Chandra Mohan (24 July 1906 – 2 April 1949) was an Indian actor, known for his work in

Hindi cinema Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

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 is a district under Jabalpur division. Narsinghpur has a large temple dedicated to Narasimha, Lord Narasimha. As of 2001, Narsinghpur is the most literate district of the state. Hist ...

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

, 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 ''Amrit Manthan'' ( ''The Changes of Amrit'') is an Indian television soap opera that premiered on 26 February 2012 and ran until 2 August 2013 on Life OK. It tells the story of two sisters who become each other's enemies. This show was also b ...

'', 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 studio facility founded in 1929 in Kolhapur. It was established by filmmaker V. Shantaram, along with Vishnupant Govind Damle, Keshav Rao Dhaibar, ...

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 (31 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was List of emperors of the Mughal Empire, Emperor of Hindustan from 1605 until his death in 1627, and the fourth Mughal emperors, Mughal ...

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 (1941 film), Sikandar'', '' ...

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

Mehboob Khan Mehboob Khan Ramzan Khan (9 September 1907
at filmreference.com. – 28 May 1964) was a pr ...

's ''

Humayun Nasir al-Din Muhammad (6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), commonly known by his regnal name Humayun (), was the second Mughal emperor, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Northern India, and Pakistan from ...

'' and as Seth Laxmidas, in

Mehboob Khan Mehboob Khan Ramzan Khan (9 September 1907
at filmreference.com. – 28 May 1964) was a pr ...

's ''

Roti Roti is a round flatbread originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is commonly consumed in many South Asian, Southeast Asian, Caribbean, East African, and Southeast African countries. It is made from stoneground whole-wheat flour, kno ...

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

Shaheed ''Shahid'' ( , , ) 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); the latter sense acqui ...

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

Dilip Kumar Dilip Kumar (born Muhammad Yusuf Khan; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021) was an Indian actor and film producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated Hindi cinema from the 1950s throughout t ...

. 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'' () is a 1948 Indian Hindi-language mythological drama film directed and produced by Vijay Bhatt and written by Mohanlal Dave, with dialogue by Pandit Girish. The film starred Prem Adib as Rama and Shobhana Samarth as Sita, with C ...

'' (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 K. Asif (born Karimuddin Asif; 14 June 1922 – 9 March 1971) was an Indian film director, film producer and screenwriter who is known for his epic film, ''Mughal-e-Azam'' (1960). Early life Asif was born in Etawah, Uttar Pradesh, India to pa ...

's ''

Mughal-e-Azam ''Mughal-e-Azam'' () is a 1960 Indian Epic film, 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 Empire, Mughal Prince ...

'', 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 Indian Hindi-language thriller film produced and directed by Feroz Khan. The cast includes Khan, Hema Malini, Rekha, Premnath, Imtiaz Khan, Danny Denzongpa, Farida Jalal, Ranjeet, Helen, Madan Puri, Jeevan, ...

'' (1935) * ''

Amar Jyoti ''Amar Jyoti'' (Eternal Flame) is a List of Bollywood films of 1936, 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 ''Am ...

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

Bharosa ''Bharosa'' () is a 1963 Hindi drama film directed by K. Shankar. 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 Mangeshkar is an all-time favourite song ...

'' (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 language, Marathi and Hindi cinema. Renowned for her roles in films like ''Duniya Na ...

'' (1942) * ''

'' (1942) * '' Nauker'' (1943) * ''

Shakuntala Shakuntala () is a heroine in ancient Indian literature, best known for her portrayal in the ancient Sanskrit play '' Abhijnanashakuntalam'' (The Recognition of Shakuntala), written by the classical poet Kalidasa in the 4th or 5th century AD ...

'' (1943) * '' Taqdeer'' (1943) * ''Draupadi'' (1944) * ''

Mumtaz Mahal Mumtaz Mahal (; ; born Arjumand Banu Begum; 27 April 1593 – 17 June 1631) was the empress consort of Mughal Empire from 1628 to 1631 as the chief consort of the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan. The Taj Mahal in Agra, often cited as one of t ...

'' (1944) * '' Raunaq'' (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 Male actors from British India {{India-film-actor-stub