PRAN - A Legend Celebrates in Style
   
 

It's very rarely that something so good happens to a man, something that has happened to Pran (and who doesn't know Pran, the good man who gave the bad man image in Hindi films a new meaning, a new dimension?). February 11, 1990 was a red-letter day in the life of a man and an actor who has given a new color to acting. It was the day when he celebrated his seventieth birthday at midnight for his birthday falls on February 12 and rejoiced at his completing fifty years as a complete actor.

The venue - Satish Bhalla's bungalow, bandra, Bombay. And the whole or almost the entire industry was there to thank him for all that he had done and to prod him on. In the first picture is Pran with his family and their smiles say more than what a book could say. In the next picture are two of Pran's many 'juniors' - Dilip Kumar and Sunil Dutt. In the last picture are three other faces who were lucky to work with the legend - Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya and Prakash Mehra. It was a day of rejoicing. It was a day to look back and to look forward. The stars who were present that night glowed in his reflection.

In the first picture Dharmendra feeds a piece of the cake cut that night to the 'birthday boy'. Flowers never said it better (next picture). Dilip Kumar showers Pran with flowers. Also in the picture are G. P. Sippy and Prem Chopra. In the last picture the legend is seen with Yash and Pam Chopra. Contemporaries, colleagues and even critics were all there to wish him on his great day and he was moved (Naturally). In the first picture Pran is seen with Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu. In the second picture he is seen with Waheeda Rehman and her husband Mr. Shoshi Rekhi, Gulshan Rai and his son Rajiv Rai.

Two other celebrities (last picture) Raaj Kumar and Mr and Mrs. Shammi Kapoor. Pran, the name and what he has done down the years has been a very great inspiration for at least three generations and they were there to show their admiration and affection for him. In the first picture Arvind, his proud son, is seen with the Kapoor brothers, Randhir and Rishi Kapoor. Admirers all (even his wife). Mrs. Pran, Vijay Anand and Mrs. Vijay Anand. The girls were always scared of him and they proved it in real life too that night when they kept away from the 'bad man'. Meenakshi Seshadri was the rare exception.

It was one of the most star-studded parties. It was a party full of feelings. It was a party to be remembered for long. It was a party that could only be hosted by a man called Pran. In the first picture are Nutan and Mohnish Bahl with Sangeeta Bijlani. In the next picture are Pran and Satish Bhalla at whose sprawling bungalow the party was hosted. And in the last picture are two young men who have learned so much from the living legend - Danny Denzongpa and Suresh Oberoi. In short, a great celebration of a life which deserves much more.