Prem Nath, also known as Premnath Malhotra, was a noted Indian film actor. He appeared in a number of Bollywood flicks, some of which went on to become blockbusters. Apart from acting he also ventured into film direction and production. His acting skills earned him great popularity and also earned him nominations at the Filmfare Awards.
Early Life of Prem Nath
Prem Nath was born on 21st November 1926 in Karimpura locality near Ghanta Ghar in Peshawar. After partition, his family moved to Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh. Later he moved to Mumbai for pursuing a career in the acting world.
Career of Prem Nath
Prem Nath made his cinematic debut in the year 1948 with the movie Ajit in which he starred alongside Monica Desai. The film was one of the first colour films of India. He appeared in major roles in Raj Kapoor"s directional ventures Aag and Barsaat. The latter was his first major success. For the next three decades, he appeared in many more movies and some of them marked to be huge blockbusters in Indian film history. Although the films which featured him in leading roles failed, his ventures as central villain or supporting roles did great at the box office. His most noteworthy films include Desh Premee, Kalicharan, Dharmatma, Roti Kapada Aur Makaan, Tere Mere Sapne, Johny Mera Naam, Teesri Manzil, Aan and many more. In 1977 he starred in the religious Punjabi film titled Sat Sri Akal.
Prem Nath met with the actress Bina Rai during the shooting of the movie Aurat after which they got married. The couple together formed a production company called P. N. films. The films in which they both starred together like Watan, Samunder, Prisoner of Golconda and Shagufa could not garner much success at the box office and thus the couple never became hit on the screen. Prem Nath got Filmfare nominations as Best Supporting Actor for the movies Roti Kapda Aur Makaan, Amir Garib, Bobby and Shor.
In addition to Bollywood, Prem Nath acted in an episode of the American television series called Maya in 1967. He also starred in 1969 American film titled Kenner alongside former American football player turned actor Jim Brown. In 1957 he directed a film titled Samundar under his home production P. N. films. His last appearance on the silver screen was in the film Hum Dono in 1985 following which he retired from acting.
Personal Life of Prem Nath
Prem Nath was married to the Bollywood actress Bina Rai. Their children Prem Krishen and Kailash Nath (Monty) are also actors by profession. Their grandchildren are director Siddharth Malhotra and actress Akanksha Malhotra. One of the sisters of Prem Nath, Krishna, was married to the actor-director Raj Kapoor whereas his other sister was married to the noted Bollywood actor Prem Chopra. His brothers are Narendra Nath and Rajendra Nath who were famous actors, prominent in comic and supporting roles.
Death of Prem Nath
Prem Nath died in the year 1992 owing to a heart attack at the age of 65.
