Remembering K N SINGH on his Birth Anniversary

 K. N. Singh The "gentleman villain" of Bollywood,  was a prominent villain and character actor. He appeared in over 250 Hindi films over a long career stretching from 1936 to the late 1980s.He was born on 1st September 1908.His full name most of the people don't know,it was Krishan Niranjan Singh.

 K.N. Singh was a sportsman who was selected to represent India in the 1936 Berlin Olympics before circumstances compelled him to go to Calcutta to attend on his ailing sister. There he met his family friend Prithviraj Kapoor, who introduced him to director Debaki Bose, who offered him a debut role in his film Sunehra Sansar (1936).

He came to limelight after the release of Baghban 1938  in which he played the antagonist.The movie was super hit and his role also became super hit.His suave style, baritone voice and menacing eyes became legendary.KN Singh and his friends Prithviraj Kapoor and KL Saigal were considered the pioneering stars of the Bombay talkies.

He appeared in several iconic movies in the 40s and 50s including Sikandar (1941), Jwar Bhata (1944) (Dilip Kumar's film debut), Humayun (1945),Awara (1951), Jaal (1952), CID (1956), Howrah Bridge (1958), Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958), Amrapali (1966) and An Evening in Paris (1967).
Singh played prominent roles in movies like Jhoota Kahin Ka (1970), Haathi Mere Saathi (1971) and Mere Jeevan Saathi (1972). His last prominent role was in the 1973 filmLoafer.

                                   Guru Dutt, K. N. Singh, in Baaz

K.N. Singh was the eldest among 6 siblings: a sister and five brothers. His marriage with Praveen Paul did not produce any children, and so the two adopted Pushkar, the son of his brother Bikram (who was once the editor of Filmfare magazine) as their son.

K.N. Singh turned completely blind in his last years. He died in Mumbai on 31 January 2000 aged 91 was survived by his adopted son Pushkar, who is a producer of television serials.