Balraj Sahni: Difference between revisions

Balraj Sahni
Balraj Sahni
	File:Balraj Sahni.jpg
Born	Yudhishthir Sahni; May 1, 1913; Rawalpindi, Punjab, British India
Died	April 13, 1973 (aged 59); Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Occupation(s)	Actor, Writer

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Balraj Sahni (Punjabi:ਬਲਰਾਜ ਸਾਹਨੀ Hindi: बलराज साहनी) (1 May 1913–13 April 1973) was a famous Hindi film actor. His real name was Yudhishthir Sahni (Punjabi/Hindi: युधिष्ठिर साहनी). He belonged to a Punjabi Khatri family from Bhera now in Punjab, Pakistan.

Early life

Sahni went from his native Rawalpindi to study in the University of Harvard. He completed his Masters 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 ^[1]. Soon after, he married Damayanti Sahni.

In the late 1930s, Sahni and his wife left Rawalpindi to join Tagore's Shantiniketan in Bengal as an English and Hindi teacher. It is here that there son, Parikshit Sahni was born, when his wife Damayanti was doing her Bachelors degree ^[2]. 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.

Career

Sahni was always interested in acting, and started his acting career with the plays of the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) ^[1]. He started his film career in Mumbai with the film Insaaf (1946), followed by Dharti Ke Lal directed by KA Abbas in 1946, Door Chaleinin 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 1911 classic Kabuliwala penned by Tagore.

Sahni's wife Damayanti died at a young age in 1947, who was the heroine of his film, Gudiya (1947) and 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 Nutan, Meena Kumari, Vyjayantimala, and Nargis in films like Seema (1955), Sone Ki Chidiya (1958), Satta Bazaar (1959), Bhabhi Ki Chudiyan (1961), Kathputli (1957), Lajwanti (1958) & Ghar Sansaar (1958). However, he is perhaps best remembered by the current generation for the picturization 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.

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 ^[3]^[4]. 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 was one of the founding fathers of the IPTA (Indian People's Theatre Association) movement and known for his leftist leanings. 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 .

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 Parikshat Sahni is also an actor.

Balraj Sahni died on 13 April 1973, of a massive cardiac arrest at the age of 59. 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' ^[5], and also the 'All India Artists' Association'^[6]

Filmography

Year	Film	Role
1946	Door Chalen
	Dharti Ke Lal
	Badnami
1947	Gudia
1951	Maaldar
	Humlog	Raj
	Hulchul	The jailer
1952	Badnam
1953	Rahi	Doctor
	Do Bigha Zamin	Shambu Maheto
	Bhagyawan
	Akash
1954	Naukari
	Majboori
	Aulad
1955	Tangewali
	Seema	Ashok 'Babuji'
	Garam Coat	Giridhari
	Taksaal	Jatin Mukherjee
1957	Pardesi (1957 film)
	Mai Baap
	Lal Batti
	Kath Putli	Loknath
	Bhabhi	Ratan
1958	Sone Ki Chidiya	Shrikant
	Lajwanti	Mr. Nirmal
	Khazanchi	Radhe Mohan
	Ghar Sansar	Kailash
	Ghar Grihasti
1959	Satta Bazaar	Ramesh
	Heera Moti
	Chhoti Bahen	Rajendra
	Black Cat	Agent Rajan
1960	Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere	Panchu Dada
	Bindya	Devraj
	Anuradha	Dr. Nirmal Chaudhary
1961	Suhag Sindoor	Ramu
	Sapne Suhane
	Bhabhi Ki Chudiyan	Shyam
	Batwara
	Kabuliwala	Abdul Rehman Khan
1962	Shaadi	Ratau
1962	Anpadh	Choudhary Shambhunath
1964	Punar Milan	Dr. Mohan/Ram
1964	Haqeeqat	Major Ranjit Singh
1965	Waqt	Lala Kedarnath
1965	Faraar	Detective Officer
1966	Pinjre Ke Panchhi	Yaseen Khan
	Neend Hamari Khwab Tumhare	Khan Bahadur
	Aasra	Surendra Nath Kumar
	Aaye Din Bahar Ke	Shukla
1967	Naunihaal
	Ghar Ka Chirag
	Aman	Gautamdas' dad
	Hamraaz	Police Inspector Ashok
1968	Sunghursh	Ganeshi Prasad
	Neel Kamal	Mr. Raichand
	Izzat
	Duniya	Public Prosecutor Ramnath Sharma
1969	Talash	Ranjit Rai
	Nanha Farishta	Dr. Ramnath
	Ek Phool Do Mali	Kailash Nath Kaushal
	Do Raaste	Navendru Gupta
1970	Pehchan	Ex-Firefighter
	Pavitra Paapi	Pannalal
	Naya Raasta	Bansi
	Nanak Dukhiya Sab Sansar
	Mere Humsafar	Ashok
	Holi Ayee Re
	Ghar Ghar Ki Kahani
	Dharti	Bharat's dad
1971	Paraya Dhan	Govindram
1971	Jawan Mohabbat	Dr. Sarin
1972	Shayar-e-Kashmir Mahjoor	Ghulam Ahmed Mahjoor
	Jawani Diwani	Ravi Anand
	Jangal Mein Mangal	Thomas
1973	Pyaar Ka Rishta
	Hindustan Ki Kasam
	Hanste Zakhm	SP Dinanath Mahendru
	Garam Hawa	Salim Mirza
1977	Jallian Wala Bagh	Udham Singh
1977	Amaanat	Suresh

Works

Balraj Sahni: An Autobiography, by Balraj Sahni. Published by Hind Pocket Books, 1979.

References

^ ^a ^b Stumbling into films by sheer chance The Tribune, 2 September 2001.
^ Parikshit Sahni turns producer Mid Day, 04 May 2006."..My dad came from a literary background and taught English Literature at Shantiniketan. My mom who was doing her Bachelor's degree there, was expecting me then, and was about to give her exams. Tagore told her that I should be called Parikshit as she was giving pariksha, while I was still in her womb.
^ Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Punjabi Literature, by R. P. Malhotra, Kuldeep Arora. Published by Global Vision Pub. House, 2003. ISBN 8187746513. Page 434.
^ In Jhang Manghiane, an article by Balraj Sahni Modern Indian Literature an Anthology: Plays and Prose, by K. M. George, Sahitya Akademi. Published by Sahitya Akademi, 1992. ISBN 8172017839.Page 605.
^ Balraj Sahni awards announced Indian Express, 25 November 2003.
^ Prem Chopra, Bollywood's good old bad man talks about his nomination for the prestigious Balraj Sahni Award Times of India, 10 July 2006.

Autobiography of Balraj Sahani

External links

Balraj Sahni at IMDb

[tri-1] Stumbling into films by sheer chance The Tribune, 2 September 2001.

[2] Parikshit Sahni turns producer Mid Day, 04 May 2006."..My dad came from a literary background and taught English Literature at Shantiniketan. My mom who was doing her Bachelor's degree there, was expecting me then, and was about to give her exams. Tagore told her that I should be called Parikshit as she was giving pariksha, while I was still in her womb.

[3] Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Punjabi Literature, by R. P. Malhotra, Kuldeep Arora. Published by Global Vision Pub. House, 2003. ISBN 8187746513. Page 434.

[anth-4] In Jhang Manghiane, an article by Balraj Sahni Modern Indian Literature an Anthology: Plays and Prose, by K. M. George, Sahitya Akademi. Published by Sahitya Akademi, 1992. ISBN 8172017839.Page 605.

[5] Balraj Sahni awards announced Indian Express, 25 November 2003.

[6] Prem Chopra, Bollywood's good old bad man talks about his nomination for the prestigious Balraj Sahni Award Times of India, 10 July 2006.

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-'''Balraj Sahni''' ([[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]/[[Hindi]]: बलराज साहनी) ([[1 May]] [[1913]]&ndash;[[13 April]] [[1973]]) was a famous [[Hindi]] film actor. His real name was Yudhishthir Sahni (Punjabi/Hindi: युधिष्ठिर साहनी). He belonged to a Punjabi [[Khatri]] family from [[Bhera]] now in [[Punjab, Pakistan]].
+'''Balraj Sahni''' ([[Punjabi]]:ਬਲਰਾਜ ਸਾਹਨੀ [[Hindi]]: बलराज साहनी) ([[1 May]] [[1913]]&ndash;[[13 April]] [[1973]]) was a famous [[Hindi]] film actor. His real name was Yudhishthir Sahni (Punjabi/Hindi: युधिष्ठिर साहनी). He belonged to a Punjabi [[Khatri]] family from [[Bhera]] now in [[Punjab, Pakistan]].
 == Early life ==