ABSTRACT
On April 12, 2013, veteran actor Pran was awarded (though hugely belatedly) the most coveted Indian cinema prize: the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. For us Lahorites this was an occasion for special joy and pride because more than 70 years ago it was in our city that he cut his teeth as an actor. This is, therefore, a special tribute to that great artiste. Pre-Partition Lahore was a cosmopolitan city blooming with artists, music bands, clubs, actors, and indeed, a huge variety of popular culture that prospered inside the walled city as well as in the new localities that had sprung up in the twentieth century.
