Chandra Mohan

Chandra Mohan was an Indian actor, known for his work in Hindi cinema in the 1930s and 1940s. He became known for his villainous roles in a number of critical and commercial successes. He was born on 24 July 1906 in Narsinghpur, Madhya Pradesh. He was known for his large grey eyes, voice modulation and dialogue delivery. His eyes form the opening sequence in V. Shantaram's 1934 film Amrit Manthan, which was also his film debut. It was the first film made in the newly established Prabhat Films studio, and made both in Hindi and Marathi. Mohan received acclaim for his role as Rajguru and went on to establish himself as a noted villain of the time. Mohan later appeared as Emperor Jehangir in Sohrab Modi's Pukar¹, as Randhir Singh in Mehboob Khan's Humayun and as Seth Laxmidas, in Mehboob Khan's Roti. One of his last appearances was in Ramesh Saigal's 1948 film Shaheed. As Rai Bahadur Dwarka Nath, he played father to Ram, who was portrayed by Dilip Kumar. Mohan's character in this film initially supports the British Government but later favors the Freedom Struggle. Chandra Mohan's last movie was a religious movie Rambaan (1948), in which he played the role of the demon emperor Ravana. He was the original choice to play the lead role in K. Asif's Mughal-e-Azam, but due to his untimely death the film had to be reshot after ten reels were shot with him as lead. The film was eventually released in 1960. Mohan gambled and drank heavily and died penniless on 2 April 1949 at the age of 42 at his residence, Bilkha House, in Bombay¹. He is remembered as one of the finest actors and villains of Hindi cinema.