Hiralal Thakur (14 March 1909/1910 – 27 June 1981), known mononymously as Hiralal, was an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi films. Known for his performances as a character actor, he was called the 'bad man of the Indian screen' for his portrayal of roles with negative shades. He made his debut with the silent film Safdar Jung (1930). Hiralal also took part in India's independence movement and became an activist with the Indian National Congress when he was 14. He was later associated with the group of political and social workers that included Lala Lajpat Rai and Bhagat Singh, before moving into a career in films in 1928. After a distinguished career in films for over fifty years which included at least 150 films, he died penniless in 1981. Career Hiralal took to acting in films "as a hobby" after being asked by filmmaker Abdur Rashid Kardar, who was making Safdar Jung in Lahore, to play the role of a Pathan. Filming of Safdar Jung had begun in 1924 and Hiralal joined in 1929. He then appeared in another silent film, Daughters of Today, which saw theatrical release first. Hiralal recalled having a "thirst for authenticity" early on in his career, citing an example of him going bald to play a "one-eyed bald-headed man" in his next film, the 1931 film Awara Raqasa ("Wandering Dancer"), also directed by Kardar. He switched to sound films, later making his debut with Pavitra Ganga (1932) in which he played a "mad monk" as one character. He appeared in dual roles in the film, both as the protagonist and antagonist, opposite Nalini Tarkhad. His performance in Din-o-Duniya (1936) as General Mohammad Tariq received praise. Hiralal then moved to Calcutta (now Kolkata) and became associated with the New Theatres film studio. It was here under the "able guidance" of filmmaker Hemachandra Chunder that he felt he had become "a real actor". He appeared in Mera Punjab (1940), an adaptation of Pearl S. Buck's The Good Earth, in which he played three stages of a man's life: "the young man, the father and the grandfather". He then appeared in Sipahi (1941), playing "a soldier who fights for his country (in World War I) and then under the economic depression that follows is unable to find a job. On the verge of starvation, he becomes a gangster and at the end is shot in