and yesterday, the 12 th of April, 2013, he was chosen for the supreme honour of Indian cinema—the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2012. Maybe a little late as the classic Bollywood actor is almost unable to walk around or talk articu