Balraj Sahni

Balraj Sahni was an Indian film and stage actor, who is best known for Dharti Ke Lal, Hum Log, Do Bigha Zameen, Chhoti Bahen, Kabuliwala, Waqt and Garm Hava. He was the brother of Bhisham Sahni, the Hindi writer, playwright, and actor. He won a Filmfare Special Award for outstanding contribution to Indian films in 1970.

Early life

Sahni was born on 1 May 1913 in Rawalpindi, British Punjab into a Punjabi Hindu family. 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. 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 and declare himself an atheist.
He studied at Government College, Lahore and Gordon College, Rawalpindi. 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, 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. While at the BBC, Sahni worked alongside George Orwell.

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

Filmography

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

Works

Balraj Sahni: An Autobiography, by Balraj Sahni. Published by Hind Pocket Books.
Mera Pakistani Safarnama, 1960.
Mera Russi Safarnama, 1969.
Kamey
Ek Safar Ek Daastaan
''Gair Jazbaati Diary''