There was a pall of gloom and a feeling ofdread in Bollywood when news of the 92-year oldveteran actor Pran’s hospitalization filtered in. Butwe can breathe a sigh of relief, at least for now.According to actor Raza Murad who visitedPran saab on Monday afternoon, the ailing actor iswell on the way to recovery and should be dischargedfrom hospital very soon. Says Murad happily,”I met him at the hospital.I also met his daughter Mrs Pinky Bhalla. Sheis looking after him so well. He is on the 9th floorand being well looked-after. They are all hopefulof taking Pran saab home in a day or two. It wasnothing but a minor respiratory problem broughton by the smoke during Diwali.”Pran saab had a fairly lengthy conversationwith Raza Murad. Says Murad, “I told him that hewas my guru.
I learnt acting and how to throw myvoice during dialogue delivery from him. He askedme why I didn’t meet him at Bachchan saab’sbirthday bash. I told I wasn’t there. Before I lefthim smiling, I made Pran saab promise we’d allhave a grand 93rd birthday party for him inFebruary.”What saddened Raza Murad was the blatantabsence of other visitors to inquire about hishealth. “There was not a single person from thefilm industry to see him.
When A K Hangal saabhad passed away, there was no one from the industryat the funeral.Why? When Yash Chopraji was ailing, therewas a veritable stampede of celebrities competingto be seen visiting him. We need to respect andvalue our veterans while they are alive.Let’s not measure their importance in thepresent times. Let’s keep in mind their contributionto our cinema in totality before ignoring themduring their illness.”
