'Pran popularised villains in Indian cinema'

Effusive in his praise for late actor Pran, leading Bengali actor Prosenjit Tuesday remarked that the Bollywood legend was the trendsetter for villains in the Indian film industry.

"Pran popularised the concept of villains in the film industry. He started the trend of having villains in films," said Prosenjit while launching the West Bengal Film Journalists' Association here.

Prosenjit had co-starred with the stalwart in the 1994 Bengali film "Ajana Path".

Fondly recalling Pran's professional attitude and "finesse", the actor cited an incident during the outdoor shoot of the movie that inspired him to develop a fitness regimen.

"Pran was well known for his physique and the disciplined diet that he mainatined. One day I spotted him having curd and grapes during the shoot. I started following him and having the same thing," said Prosenjit.

As a perfectionist when it came to doing stunts, Prosenjit said Pran had stopped shooting for a month when during a stunt, he found out that his toe had grazed the arms of a colleague.

Pran breathed his last at the Lilavati Hospital following a prolonged illness. He was 93. Bollywood's most loved villain, Pran featured in over 400 movies in a career spanning six decades.