Balraj Sahni was born as Yudhishthir Sahni on 1 May 1913 Rawalpindi, Punjab, British India.
Today’s topic is an Indian film artist who attempted to convey a deep message through films such as ‘Hum Log,’ ‘Do Bigha Zamin,’ ‘Waqt,’ and ‘Kabuliwala.’ The artist who did not develop his own style but always attempted to affect social change through his on-screen character. Learn about the life of writer and actor Balraj Sahni, whose birthday is on May 1.
| Name | Balraj Sahni |
| Born On | May 1, 1913 |
| Parents | Not Known |
| Home Town | Rawalpindi, Punjab |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Religion | Hindu |
| Address | Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| School | N/A |
| College | Government College University, Lahore |
| Qualification | Masters Degree in English |
| Hobbies | Travelling, Dancing |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Wife | Santosh Chandhok (1949–1973), Damayanti Sahni (1936–1947) |
| Children | Parikshit Sahni, Shabnam Sahni |
| Debut | Door Chalen (1946) |
| Best Movies | Do Bigha Zamin (1953), Sone Ki Chidiya (1958), Satta Bazaar (1959), Waqt (1965), and Hamraaz (1967) among others |
| Salary | N/A |
| Net Worth | N/A |
| Official Website | N/A |
| Favourite Actor and Director | Guru Dutt |
Early life and career
He attended Gordon College and Government College in Lahore. He returned to Rawalpindi after finishing his master’s degree in English Literature in Lahore and joining his family’s business. In addition, he had a bachelor’s degree in Hindi. He married Damayanti Sahni not long after.
Sahni and his wife left Rawalpindi in the late 1930s to work as English and Hindi teachers at Tagore’s Visva-Bharati University in Shantiniketan, Bengal. Parikshit Sahni was born here while his wife Damayanti was pursuing her bachelor’s degree. In 1938, he also worked for a year with Mahatma Gandhi.
Sahni was always interested in playing and began his career with the Indian People’s Theatre Association’s shows (IPTA). In fact, his wife Damayanti rose to prominence as an IPTA actress much before Sahni developed a name for himself in cinema. He began his cinematic career in Bombay with the 1946 picture Insaaf, which was followed by Dharti Ke Lal, directed by KA Abbas, Damayanti’s debut film, Door Chalein, and other films.
Dilip Kumar recomended Balraj Sahni
Balraj Sahni used to live every character in his life in order to bring them to life. K Asif cast Balraj as a jailer in the 1951 film ‘Hustle,’ at Dilip Kumar’s request. Balraj, too, was ecstatic about his role and travelled to Arthur Road Jail with Asif. It was decided that he would spend some time with the jailer preparing for his role.
Meanwhile, one day Balraj joined a procession in which Sahni was arrested along with many others when violence erupted and he arrived at the jail. Then, one day, K. Asif arrived at the jail to meet him, and after recognising Sahni, the jailer granted him permission to shoot while he was incarcerated. After that, Sahni would leave for the film’s set in the morning and return to the jail in the evening. While in jail, he shot for the film ‘Hustle’ for about three months.
Do Bigha Zamin
The tale of Balraj’s involvement with the film ‘Do Bigha Zamin’ is also intriguing. Before casting Balraj, Bimal Roy considered Ashok Kumar, Trilok Kapoor, and Nazir Hussain. After seeing Balraj Sahni’s film ‘Hum Log,’ Bimal decided that Balraj would play the lead role in this film. When he dialled Balraj’s number, he arrived at Bimal’s office wearing a suit and boots. Bimal was taken aback when he saw him because he did not appear to be capable of playing the role of a young rickshaw puller from any angle.
‘Mr. Sahni, you do not fit the character at all,’ Bimal said to Balraj. My film’s protagonist is a poor rickshaw puller.’ Sahni advised Bimal to watch his film ‘Dharti Ke Lal’ at least once. Bimal saw the film and was pleased, so he cast Balraj in the role. Balraj used to pull rickshaws on the streets of Bombay for hours every day after that to prepare for his role.
Marriage
Balraj married Damayanti Sahni, the heroine of his film Gudiya, in 1936. However, he died at a young age. Balraj married Santosh Chandok two years later, in 1947. Balraj enjoyed swimming as well. It is said that they used to swim from one end of the lake to the other. Aside from that, he was heavily involved in social work. Balraj, the communist ideology’s champion, had a soft spot for the working class.
Relationship with Gandhi
Yudhishthira Sahni was Balraj Sahni’s real name. Balraj, who was born in May 1913 in Bhera, Punjab (now Pakistan), had a strong interest in education, which led to him earning an MA in English Literature and working as a lecturer at Rabindranath Tagore’s Shantiniketan. He collaborated closely with Mahatma Gandhi in 1938. He went to London in 1939 through him and worked as a radio announcer for the BBC for four years.
When he arrived in India in 1943, he became a member of the People’s Theater Association (IPTA). Here he met Khwaja Ahmed Abbas, who later gave Balraj Sahni a role in the 1946 film ‘Dharti Ke Lal.’ However, Balraj rose to prominence with the 1951 film ‘Hum Log,’ and two years later, ‘Do Bigha Zamin,’ which proved to be a watershed moment in his career.
Bharat Bhushan and Balraj Sahni
Bharat made a number of films about being referred to as the elder brother. Two of these films, ‘Basant Bahar’ and ‘Barsaat Ki Raat,’ were huge successes, and Bharat Bhushan became wealthy as a result. He received a large sum of money. Bharat Bhushan’s brother Ramesh encouraged him to make more films after that. Bharat Bhushan followed in his brother’s footsteps. But, alas, all of his subsequent films were flops. In such a situation, Bharat Bhushan became engrossed in pie and drowned in debt.
Bharat Bhushan lost everything he had worked for. His bungalows and cars had been sold, but he insisted, “I have no problem.” But he was in agony one day when he had to sell the books in his library for the price of garbage.
Bharat Bhushan had become very upset in the final days of his life. Prestige, wealth, and fame had all been snuffed out. The topmost hero, who used to roam in expensive vehicles, now sees people standing in the bus line. Bharat Bhushan had fallen gravely ill in recent days. But there was no one to treat them and no one to look after them. He died in abject poverty on January 27, 1992.