Hindi cinema has given us some iconic actors, but there are a few actors, who redefined villainous roles and created a lasting impression on the audience. One such villain of Bollywood is Prem Chopra. Born into a Punjabi Hindu family, Prem developed an interest in acting during his college days. Despite opposition from parents, he went to Bombay to try his luck in acting.
He made his acting debut in a Punjabi film. When he started working in Hindi films, Prem Chopra did some positive roles, but he failed to make a mark. However, when he started appearing in films in villainous roles, Prem got huge recognition. With films like Upkar, Do Raaste, Kati Patang, Do Anjaane and Dostana, Prem proved his versatility as a villain in Hindi films. Do you know Prem Chopra shares a special bond with Raj Kapoor? Read on to know more about some of the unknown aspects of the famous villain’s life.
Prem Chopra’s special connection with Raj Kapoor
Not many people know this, but Prem Chopra had a special connection with Raj Kapoor. Prem Chopra was married to Uma, the sister of Raj Kapoor’s wife, Krishna. It was noted director, Lekh Tandon, who brought Uma’s proposal for Prem. Later, legendary actor, Raj Kapoor, initiated the first talk about his sister-in-law’s proposal for marriage to Prem Chopra on his wife, Krishna Raj Kapoor’s request.
Krishna Raj Kapoor found Prem to be a perfect match for her sister, Uma, and she requested Raj Kapoor to speak to Prem. After seeing so much trust from Krishna and Raj Kapoor, Prem started meeting Uma, and after a couple of meetings, he also started liking Uma. In 1969, the duo tied the knot.
Prem Chopra is the father-in-law of a famous Bollywood actor
Prem Chopra and Uma Chopra have three daughters, Rakita, Punita and Prerna. Rakita is married to film publicity designer, Rahul Nanda. His other daughter, Punita has tied the knot with singer, Vikas Bhalla. Talking about his third daughter, Prerna, she has tied the knot with Bollywood actor, Sharman Joshi.
When Sharman Joshi and Prerna started seeing each other, he was scared to think about their union because of Prem Chopra. He was worried about how he would react to the same. During a conversation on the podcast, Timeout With Ankit, Sharman recalled the same and said:
“I think Prerna was destined to have someone as wonderful as me in her life…, she lucked out. She got married to me but mujhe Prem ji ke nightmares aate the. I was very worried about how her dad’s reaction would be but mom’s was more fierce than dad’s. He is a wonderful guy, he is a gentleman.”
Why did men hide their wives after seeing Prem Chopra?
In a career span of over 60 years, Prem acted in over 380 films. In his long career, Prem was hailed for his outstanding work in villainous roles. Even after marriage, the actor had never stopped doing rape or intimate scenes with other actresses and was also aware of his bad image in public. However, he was a very soft-spoken and kind-hearted man in reality.
But people only perceived his negative image on-screen. In a throwback interview with Filmfare, Prem talked about people’s notions about him and shared a hilarious incident stating:
“Once my father and I were walking in a garden in Chandigarh. There were some couples there. On seeing me the husbands got nervous and said , ‘Apni apni biwiyon ko chupao (hide your wives)!’ My father, who heard this, was visibly upset. He remarked, ‘You must be famous but is this the reputation you enjoy?’ To prove a point, I walked towards the men and chatted with them. They were surprised that I was so normal.”
Did you know about these lesser-known facts about Prem Chopra? Let us know.
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