Raveena Tandon’s uncle, whose father was in British army, worked in over 200 films, became Bollywood’s most…, his name was…

This man is a proof that not every Bollywood actor’s journey begins with a dream to be on the silver screen. Born as Mohan Makijany in Karachi (then British India), he aspired to be a professional cricketer. But, destiny played its role and he became a cult villain in Indian cinema.

Mac Mohan’s father was a colonel in British Army and got transferred from Karachi to Lucknow after posting. He completed his early education from Lucknow. The actor who gave Bollywood some of its most iconic negative characters, one had a dream of playing for Indian cricket team. But, fate had another plans.

In college, Mac took theatre as his extracurricular, and gradually got attracted towards the acting. He then moved to Mumbai and got enrolled in the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). From there, his transformation from a cricket lover to one of India most iconic villain began.

Mac Mohan’s father was a colonel in British Army and got transferred from Karachi to Lucknow after posting. He completed his early education from Lucknow.  In a career spanning over four decades, Mac Mohan starred in over 200 films, but usually portraying negative characters. However, the character that truly made him a widespread name was the role of Sambha in Ramesh Sippy’s Sholay (1975). His single dialogue “poore pachaas hazaar” in the film truly made him an unforgettable villain in Bollywood’s history.

Mac Mohan then went on to star in a string of negative roles in films like Don (1978), Karz (1980) and Satte Pe Satta (1982), among others. The actor, who happens to be Raveena Tandon’s uncle, was renowned in the industry not just for his powerful dialogue delivery, but also his professionalism.

When he passed away on 10 May 2010, actor and co-star Amitabh Bachchan penned down in his blog, “I worked with him in several films, films that can be identified as being some of the most memorable in my repertoire. Some of the roles he did were evil in nature, quite the opposite of his own personal demeanour. His laughter was full throated and free; a symbol of the free spirit he always depicted.”

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