BALRAJ SAHNI – Film Actor
Balraj Sahni (1 May 1913 – 13 April 1973),
born Yudhishthir Sahni went from his native Rawalpindi
to study at Lahore University. He completed his Master's
degree in English Literature from Lahore and then went
back to Rawalpindi and joined his family business. He also held a Bachelor's degree in Hindi, followed by a
Masters in English from Punjab
University. Soon after, he married Damayanti Sahni.
In the late 1930s, Sahni and his wife left
Rawalpindi to join Tagore's Visva-Bharati University in Shantiniketan
in Bengal
as an English and Hindi teacher. It is here that their son, Parikshit
Sahni was born, when his wife Damayanti was doing her Bachelor's
degree.
He also went to work with Mahatma
Gandhi for a year in 1938. The next year, Sahni, with Gandhi's
blessings, went to England to join the BBC-London's Hindi service
as a radio announcer. He returned to India in 1943.
Sahni was always interested in acting, and
started his acting career with the plays of the Indian People's Theatre Association
(IPTA). He started his film
career in Mumbai
with the film Insaaf (1946),
followed by Dharti Ke Lal
directed by KA Abbas
in 1946, Door Chalein in 1946,
and other films. But it was in 1953, with Bimal Roy's
classic Do Bigha
Zameen, that his true forte as an actor was first recognised.
The film won the international prize at the Cannes Film Festival.
He followed it up with an encore in the 1961
classic Kabuliwala penned by Tagore.
Sahni's wife Damayanti, who was the heroine of
his film Gudia, died at a
young age in 1947. Two years later, he married his first cousin, Santosh
Chandhok, later known as an author and television writer.
Sahni's acting was very well liked and
appreciated in all his films. He acted opposite top heroines like Padmini, Nutan, Meena Kumari,
Vyjayantimala,
and Nargis
in films like Bindya (1960)Seema
(1955), Sone Ki Chidiya (1958),
Sutta Bazaar (1959), Bhabhi Ki Chudiyaan (1961), Kathputli (1957), Lajwanti (1958) & Ghar Sansaar (1958).his character
roles in films like "Neelkamal","ghar ghar ki kahani"
"Do raste"and "ek phool do mali" were greatly appreciated.
However, he is perhaps best remembered by the current generation for the
picturisation of the legendary song Ae
Meri Zohra Jabeen from the movie Waqt (1965) on him. Sahni appeared
opposite Achala Sachdev in the number.
He also starred in the classic Punjabi film Nanak Dukhiya Sub Sansar (1970) as
well as the critically acclaimed Satluj
de kande.
His role as the angst ridden but stoical Muslim
man who refuses to go to Pakistan during partition, in his last film Garm Hava,
has often been called his best performance by critics. Balraj, however, could
not see the completed film to rate his own performance, as he died just the day
after he finished dubbing work. The last line he recorded for the film, and
hence his last recorded line is, Hindustani:- "Insaan Kab Tak Akela Jee
Sakta Hai?" which can be translated in English as:- "How long can a
man live alone?"
Sahni was a gifted writer; his early writings
were in English, though later in life he switched to Punjabi,
and became a writer of repute in Punjabi literature. In 1960, after a visit to Pakistan,
he wrote Mera Pakistani Safar.
His book Mera Rusi Safarnama,
which he had written after a tour of the erstwhile Soviet Union
in 1969, earned him the 'Soviet Land Nehru Award'. He contributed many poems
and short stories in magazines and also penned his autobiography, Meri Filmi Aatmakatha. Sahni was an
extremely well-read and politically conscious person.
He and P K Vasudevan Nair worked on the idea of All
India Youth Federation with firebrand Delhi communist, Comrade Guru Radha
Kishan to organise the first national conference of AIYF in Delhi.
Their wholehearted efforts were visible as more than 250 delegates and observers
representing several youth organisations of various states of India attended
this session. Balraj Sahni was elected as the first president of All India Youth Federation, the youth wing
of Communist Party of India. The organisation
was a huge success and strong presence of the organisation was noticed by other
political groups and the senior communist leaders everywhere.
Sahni also dabbled in screenwriting; he wrote the
1951 movie Baazi which starred Dev Anand
and was directed by Guru Dutt. He was also a recipient of the Padma Shri
Award (1969). Balraj Sahni also wrote in Punjabi and contributed to the Punjabi
magazine Preetlari. Very few people know about his love for the books, In 1950s
he was first to inaugurate the Library and study centre for underprivileged
class in Delhi.
Sahni was undoubtedly one of the greatest actors
ever to come on the Indian screen: a highly natural actor who reminded the
audience of the actors like Motilal
because of his simple persona and a sophisticated style of acting. He was
looked up to as a role model as he was never involved in any scandal. His
acting in Do Bigha
Zameen and Garam Hawa
were the highlights of his career. He believed in what is known as Neo-Realistic cinema.
Balraj's brother Bhisham Sahni
was a well-known writer who wrote the book Tamas.
His son Parikshit Sahni is also an actor. Balraj Sahni
died on 13 April 1973, of a massive cardiac arrest, less than a month before
his 60th birthday. He had been depressed for some time by the untimely death of
his young daughter, Shabnam. Noted writer and editor of Hindi weekly Dharmyug
Satyakam Vidyalankar was married to Balraj's sister.
'Punjabi Kala Kender', founded in 1973 at Mumbai
by Balraj Sahni, gives away the annual Balraj Sahni Award', and also the 'All
India Artists' Association'.
His works include:
|
Year
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Film
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Role
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1946
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1947
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1951
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Raj
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Hulchul
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The jailer
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1952
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Doctor
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1953
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Shambu Maheto
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1954
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1955
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Ashok 'Babuji'
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Giridhari
|
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Jatin Mukherjee
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1957
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Loknath
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Ratan
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1958
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Shrikant
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Mr. Nirmal
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Khazanchi
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Radhe Mohan
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Kailash
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1959
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Ramesh
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Rajendra
|
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Agent Rajan
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1960
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Panchu Dada
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Devraj
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Dr. Nirmal Chaudhary
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1961
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Ramu
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Shyam
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Abdul Rehman Khan
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1962
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Ratau
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Choudhary Shambhunath
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1964
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Dr. Mohan/Ram
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Major Ranjit Singh
|
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1965
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Andhe Baba
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Lala Kedarnath
|
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Detective Officer
|
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1966
|
Yaseen Khan
|
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Khan Bahadur
|
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Surendra Nath Kumar
|
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Shukla
|
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1967
|
Principal
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Gautamdas' dad
|
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Police Inspector Ashok
|
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1968
|
Ganeshi Prasad
|
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Mr. Raichand
|
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Izzat
|
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Public Prosecutor Ramnath Sharma
|
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1969
|
Ranjit Rai
|
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Dr. Ramnath
|
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Kailash Nath Kaushal
|
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Navendru Gupta
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1970
|
Ex-Firefighter
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Pannalal
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Bansi
|
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Ashok
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Bharat's dad
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1971
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Govindram
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Dr. Sarin
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1972
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Ghulam Ahmed Mahjoor
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Ravi Anand
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Thomas
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1973
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SP Dinanath Mahendru
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Salim Mirza
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1977
|
Udham Singh
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Suresh
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