Early Life
Balraj Sahni went from Rawalpindi to study in the Government College, Lahore. He completed his Masters degree in English Literature from Lahore and then went back to Rawalpindi and joined his family business. Balraj Sahni also had a Bachelor's degree in Hindi. Soon after , he married Damayanti Sahni.In the late 30s, Balraj Sahni along with his wife Damayanti, left Rawalpindi to join Tagore's Shantiniketan in Bengal as an English and Hindi teacher. Later he also went to work with Gandhi-ji for a year in 1938. In 1939, Sahni with Gandhiji's blessings went to England to join the BBC-London's Hindi service as a radio announcer. He returned back to India in 1943.
Balraj Sahni was always interested in acting. He started his film career in Bombay with the film Dharti Ke Lal (1946). It was followed by Door Chalen (1946), and other films. But it was in 1953, with Bimal Ray's classic Do Bigha Zameen that Balraj Sahni's true forte as an actor was first recognised.The film won the international prize at the Cannes Film festival .
Balraj Sahni's wife Damayanti passed away at a young age in 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 has acted opposite top heroines like Nutan, Meena Kumari, Vyjayanthimala and Nargis in films like Seema (1955), Sone ki Chiriya ((1958)), and Kuthputli (1957).
Later life
Balraj Sahni was a gifted writer. 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.He was a recipient of the Padma Shri. He 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 Sahni is mostly identified by the present generation with the evergreen song, ''Aei Mere Zohra Jabeen'' in the film Waqt, where he appears opposite actress, Achala Sachdev.
His brother Bhisham Sahni was a well-known writer who wrote Tamas. His son Parikshit Sahni is also an actor. Balraj Sahni had also written the movie ''Baazi'' for Dev Anand, the movie was directed by Guru Dutt.
Balraj Sahni died on April 13th, 1973 at age 60, of a massive cardiac arrest. He had been depressed for sometime by the untimely death of his young daughter, Shabnam.
Filmography
External links
* http://www.3to6.com/final_retro/balraj.htm
Biography courtesy of the brilliant Wikipedia!
