Mumbai, August 31: The popularity of Hindi cinema has been significantly boosted by its iconic villains. Among them is K.N. Singh, whose full name was Krishna Niranjan Singh. He was one of the renowned early villains and character actors in Indian cinema.
K.N. Singh was known for portraying negative roles powerfully without resorting to loud theatrics. Born on September 1, 1908, in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, he came from a well-educated and affluent family. His father, Chand Prasad Singh, was a prominent criminal lawyer and a king in several princely states. K.N. Singh initially aspired to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a barrister. However, a pivotal incident where his father defended a murderer extinguished his passion for law.
His father wanted him to complete his education and become self-sufficient quickly. To achieve this, K.N. Singh ventured into various businesses, including establishing a printing press in Lahore, supplying wild animals to royals, manufacturing special shoes for tea plantation workers, and supplying khukuris to the army. While these ventures initially succeeded, they eventually faltered.
At one point, K.N. Singh’s father grew concerned about his future, and K.N. Singh himself began to lose confidence due to repeated failures. In 1930, his father arranged his marriage to Anand Devi from Faulada village in Meerut, but she passed away shortly after due to illness.
K.N. Singh was not only a talented actor but also an athlete. He was almost selected for the 1935 Berlin Olympics, but he could not participate due to his sister’s illness. During this time, he traveled to Calcutta to see her and met Prithviraj Kapoor, who introduced him to director Debaki Bose.
On screen, K.N. Singh was celebrated as the “Gentleman Villain.” He began his acting career in the 1936 film “Sunehra Sansar,” where he played a doctor. He later moved to Mumbai and gained recognition as a villain in the 1937 blockbuster “Baagwaan.” Following his success, he starred in numerous films as a villain and character actor.
K.N. Singh is regarded as the first villain in Hindi cinema who could instill fear in audiences without shouting, relying instead on his piercing gaze, deep voice, and facial expressions. Over his five-decade career, he acted in more than 200 Hindi films. Notable films include “Baagwaan” (1938), “Barsaat” (1949), “Awara” (1951), “Baazi” (1951), “Jaal” (1952), “CID” (1956), “Howrah Bridge” (1958), “Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi” (1958), “Teesri Manzil” (1966), “Haathi Mere Saathi” (1971), and “Don” (1978). His last film, “Daanveer,” was released on September 20, 1996.
In his personal life, K.N. Singh was the eldest of six siblings. His second wife, Praveen Pal, was also a successful character actress, but they had no children. They adopted his younger brother Vikram Singh’s son, Pushkar Singh, who later became a television producer. In his later years, K.N. Singh lost his eyesight and passed away on January 31, 2000, in Mumbai.
–
Leave a Comment