Premnath

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Premnath (November 21, 1926 - November 3, 1992) was an actor in Indian films.

1 Personal life
2 Career
3 Selected Filmography
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Personal life

Born in Peshawar, the family moved to Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh after partition, he then had moved to Bombay.

He married the actress Bina Rai with whom he fathered actor Prem Krishen and Kailash Nath (Monty). They are also the grandparents of actress Akanksha Malhotra. His sister Krishna married Raj Kapoor and his brothers Rajindernath and Narendranath were also actors mostly in comic and supporting roles. He was also a family friend of the actress Asha Parekh. He died of a heart attack in 1992 at the age of sixty five.

[edit] Career

Premnath played mostly villain and supporting roles throughout his career although he did play leading roles in some films in the 1950s. His film debut was in his brother-in-law Raj Kapoor's directorial debut Aag (1948). He got another major role in Raj Kapoor's next film Barsaat (1949) which was his first major success. Premnath went on to appear in many films for the next three decades, some of which were the biggest blockbusters in Indian film history. He fell in love with actress Bina Rai during the filming of Aurat (1953 film). They married and formed a production company together called P.N. films. They pinned high hopes for their films, which didn't become hits, such as "Shagufa," "Prisoner of Golconda," "Samunder" and "Watan." Thus, the Premnath-Bina Rai pairing never clicked on the screen.^[1] Some of his most notable films were Aan (1952), Teesri Manzil (1966), Johny Mera Naam (1970), Tere Mere Sapne (1971), Dharmatma (1975), Kalicharan (1976) and Desh Premee (1982). He earned Filmfare nominations as Best Supporting Actor for: Shor (1972), Bobby (1973), Amir Garib (1974), and Roti Kapda Aur Makaan (1974).^[2] He also appeared in an episode of the American television series Maya in 1967 and a 1969 American film titled Kenner opposite former football player turned actor Jim Brown.