Balraj Sahni

BIOGRAPHY :

Balraj Sahni was a man whose art reflected the times he lived in. Actor, writer, theatre person, he was many things at different times but a committed Leftist throughout his life. Born and educated in what is now Pakistan, he graduated in Literature and taught Hindi and English at Shantiniketan, worked as a journalist and briefly as a radio announcer before stepping into films. A leading actor with IPTA (Indian People’s Theatre Association), he starred in IPTA’s only film production, K.A. Abbas's debut, Dharti ke Lal (1946). The film documented the plight of famine-torn Bengal during World War II and paved the way for more socialist and realist dramas. Sahni even courted arrest for his leftist leanings during a clampdown on Communists post the war. Hum Log (1951) was a box-office hit as was Bimal Roy’s brilliant Do Bigha Zameen (1953) in which he played a hapless, thwarted rickshaw puller whose land has been wrest off him. He even directed the film Lal Batti - a sensitively wrought work woven around the theme of partition. Sahni interspersed his serious films like Kabuliwalla with mainstream films opposite leading heroines including Nargis, Madhubala and Nutan and later achieved success with character roles in films like Haqeeqat (1964), Waqt (1965), Do Raaste (1969), Ek Phool Do Mali (1969) and Mere Humsafar (1970). M S Sathyu`s Garam Hawa (1973) was arguably his most masterful performance after evoking the hardships faced by the Muslim minority in the north during Partition.

ACTED IN THE MOVIES OF SUPER STAR RAJESH KHANNA :

1) Aradhana - 1969
2) Doli - 1969