Balraj Sahni


Balraj Sahni, born Yudhishthir Sahni, was an Indian film and stage actor, who is best known for Dharti Ke Lal, Do Bigha Zameen, Chhoti Bahen, Kabuliwala and Garam Hawa.
He came from Rawalpindi, now in Punjab, Pakistan and was the brother of Bhisham Sahni, noted Hindi writer, playwright, and actor.

Early life

Sahni was born on 1 May 1913 in Rawalpindi, Punjab, British India. He studied at Government College University, Punjab, British India. After completing his master's degree in English Literature from Lahore, he went back to Rawalpindi and joined his family business. He also held a Bachelor's degree in Hindi. 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 earning her bachelor's degree. He also collaborated 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.

Career

Sahni was always interested in acting, and started his acting career with the plays of the Indian People's Theatre Association. Incidentally, his wife Damayanti became well known as an IPTA actress much before Sahni made a name for himself in films. He started his film career in Bombay with the film Insaaf, followed by Dharti Ke Lal directed by KA Abbas in 1946, Damayanti's first film, Door Chalein in 1946, and other films. But it was in 1953, with Bimal Roy's classic Do Bigha Zamin, that his true strength 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 1947 film Gudia, died at a young age that same year. Two years later, he married his first cousin, Santosh Chandhok, later known as an author and television writer.
He acted opposite heroines such as Padmini, Nutan, Meena Kumari, Vyjayanthimala and Nargis in films such as Bindya, Seema, Sone Ki Chidiya, Sutta Bazaar, Bhabhi Ki Chudiyaan, Kathputli, Lajwanti and Ghar Sansaar. His character roles in films such as Neelkamal, Ghar Ghar Ki Kahani, Do Raaste and Ek Phool Do Mali were well received. However, he is perhaps best remembered by the current generation for his picturisation of the legendary song "Ae Meri Zohra Jabeen" from the movie Waqt. Sahni appeared opposite Achala Sachdev in the number.
He also starred in the classic Punjabi film Nanak Dukhiya Sub Sansar as well as the critically acclaimed Satluj De Kande.
His role as the angst-ridden, but stoic Muslim man who refuses to go to Pakistan during partition, in his last film Garam Hawa, 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 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 to English as: "How long can a man live alone?"

Later life

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 Safarnama. 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. Balraj Sahni also wrote in Punjabi and contributed to the Punjabi magazine Preetlari.
In the 1950s he inaugurated the Library and Study Centre for the underprivileged in Delhi.
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.
"Punjabi Kala Kender", founded in 1973 at Bombay by Balraj Sahni, gives away the annual Balraj Sahni Award, and also the "All India Artists Association".

Filmography

YearFilmRole
1946Door Chalen
1946Dharti Ke Lal
1946Badnami
1947Gudia
1951Maaldar
1951Hum LogRaj
1951HulchulThe Jailer
1952Badnam
1953Do Bigha ZaminShambhu Maheto
1953Bhagyawan
1953Akash
1953Chalis Baba Ek Chor
1953RahiDoctor
1954Aulad
1954Majboori
1954BazoobandSurajmal
1955Tangewali
1955SeemaAshok "Babuji"
1955Garam CoatGirdharilal "Girdhari"
1955TaksaalJatin Mukherjee
1957Pardesi
1957Mai BaapChandan
1957Lal Batti
1957Kath PutliLoknath
1957BhabhiRatan
1957Do RotiShyam / Masterji
1958Sone Ki ChidiyaShrikant
1958LajwantiNirmal Kumar
1958KhazanchiRadhe Mohan
1958Ghar SansarKailash
1958Ghar Grihasti
1959Satta BazaarRamesh
1959Heera Moti
1959Chhoti BahenRajendra
1959Black CatAgent Rajan
1959ChandMr. Kapoor
1960Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi TerePanchu Dada
1960BindyaDevraj
1960AnuradhaDr. Nirmal Chaudhary
1961Suhag SindoorRamu
1961Sapne Suhane
1961Bhabhi Ki ChudiyanShyam
1961KabuliwalaAbdul Rehman Khan
1962ShaadiRatan
1962AnpadhChoudhary Shambhunath
1964Punar MilanDr. Mohan / Ram
1964HaqeeqatMajor Ranjit Singh
1965Dak GharAndhe Baba
1965WaqtLala Kedarnath
1965FaraarDetective Officer
1966Pinjre Ke PanchhiYaseen Khan
1966Neend Hamari Khwab TumhareKhan Bahadur
1966AasraSurendranath Kumar
1966Aaye Din Bahar KeShukla
1967NaunihaalPrincipal
1967Ghar Ka Chirag
1967AmanGautamdas' dad
1967HamraazPolice Inspector Ashok
1968SunghurshGaneshi Prasad
1968Neel KamalMr. Raichand
1968IzzatThakur Pratap Singh
1968DuniyaPublic Prosecutor Ramnath Sharma
1969TalashRanjit Rai
1969Nanha FarishtaDr. Ramnath
1969Ek Phool Do MaliKailashnath Kaushal
1969Do RaasteNavendu Gupta
1970PehchanEx-Firefighter
1970Pavitra PaapiPannalal
1970Naya RaastaBansi
1970Nanak Dukhiya Sab Sansar
1970Mere HumsafarAshok
1970Holi Ayee ReThakur Mangal Singh
1970Ghar Ghar Ki KahaniShankarnath
1970DhartiInspector General Chandrashekhar
1971Paraya DhanGovindram
1971Jawan MohabbatDr. Sareen
1972Shayar-e-Kashmir MahjoorGhulam Ahmed Mahjoor
1972Jawani DiwaniRavi Anand
1972Jangal Mein MangalThomas
1973Pyaar Ka Rishta
1973Daman Aur Aag
1973Hindustan Ki Kasam
1973Hanste ZakhmS.P. Dinanath Mahendru
1973Garam HawaSalim Mirza
1977AmaanatSuresh

Works