Rediscovering Balraj Sahni, Cinema’s Most Gifted Yet Misfit Actor

On Balraj Sahni’s birth anniversary, discover lesser-known facts about the iconic neo-realist actor.

Balraj Sahni has left behind a formidable body of work.

(Photo courtesy: Facebook)

Balraj Sahni was a poet at heart. Though he had always been passionate about acting and theatre, his journey to Indian cinema is worthy of being the subject of a film itself. Sahni is best known for his realistic performances in films like Bimal Roy’s Do Bigha Zamin (1953), Satta Bazar (1959), Kabuliwala (1961), Waqt (1965) and Garam Hawa (1974), to name a few.

Here’s rediscovering the gifted actor and writer on his birth anniversary, through a few lesser known facts about his life and love for cinema.

Balraj Sahni believed in neo-realistic cinema, seen here in a still from Do Bigha Zameen (1953)

Balraj Sahni had a deep love for language. He held a graduate degree in Hindi and a masters degree in English literature from Punjab University. Being an extremely well read and politically conscious intellectual, Sahni was a writer of great repute in English and Punjabi literature. Do Bigha Zameen (1953) established his potential and dedication as an actor. For the film Sahni reportedly practiced pulling a rickshaw with passengers on it, in the scorching heat of Kolkata. And he did it with bare feet! The actor remained a committed socialist and an active member of IPTA throughout his life.

Remembering the legendary Balraj Sahni on his birth anniversary

Balraj Sahni also worked with Mahatma Gandhi for a year in 1938 and with his help, found the opportunity to work with BBC London’s Hindi service as a radio announcer.

According to a write-up in The Hindu, Balraj Sahni was an advocate of Hindustani, and favoured the language developed by the common man. Speaking at a convocation at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in the 1972, Sahni said:

A rough and ready type of Hindustani is used by the working masses all over India…Today in this <i>bazaari</i> Hindustani the word university becomes <i>univarsti</i>–a much better word than <i>vishwavidyalaya</i>, lantern becomes <i>laltain</i>, the chassis of a car becomes <i>chesi</i>, spanner becomes <i>pana</i>, ie anything and everything is possible... This Hindustani has untold and unlimited possibilities. It can absorb the international scientific and technological vocabulary with the greatest of ease. It can take words from every source and enrich itself. One has no need to run only to the Sanskrit dictionary.

Balraj Sahni

His simple persona and sophisticated demeanour made him one of India’s greatest actors. Sad as it is, his potential remained largely ignored in a film industry geared towards over-the-top melodrama from actors. Sahni’s contribution to cinema was honoured with the Padma Shri Award in 1969.

Balraj Sahni as Salim Mirza of Garam Hawa (1974) offered one of his best performances, comparable to any in world cinema. Sadly, he succumbed to a massive cardiac arrest soon after he finished dubbing for it, just a few weeks short of his 60th birthday.

Balraj Sahni with his son, actor Parikshit Sahni in a rare photograph (Photo: diplomat.anandweb.com)

Khushwant Singh’s tribute to Sahni mentions that when he went to Sahni’s house to pay his respects soon after the actor’s demise, he found on his table - an open Guru Granth Sahib, that he must have been reading not long before he passed away.

He is perhaps best remembered by the current generation for the popular song Ae Meri Zohra Jabeen picturised on him, from the film Waqt (1965).

(This story is from The Quint’s archives and was first published on 1 May 2015. It is being republished to mark Balraj Sahni’s birth anniversary.)