5 Things About Zee Classic’s ‘Prem Nath Film Festival’

In a career spanning well over three decades, Prem Nath had over 150 movies to his credit. India’s much-loved villain, Prem Nath’s first Bollywood film ‘Ajit’ was released in the year 1948. It was also one of the first color films made in the Hindi film industry. Films like ‘Aag’ and ‘Barsaat’ in 1949 made him taste success.

To commemorate the legendary actor on his 25th death anniversary, Zee Classic will air a four-week festival titled ‘Prem Nath Film Festival’ starting 11^th November 2017.
Here are five things you need to know about the upcoming Zee Classic ‘Prem Nath Film Festival’:

1. What is ‘Prem Nath Film Festival’?

Zee Classic is never far behind when it comes to celebrating the legends of Hindi cinema.  As a part of the Prem Nath Film Festival, Zee Classic will showcase a documentary-biopic, created by his son Monty Nath, titled Amar Prem Nath, followed by a popular Prem Nath movie immediately after.

2. What is ‘Amar Prem Nath’?

The special documentary-biopic, ‘Amar Prem Nath’ is a tribute to the actor by his son Monty Nath.  Monty being a filmmaker himself says that the feature is about his father’s journey in the film industry, and his rise as India’s most popular villain.

Monty Nath said, “Even in his time, Dad was a visionary. He didn’t want to be the hero, he just wanted to entertain everyone. Amar Prem Nath is my way of showing the world what kind of person my father was, and I am really thrilled to be able to share this film with the younger generation and everyone. I would like to sincerely thank ZeeClassic for celebrating my father’s life journey!”

Amar Prem Nath boasts of never seen before rare interviews of Dharmendra, Vinod Khanna, Manoj Kumar, Dilip Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Jeeetendra, Shatrughan Sinha, Subhash Ghai, Amrish Puri amongst many others.

3. What did the Kapoors have to say about ‘Amar Prem Nath’?

A little-known fact is that Prem Nath was the maternal uncle of the Kapoor family – Randhir Kapoor, Rajiv Kapoor and Rishi Kapoor.

Randhir Kapoor said, “There never was and will never be a replacement, at least not yet, to the kind of entertainer my uncle was. The fondest memory of my uncle was working with him in ‘Bobby’. I have done several movies with him but this one in particular is very close to my heart. As an uncle, he was very loving and extremely fond of me. I will always be grateful to him.”

Shashi Kapoor said, “He would work as an extra for Rs.75. His lunch usually comprised of sugarcane juice and ground nuts. I still remember that he and my elder brother, Raj, would travel in a rickshaw with loud speakers to publicize the play in small towns. They would say, ‘Come on people, come watch the play presented by Prithvi theatres with famous actors – Raj Kapoor and Prem Nath’. They would seldom mention the name of Prithviraj Kapoor.”

Rishi Kapoor said, “I haven’t seen any actor emote so well in my entire career. When the tailor brought the clothes for the role of Jack Breganza in the movie ‘Bobby’, Prem Nath uncle looked extremely disappointed and said that it wouldn’t go well with the character. In a huff, he stepped into the car and drove off. Everybody on the sets thought that he was upset, until he returned an hour later. He was carrying a bag with a very old suit of his and said, ‘This is the suit that will go well with the character of Jack Breganza’. To essay the role of Jack Breganza, he lived among the fishermen to learn and understand the way they live and behave and observe the way they dress. He would really immerse himself into the character he was playing.”

4. What did the rest of Bollywood have to say about this icon?

The who’s who of Bollywood had much to add about the legend:

Shatrughan Sinha said, “What made him stand out was that whatever he did, he was original. He was a very daring, authoritative powerful and an excellent man. He never aped anyone and neither was he jealous of any actor, in fact even the greatest actors would feel inferior to him.”

Dharmendra said, “His manliness was often the talk of the town and as college students we would always say that one should have a physique like Prem Nathji. Prem Nathji would do his stunts himself and never used a body double.  For the fight scene with him in the movie ‘Loafer’, he asked me not to use a stunt man and that we would do the fight scene ourselves. I agreed, although I was afraid that he is older to me and may get hurt.”

Subhash Ghai said, “He had perfect timing and a fabulous knowledge of music. He had become so famous that producers would shiver at the thought of approaching him. For my first movie, ‘Kaalicharan’, I did not know whom to cast for the role of the Inspector General, which was the most difficult role of the movie. My director refused to speak to Prem Nathji and asked me to convince him. My director also said that he may not like to work with a newcomer. After narrating the script to him at 4am, he shook hands with me and said that the movie will be a super hit and that’s when I asked him to essay the character of IG.” 

Prem Chopra said, “He was highly knowledgeable; you could discuss any topic with him. He was a very dedicated and devoted actor. Whenever given a role, he would research thoroughly to understand that character.”

5. When do I catch the show?

To reminisce Prem Nath’s incredible film journey, tune in to watch ‘Prem Nath Film Festival’ followed by a special feature Amar Prem Nath at 11:30 AM on Zee Classic every Saturday starting 11^th November!

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