Prem Adib
The actor Shiv Prasad Adib ( filmy name Prem Adib ) was one of the top heroes during the period from 1940 to 1950 .
Prem Adib was born on 10.8.1916 into a Kashmiri hindu Pandit family of Sultanpur ( U.P) .His father Pandit Ram Prasad Adib was a lawyer . The family name Adib refers to a learned and scholarly man and this title was conferred by the then rulers of Oudh as Prem’s ancestors were all literary and learned men .
After matriculating from Jodhpur in 1932, Prem studied for 2 years in college but his childhood passion for films had not reduced. So in 1934 he left studies and first went to calcutta and then to lahore for search of work in cinema but couldn’t get and then he headed straight for bombay where Director Mohan Sinha (father of Vidya Sinha) gave him a small role in the film ‘Romantic India ‘ and also gave him his film-name: Prem Adib.
After this start, Prem also got some small roles in films like Pratima , Fida-e-Vatan , Tasveer-e-wafa and Insaf (1937). He also acted in social films like Khan Bahadur ( 1937) and Talaaqu (1938).
His first film as a hero opposite Shobhana Samarth was Nirala Hindustan and again he appeared as a hero in films Ghungatwali and Sadhana (1939) and Saubhagya in 1940 in which Prem also sang the songs.
In this way, from 1936 to 1940, Prem acted in 11 films .
However, Prem Adib was best known and also appreciated for his roles as Bhagwan Ramji in hit films Bharat Milap (1942) and Ram Rajya (1943) , Rambaan (1948) and five others with Shobhna Smarth taking the role of Sita Maiyya and this duo became so much famous , celebrated and revered that People started featuring them on covers of religious publications , on lacs of calendars and also on pictures to be framed and placed in household and public temples for worshiping .
The film Ram Rajya (1943) incidentally is the only film ever viewed by karamchand Gandhi and even intellectuals like Dr. Radhakrishnan were pleased on seeing this film which was awarded gold medal in Calcutta.
This great film Ram Rajya was Released at Super Cinema in Mumbai and scaled the peaks of popularity and ran continuously for 108 weeks. Even though Prem Adib used to smoke cigarettes and eat non-vegetarian food in real life, he gave them up while filming RAM RAJYA and also read the Ramayan every day during the entire shooting period .
He performed the role of Bhagwan Ram in 8 films namely Bharat Milap (1942), Ram Rajya (1943), Ram Baan (1948), Ram Vivah (1949), Ram Navami (1956), Ram Hanuman Yudh 1957), Ram Lakshman (1957) and Ram Bhakt Vibhishan (1958).
Prem Adib , the Ram of the Silver Screen , thus became a very popular and successful actor of his times.
Even though many actors like Shahu Modak, Mahipal, Trilok Kapoor, Abhi Bhattacharya, Manhar Desai, Anant Kumar and Chandrakant enacted the role of Ramji in films but whenever the role of Ram is mentioned, only one image used to come to people’s mind and that was of Prem Adib except Arun Govil in TV serial ‘Ramayan ‘ .
However even during 50s, Prem Adib had featured in 28 films and most of these films were religious . Film Angulimal in 1960 was his last film .
Prem Adib got married to RaiSaheb Rajeshwarnath Kaul’s daughter Krishnakumari (alias Pratima) on 26th February, 1943 in Lahore .
Prem died suddenly on 25 December 1959 due to hemorrhage and blood pressure. His wife fainted at his untimely and unexpected death. His last rites were completed by his relatives present at that time. When his fans came to know they complained that if they had been informed they would have given him a farewell befitting Ram .
It remains a surprise that this unsung hero of 1940s remain unrewarded by the govt till date .
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Four stars
