MUMBAI: The 44th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) to be held in Goa from 20-30 November will pay tribute to the veteran actor Pran. The legendary Bollywood villain passed away in July this year. The festival will witness the screening of three of his most popular films - Jis Desh Main Ganga Behti Hai, Madhumati and Zanjeer.

A true legend of Indian cinema, Pran defined the villain in Hindi cinema for over a decade and more in the 1960s and set the benchmark for the on-screen baddie, before carving out an equally glorious career as a character/supporting actor. As a film villain, such was the terror he infused in the hearts of film-goers that the apocryphal story goes that for over twenty years, when he ruled the world of cinema as a villain, no family in north India named a child ‘Pran’.

 Pran’s son Sunil Sikand and daughter Pinky Bhalla will be present for the screening. The film will be screened on the third and fourth day of the festival. Pran’s wife Shukla Sikand is also slated to attend the screening.

IFFI director Shankar Mohan says, “As per the festival’s tradition, IFFI pays tribute to noted film personalities who passed away in the year preceding the festival. IFFI invites their family members, friends and well-wishers to attend the screenings of the artiste's best works.”

Last year, a special homage was paid to Yash Chopra at the festival.