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Balraj Sahni

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Balraj Sahni
Born
Yudhishthir Sahni

(1913-05-01)1 May 1913
Rawalpindi, Punjab, British India
(present-day Punjab, Pakistan)
Died13 April 1973(1973-04-13) (aged 59)
Bombay, Maharashtra, India
Occupation(s)Actor, writer
Years active1946–1973
Political partyCommunist Party of India[1]
Spouse(s)
Damayanti Sahni
​
​
(m. 1936; died 1947)​

Santosh Chandhok
​
(m. 1951)​
Children3, including Parikshit Sahni
Relatives
FamilyAnand–Sahni family
HonorsPadma Shri (1969)[2]

Balraj Sahni (born Yudhishthir Sahni; 1 May 1913 – 13 April 1973) was an Indian film and stage actor, who is best known for Dharti Ke Lal (1946), Do Bigha Zameen (1953), Chhoti Bahen (1959), Kabuliwala (1961), Waqt (1965) and Garm Hava (1973). He was the brother of Bhisham Sahni, noted Hindi writer, playwright, and actor.[1]

Early life

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Balraj Sahni with his wife Damayanti, 1936.

Sahni was born on 1 May 1913 in Rawalpindi, Punjab, British India.[3] His father belonged to the Arya Samaj organization, a Hindu reformist movement, and stressed the importance of social reforms as well the independence movement also admiring individuals such as Gandhi and Tagore, which would instill an early idealism in the mind of Sahni.[4] His son Parikshit Sahni would say that, later in his life, Sahni would keep such idealism but with a non-religious approach, as he'd identify with Marxism[5] and declare himself an atheist.[6]

He studied at Government College (Lahore) and Gordon College.[7] 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.[8] 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.[9] 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, and his wife died in 1947 at age 26. In 1951, he remarried, to writer Santosh Chandhok; they remained married until his death in 1973.[10] While at the BBC, Sahni worked alongside George Orwell.[11]

Career

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Sahni was always interested in acting, and started his acting career with the plays of the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA).[8] Incidentally, his wife Damayanti became well known as an IPTA actress much before Sahni made a name for himself in films.[12] He started his film career in Bombay with the film Insaaf (1946), followed by Dharti Ke Lal directed by Khwaja Ahmad 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 (1955), Sone Ki Chidiya (1958), Sutta Bazaar (1959), Bhabhi Ki Chudiyaan (1961), Kathputli (1957), Lajwanti (1958) and Ghar Sansaar (1958). His character roles in films such as Neelkamal (1968), Ghar Ghar Ki Kahani (1970), Do Raaste (1969) and Ek Phool Do Mali (1969) 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 (1965). 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 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

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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.[13] 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 film 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. In the 1950s he inaugurated the Library and Study Centre for the underprivileged in Delhi.

His acting in Do Bigha Zameen (1953) and Garam Hawa (1973) 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 novel Tamas. His son Parikshit Sahni is also an actor. Balraj Sahni died on 13 April 1973 of a massive cardiac arrest, at age 59. He had been depressed for some time by the untimely death of his young daughter, Shabnam; she died a year earlier.[10]

Punjabi Kala Kender, founded in 1973 at Bombay by Balraj Sahni, gives away the annual Balraj Sahni Award,[14] also given by the All India Artists Association.[15]

Filmography

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Sahni on a 2013 stamp of India
Year Title Role Notes
1946 Dharti Ke Lal
Door Chalen
Badnami
1947 Gudia
1948 Gunjan
1950 Dharti Ke Lal
1951 Maaldar
Hum Log Raj
Hulchul The Jailer
1952 Badnam
1953 Akash
Rahi Doctor
Do Bigha Zamin Shambhu Maheto
Chalis Baba Ek Chor
Bhagyawan
1954 Majboori
Aulad
Naukari
Bazooband Surajmal
1955 Tangewali
Seema Ashok "Babuji"
Joru Ka Bhai
Jawab Dayal
Garam Coat Girdharilal "Girdhari"
1956 Taksaal Jatin Mukherjee
Era Bator Sur Assamese film
1957 Krishna Sudama
Pardesi Sakharam
Mai Baap Chandan
Lal Batti
Kath Putli Loknath
Do Roti Shyam / Masterji
Bhabhi Ratan
1958 Sone Ki Chidiya Shrikant
Naya Kadam
Lajwanti Nirmal Kumar
Khazanchi Radhe Mohan
Ghar Sansar Kailash
Ghar Grihasti
Devar Bhabhi
1959 Chand Mr. Kapoor
Black Cat Agent Rajan
Satta Bazaar Ramesh
Heera Moti Dhuri
Chhoti Bahen Rajendra
C.I.D. Girl Mohan
1960 Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere Panchu Dada
Anuradha Dr. Nirmal Chaudhary
Nai Maa
Bindya Devraj
1961 Bhabhi Ki Chudiyan Shyam
Sapne Suhane Shankar
Suhag Sindoor Ramu
Kabuliwala Abdul Rehman Khan
1962 Shaadi Ratan R. Malhotra
Anpadh Choudhary Shambhunath
1963 Akela
1964 Satluj De Kande Ram Praksh Malhotra Punjabi Film
Haqeeqat Major Ranjit Singh
Main Bhi Ladki Hoon Ganga
Punar Milan Dr. Mohan / Ram
1965 Dak Ghar Andhe Baba
Waqt Lala Kedarnath
Faraar Detective Officer
1966 Aaye Din Bahar Ke Shukla
Pinjre Ke Panchhi Yaseen Khan
Neend Hamari Khwab Tumhare Khan Bahadur
Laadla Barrister Brij Mohan
Aasra Surendranath Kumar
1967 Hamraaz Police Inspector Ashok
Naunihaal Principal
Ghar Ka Chirag
Aman Gautamdas' dad
1968 Izzat Thakur Pratap Singh
Sunghursh Ganeshi Prasad
Neel Kamal Mr. Raichand
Duniya Public Prosecutor Ramnath Sharma
1969 Ek Phool Do Mali Kailashnath Kaushal
Do Raaste Navendu Gupta
Talash Ranjit Rai
Nanha Farishta Dr. Ramnath
Hum Ek Hain
1970 Nanak Dukhiya Sab Sansar Subedar Varyam Singh
Holi Ayee Re Thakur Mangal Singh
Mere Humsafar Ashok
Pehchan Ex-Firefighter
Pavitra Paapi Pannalal
Naya Raasta Bansi
Ghar Ghar Ki Kahani Shankarnath
Dharti Inspector General Chandrashekhar (Bharat's Father)
1971 Paraya Dhan Govindram
Jawan Mohabbat Dr. Sareen
1972 Jawani Diwani Ravi Anand
Jangal Mein Mangal Thomas
Shayar-e-Kashmir Mahjoor Ghulam Ahmed Mahjoor
Mangetar
1973 Chimni Ka Dhuan
Pyaar Ka Rishta Ashok
Hindustan Ki Kasam
Hanste Zakhm S.P. Dinanath Mahendru
Daman Aur Aag Shanker
Garam Hava Salim Mirza
1977 Amaanat Suresh
Jallian Wala Bagh Udham Singh (final film role)

Works

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  • Balraj Sahni: An Autobiography, by Balraj Sahni. Published by Hind Pocket Books. [Meri Filmi Aatmakatha in Hindi]
  • Mera Pakistani Safarnama (Punjabi), 1960.
  • Mera Russi Safarnama (Punjabi), 1969.
  • Kamey (Labourers) (Punjabi)
  • Ek Safar Ek Daastaan (Punjabi)
  • Gair Jazbaati Diary (Punjabi)

References

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  1. ^ a b "Why we should remember Balraj Sahni". The Tribune India. 10 December 2016. Archived from the original on 11 January 2019.
  2. ^ "Padma Awards | Interactive Dashboard". Archived from the original on 27 January 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  3. ^ Singh, Paramjit (24 April 2010). "Born to act". The Tribune (Chandigarh). Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  4. ^ Sangghvi, Malavika (23 September 2013). "Remembering Balraj-ji". Business Insider.
  5. ^ Sahni, Parikshit (17 November 2019). "When my father Balraj Sahni showed the ills of capitalism to me in Kashmir". The Print.
  6. ^ Sahni, Parikshit (1 May 2021). "Book extract: Balraj Sahni and the pursuit of excellence". Cinestaan. Retrieved 10 December 2024. Listen, son, this is not a film set. For me this is holy ground. I am not religious. I am an atheist. I don't believe in god. I don't go to temples or churches or gurdwaras. This is a place of worship for me. For me, work is worship.
  7. ^ Yasin, Aamir (23 July 2017). "Gordon College — legacy of the colonial era". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 26 July 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  8. ^ a b Stumbling into films by chance Archived 6 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine The Tribune, 2 September 2001.
  9. ^ Parikshit Sahni turns producer Archived 8 July 2012 at archive.today Mid-Day, 4 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.
  10. ^ a b ""Dad was a broken man" Parikshat Sahni's remembers father Balraj Sahni". filmfare.com. Archived from the original on 1 September 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  11. ^ Pai, Gita V. (2014). "Orwell's Reflections on Saint Gandhi" (PDF). Concentric: Literary and Cultural Studies. 40 (1): 57. doi:10.6240/concentric.lit.2014.40.1.04. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 September 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  12. ^ "BALRAJ SAHNI : The Gentleman Actor by S. S. JOHAR". Archived from the original on 16 December 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  13. ^ In Jhang Manghiane, an article by Balraj Sahni Archived 1 September 2023 at the Wayback Machine Modern Indian Literature an Anthology: Plays and Prose, by K. M. George, Sahitya Akademi. Published by Sahitya Akademi, 1992. ISBN 81-7201-783-9.Page 605.
  14. ^ Balraj Sahni awards announced Archived 1 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine Indian Express, 25 November 2003.
  15. ^ Prem Chopra, Bollywood's good old bad man talks about his nomination for the prestigious Balraj Sahni Award Archived 22 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine The Times of India, 10 July 2006.

Further reading

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Balraj Sahni.
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