Chandra Mohan (24 July 1906 – 2 April 1949) 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.

Life and career

Born in

Narsinghpur Narsinghpur is a city in Madhya Pradesh in central India. It comes under Jabalpur division. Narsinghpur has a large temple dedicated to Lord Narsingh As of 2001, Narsinghpur is the most literate district of the state. History Prehistory ...

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

, he was known for his large grey eyes, voice modulation and dialogue delivery. His eyes form the opening sequence in

V. Shantaram Shantaram Rajaram Vankudre (18 November 1901 – 30 October 1990), referred to as V. Shantaram or Shantaram Bapu, was an Indian filmmaker, film producer, and actor known for his work in Hindi and Marathi films. He is most known for films such ...

's 1934 film ''

Amrit Manthan ''Amrit Manthan'' ( ''The Changes of Amrit'') is an Indian television soap opera, which premiered on 26 February 2012 and ran through 2 August 2013 on Life Ok. It is the story of two sisters who become each other's enemiesThis show was also ...

'', which was also his film debut. It was the first film made in the newly established

Prabhat Films Prabhat Film Company (popularly known as Prabhat Films) was an Indian film production company and film studios founded in 1929 by the noted film director V.Shantaram and his friends. It was formed in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India in 1929, toward ...

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 Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti. Ear ...

Sohrab Modi Sohrab Merwanji Modi (2 November 1897 – 28 January 1984) was an Indian stage and film actor, director and producer. His films include ''Khoon Ka Khoon'' (1935), a version of Shakespeare's ''Hamlet'', '' Sikandar'', ''Pukar'', ''Prithvi Va ...

's '' Pukar'', as Randhir Singh in

Mehboob Khan Mehboob Khan (born Mehboob Khan Ramzan Khan; 9 September 1907
at filmreference.com. – 28 ...

's ''

Humayun Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad ( fa, ) (; 6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), better known by his regnal name, Humāyūn; (), was the second emperor of the Mughal Empire, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Pakistan, Northe ...

'' and as Seth Laxmidas, in

Mehboob Khan Mehboob Khan (born Mehboob Khan Ramzan Khan; 9 September 1907
at filmreference.com. – 28 ...

's ''

Roti Roti (also known as chapati) is a round flatbread native to the Indian subcontinent. It is popular in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Guyana, Suriname, Jamaica, Trini ...

''. One of his last appearances was in Ramesh Saigal's 1948 film ''

Shaheed ''Shaheed'' ( , , ; pa, ਸ਼ਹੀਦ) denotes a martyr in Islam. The word is used frequently in the Quran in the generic sense of "witness" but only once in the sense of "martyr" (i.e. one who dies for his faith); ...

''. As Rai Bahadur Dwarka Nath, he played father to Ram, who was portrayed by

Dilip Kumar Mohammed Yusuf Khan (; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021), better known by his stage name Dilip Kumar, was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated the Indian movie scene from ...

. 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 ''Rambaan'' (Rama's Arrow) is a 1948 Indian film with a mythological theme, directed by Vijay Bhatt. Made under the banner of Prakash Pictures, it had music by Shankar Rao Vyas. The story writer was Mohanlal Dave with dialogue by Pandit Girish. T ...

'' (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 ''Mughal-e-Azam'' () is a 1960 Indian epic historical drama film produced and directed by K. Asif. Starring Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Madhubala, and Durga Khote, it follows the love affair between Mughal Prince Salim (who went ...

'', 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.

Death

Mohan gambled and drank heavily and died penniless on 2 April 1949 at the age of 42 at his residence, Bilkha House, in Bombay.

Filmography

* ''

'' (1934) * ''

Dharmatma ''Dharmatma'' () is a 1975 Hindi thriller movie and the first Bollywood film to be shot in Afghanistan. It was produced and directed by Feroz Khan. The movie is the first attempt in India to localise ''The Godfather''. The cast includes Feroz ...

'' (1935) * ''

Amar Jyoti ''Amar Jyoti'' (Eternal Flame) is a 1936 Hindi social, action adventure, drama film directed by V. Shantaram. Produced by Prabhat Film Company and cited as a "noteworthy" film along with Shantaram's earlier ''Amrit Manthan'' (1934), the film h ...

'' (1936) * ''Jwala'' (1938) * '' Pukar'' (1939) * '' Geeta'' (1940) * ''

Bharosa ''Bharosa'' () is a Hindi film released in 1963. The film is remembered for the music and songs. The music for the film was composed by Ravi. Rajendra Krishan penned the lyrics of the songs. ''Woh Dil Kahan Se Laun'' rendered by Lata Mangeshk ...

'' (1940) * ''

Apna Ghar ''Apna Ghar'' is a Bollywood film. It was released in 1942. Cast *Shanta Apte Shanta Apte (1916–1964) was an Indian actress-singer who worked in Marathi and Hindi cinema. Renowned for her roles in films like ''Duniya Na Mane/Kunku'' (1 ...

'' (1942) * ''

'' (1942) * '' Nauker'' (1943) * '' Shakuntala'' (1943) * '' Taqdeer'' (1943) * ''Draupadi'' (1944) * ''

Mumtaz Mahal Mumtaz Mahal (/'/; ), born Arjumand Banu Begum (27 April 1593 – 17 June 1631) was the empress consort of the Mughal Empire from 19 January 1628 to 17 June 1631 as the chief consort of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. The Taj Mahal in Agra, oft ...

'' (1944) * ''

Raunaq ''Raunaq'' is a 1944 Bollywood film directed by Dwarka Khosla and starring Chandraprabha, Noor Mohammad Charlie (billed as Charlie), Chandra Mohan, Motilal and Subarnalata Subarnalata. It was released in 1944 Events Below, the events ...

'' (1944) * ''

'' (1945) * '' Ramayani'' (1945) * '' Shalimar'' (1946) * ''

'' (1948) * ''

'' (1948)

References

External links

* 1906 births 1949 deaths People from Narsinghpur Indian male film actors Male actors in Hindi cinema 20th-century Indian male actors People of British India {{India-actor-stub