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Pran (Actor) Biography: Age, Career, Family and More

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated October 1, 2026 • 6 min read

Quick Info

Date of birth12 February 1920

Age93 Years (at time of death)

BirthplaceBallimaran, Old Delhi, British India

ProfessionActor

NationalityIndian

Marital statusMarried

SpouseShukla Ahluwalia

FamilySons: Arvind Sikand, Sunil Sikand; Daughter: Pinky

Pran (Actor) Biography

Pran Krishan Sikand, widely known simply as Pran, was a prolific Indian actor celebrated for his memorable antagonist roles across Hindi cinema. Active for

Early life and background
Pran Krishan Sikand was born on 12 February 1920 in Ballimaran, Old Delhi, then part of British India. He completed his matriculation and attended Hamid Inter College in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, after primary schooling in Unnao. Because his father’s work required frequent moves, Pran studied at schools in several towns including Dehradun, Lahore, Kapurthala and Meerut. He showed an early interest in practical trades and trained in photography at A. Das & Co. in Delhi. That training later took him to Shimla and Lahore, where a chance encounter with writer Wali Mohammed Wali led to his first film opportunity.

Career
Pran’s film career began before the partition of India. He made his acting debut in the Punjabi film Yamla Jat in 1940 and appeared in early Hindi films such as Khazanchi (1941) and a string of roles through the 1940s, including Sahara (1943) and several 1946 releases. After moving to Mumbai in 1947, he struggled initially, taking small jobs and auditioning widely before a role in Ziddi (1948) helped revive his fortunes and brought him wider recognition in Hindi cinema.

Over a career spanning decades, Pran became especially renowned for playing antagonists and supporting characters. He featured in major Hindi films across the 1950s, 60s and 70s, with notable appearances in Azaad (1955), Devdas (1955), Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai (1960), Rajkumar (1964) and Ram Aur Shyam (1967). His filmography includes work in multiple languages: Punjabi (Yamla Jat, Chaudhry), Hindustani/Hindi, Bengali (Jeewan Rahasya, 1973), and Telugu (Kodama Simham, 1990). He also produced a Hindi film, Lakshmanrekha (1992). His final screen appearance was in the 2007 Hindi film Dosh.

Pran was widely celebrated by critics and audiences. He received numerous awards over his career, including multiple Filmfare awards for Best Supporting Actor (1967 for Upkar; 1969 for Ansoo Ban Gaye Phool; 1972 for Be-Imaan, which he refused to accept) and a Special Veteran’s Award in 1997. He was honored with the Padma Bhushan in 2001 and, later, the Dadasaheb Phalke Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013. Other industry and regional accolades recognize him as one of the defining character actors and villains of his era, with honors spanning Film Journalists’ associations, Filmgoers’ awards, Bombay Film Awards, and many lifetime and special achievement recognitions.

Public profile
Pran’s screen persona as an antagonist became so distinctive that it shaped his public image; he was often called the ‘‘Villain of the Millennium’’ and was regularly cited among top actors in retrospectives. His performances earned him a reputation for versatility and longevity. Off-screen, he came from a Punjabi family; his father was Lala Kewal Krishnan Sikand, a government civil contractor who worked on projects such as the Kalsi bridge near Dehradun, and his mother was Rameshwari Sikand. He had several brothers and sisters.

Personal life
Pran married in 1945. He and his wife, Shukla Ahluwalia, had three children: two sons, Arvind Sikand and Sunil Sikand, and a daughter, Pinky. Sunil worked in the film industry as a director and Arvind as an ad filmmaker. The family moved often early in Pran’s life and the upheavals around Indian independence prompted moves from Lahore to Indore and later to Mumbai, where he and his family initially faced financial difficulties until his career recovered.

Later years and death
Pran’s later decades were marked by recognition for his long service to Indian cinema, including numerous lifetime honors. He died on 12 July 2013 at Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai at the age of 93 after a prolonged illness.

Latest updates
Pran’s last credited film appearance was the 2007 Hindi film Dosh. Posthumous acknowledgements of his career continued, reflecting both the breadth of his work and the many awards he collected over seven decades in film.
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Recent Work

Dosh

Last film appearance (Hindi)

2007
Kodama Simham

Appeared as Mayor Ranjith (Telugu)

1990
Lakshmanrekha

Produced (Hindi)

1992
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Career Highlights

  1. Debut in Punjabi cinema with Yamla Jat (1940)
  2. Breakthrough in Hindi cinema with Ziddi (1948)
  3. Multiple Filmfare Awards for Best Supporting Actor
  4. Padma Bhushan (2001)
  5. Dadasaheb Phalke Lifetime Achievement Award (2013)
  6. Recognized as ‘Villain of the Millennium’
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Frequently Asked Questions

When was Pran (Actor) born?

12 February 1920

What is Pran (Actor) known for?

Actor

What is Pran (Actor)’s marital status?

Married

Who is Pran (Actor) married to?

Shukla Ahluwalia