Pran accepts Dadasaheb Phalke Award at his residence

Veteran actor Pran, who has been suffering from a prolonged illness since quite some time now, was unable to collect his Dadasaheb Phalke award in person at the National Awards ceremony in New Delhi on May 3. But the 93-year-old actor was presented with the prestigious award at his Mumbai residence by Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Manish Tewari.

The actor, who redefined villain characters in Don and also mesmerised his audiences with Ram Aur Shyam, has always been loved and honoured for his spectacular screen presence. He changed the role of a villain in films and brought its importance at par with that of a hero. He is also remembered for his remarkable supporting role of Pathan Sher Khan in Zanjeer. From the '60s to the early '80s, Pran was a regular in Bollywood movies and sometimes higher paid than heroes and heroines. Amitabh Bachchan holds a special gratitude to Pran for his special recommendation for 1973's Zanjeer. Pran was last seen in public at Amitabh Bachchan's 70th birthday in October last year.