Prem Adib

Prem Adib
Prem Adib in Darshan (1941)
Born	Prem Narayan (1917-08-10)10 August 1917 Sultanpur, India
Died	25 December 1959(1959-12-25) (aged 42) Mumbai, India
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1936–1959
Spouse(s)	Krishna Kumari (alias Pratima)

Prem Adib (1917–1959) was an Indian film actor. He was acclaimed as one of the top actors of the early 1940s, along with Pahadi Sanyal, Ashok Kumar, P. C. Barua, Master Vinayak and others. Adib is best remembered for his role as Ram in Bharat Milap (1942). Prem Adib became popular after playing Rama in Bharat Milap (1942) and Ram Rajya (1946). These films embodying India's "traditional values" had Prem Adib and Shobhana Samarth portraying the "ideal Rama and Sita". Adib and Samarth continued their pairing as Rama and Sita, acting together in another Ramayana based film Rambaan (1948). They became popular enough to have them emulating the Gods in calendars of that era.

Ram Rajya (1946) also had "the distinction" of being the only film that was seen by Mahatma Gandhi.

Prem Narayan (Adib) was born to a Kashmiri Brahmin family in 1917. His father Pandit Ram Prasad, was a lawyer by profession. The name Adib, meaning Vidhwan or Learned had been conferred on the family by Wajid Ali Shah. The family took on Adib as their surname.

Adib was involved in a controversy when a minor actress acting through her father, filed a case on him for breach of contract related to work. The case became known in legal literature as Raj Rani v Prem Adib. Prem Adib as the defendant won, as the case was void due the girl's minority, and also because of which she could not contract her father to sign on her behalf.