Prem Nath, born as Premnath Malhotra, was one of the most popular actors of the Hindi film industry during the glorious mid 20th century era. Though his skills as an actor were much appreciated both by the audience and the critics, Prem Nath unfortunately could not make it big with lead roles in Bollywood films.
Background
Premnath Malhotra was born on November 21, 1926 in a Punjabi family residing in Peshawar (situated in Pakistan after independence). His parents shifted base to Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh soon after India became independent in 1947 and it was here that Premnath Malhotra spent a couple of months before moving to Bombay city and taking a plunge into Hindi cinema.
Career
Premnath Malhotra took up the name Prem Nath after his arrival in Bombay to work as a Hindi film actor. Prem Nath's first Bollywood film 'Ajit' which was released in the year 1948 was also one of the first color films made in the Hindi film industry. It was in the year 1949 that Prem Nath tasted success with appearances in films like 'Aag' and 'Barsaat'. While Prem Nath was lucky to have been a part of Raj Kapoor's debut directorial venture 'Aag', it was 'Barsaat' which made his a popular face in Bollywood. Prem Nath went on to appear in a number of films following 1949 and it gradually became apparent that the actor was more acceptable to his audiences in the supporting cast or in a villainous role as against the lead role in a Hindi film.