Publishers Harper Collins have come out with a biography of legendary screen villain Pran who has starred in over 350 films in his long career.

Amitabh Bachchan released the biography, titled "And Pran", at a classy affair at the Hotel Intercontinental here Friday.

The book, written by Bunny Reuben, has a foreword by Amitabh, who specially flew down from Amsterdam for the occasion.

The book's title, which might flummox modern day film enthusiasts, stems from the fact that the credits in almost all the films in which he acted as a villain, ended with a flourish: "and Pran".

Karan Johar made an excellent host as several Bollywood celebrities came and spoke about their association with Pran. Amitabh also read out excerpts from the book.

While most people got a chance to speak, including the publishers, the author was noticeably left out.

Everyone's attention was on Amitabh as he read out one chapter in his rich baritone. Later, actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha said he had been inspired by both Pran and Amitabh Bachchan, who he said, were the only Bollywood actors known for their punctuality.

Pran's grandson, Kapil Dev treated the audience to an audio-visual presentation on the actor.

Directors like Shakti Samanta and Prakash Mehra, who had worked with Pran were present. Veteran actors Bindu, Sashikala, Tanuja, Prem Chopra, Nimmi and Ranjeet also attended.

According to Bunny Reuben, during his research he discovered that Pran had acted in over 350 films in a career spanning over six decades. Though Pran featured as a villain in most films made during the 1950s though the 1970s, Reuben says he could lay hands on very little material on the actor.

Pran was cast as the hero opposite the now legendary Noorjehan, in the 1942 super hit film "Khandaan", his first Hindi-language film.

"At that time Noorjehan was just a growing girl," Pran reminisced. "And she was so short they had to give her bricks to stand on. Even then she was slightly shorter than me."

A little-known fact about Pran is that he is a sports lover and had his own football team, which he financed for a number of years. He called it the Bombay Dynamos Football Club.

Married in 1945 to Shukla Ahluwalia, Pran has three children, Arvind, Sunil and Pinky.