One may hoot, and hoot, and be a villain still

My mother used to say (always with affection) that the actor Pran strongly resembled one of her aunts, and also that their facial structure and demeanour reminded her of certain varieties of owls: prominent Punjabi beak, large round eyes (which could quickly become droopy or sensuous depending on time of day), a general air of thoughtfulness, and so on. 

And now I discover this passage in Saadat Hasan Manto’s essay “Kuldip Kaur: Too Hot to Handle”. Manto has just finished telling us that the young Pran was “like a male mistress” to Kuldip, and that another young actor, Shyam (whom you will recall if you have seen Manto the film), was competing for her affections. Now Kuldip, Shyam and Manto are in a train together when Shyam ardently says:

“Darling, dump that owl’s offspring you call Pran and come to me. He is a friend of mine; I will explain it to him.”

Of course, the “owl’s offspring” here would be a direct translation of the original “ullu ka pattha” (this is from the book Stars from Another Sky, English translation by Khalid Hasan), but I like to think Shyam was being literal-minded too in making that analogy.
 
I also like the “He is a friend; I will explain it to him”. Creates mental image of young Pran listening with owlish stoicism as Shyam informs him that Kuldip Kaur will henceforth have a new male mistress.