Born in Rawalpindi on May 1,1913 he graduated from Goverment college in Lahore.He mastered in English and had his bachelor's degree in Hindi. A great human being, artiste and actor, he started his career as Hindi broadcaster in BBC and then moved to Bombay to join films. An articulate writer ,he had passion for reading contributed short stories and poems in magazines.
His movie break came in DHARTI KE LAL in 1946 followed by highly acclaimed and successful film DO BIGHA ZAMEEN in 1953.
Jag Parvesh Chandra former congress leader and friend of Balraj Sahni wrote in Hindustan Times in an aricle published on Sept 12 2000 :
Balraj Sahni had a handsome, radiant face and transparent personality and the warm, carefree abandon with which he mixed with others endeared him to all. He had a very sensitive, literary bent of mind. He wrote poems in English and was also fond of writing stories. A few of these appeared in Ravi, the monthly college journal. Prem Bhatia, one of the most reputed and respected journalists of our times, was its editor at that time. Prem Bhatia, Balraj and myself were class fellows in Government College, Lahore, in the early Thirties.
Balraj was very fond of theatre. I saw him on stage in the role of a young lady in a delightful play called The Man Who Ate the Popomack.While watching him in that frivolous role, little did I know at that time that one day the young Balraj would develop into one of India's foremost screen actors.
After doing his MA in English, Balraj went back to his hometown of Rawalpindi and joined his father in the family business. But business did not interest him. In early 1937, Balraj,along with his newly married wife Damyanti, came to my house and we went to the improvised hut of our common friends, the Bedis.
A scheme was hatched there to bring out a weekly English paper. Besides Balraj and
myself, B.P.L. Bedi and his British wife Freda (the parents of the famous screen actor Kabir Bedi), with Ramesh Chander, formed the group that launched the paper. It was called Monday Morning. In those days, besides The Tribune, a nationalist daily, there was the pro-British Civil and Military Gazette published from Lahore. On Mondays, neither of them brought out any edition. So, thinking that there would be a ready clientele for our weekly venture, we brought it out on Monday, naming it Monday Morning. The paper became the mouthpiece of the nationalist movement and was a success from the start.
Balraj, however, fell ill and left us soon after. There were also other vistas that pulled him away. A few months after he left, we learnt that he, along with his wife, had reached Shantiniketan and got the job of a Hindi teacher.
His political consciousness was full of depth. It took him to Sevagram in 1938 to work for Gandhiji?s new venture of Basic Education. He was too excited to live with the saint-politician.
After the war started in 1939, Balraj, with the permission of Gandhiji, went to London to workin the BBC. He was there for four years.
In 1955, Balraj led the Indian Youth Delegation to the World Youth Festival held in Warsaw, Poland. He then went to China as a member of the Indian film delegation led by Prithviraj Kapoor.
In 1960, Balraj went on a tour of Pakistan and wrote Mera Pakistani Safar. In 1969, he flew to the Soviet Union and wrote Mera Roosi Safarnama. The book won the Soviet Land Nehru Award.
In 1944, Balraj entered a new phase of life in Bombay. He got his first break in the film Justice.
Later, he made his name in Hum Log as an unemployed youth. However, his talent was finally recognised in Do Bigha Zamin.
It was in this film that he achieved his reputation as a serious actor.
Since he believed that film had become a powerful medium influencing the minds of millions,he acted in over 100 films. His commendable contribution to the films earned him the Padma Shri.
Sometimes he dreamt of establishing a simple abode on the lines of Shantiniketan after returning back to Punjab. But following a heart attack in 1973, death took him away and along with that withered away his dream of having, his own little Shantiniketan?.
His movie break came in DHARTI KE LAL in 1946 followed by highly acclaimed and successful film DO BIGHA ZAMEEN in 1953.
Jag Parvesh Chandra former congress leader and friend of Balraj Sahni wrote in Hindustan Times in an aricle published on Sept 12 2000 :
Balraj Sahni had a handsome, radiant face and transparent personality and the warm, carefree abandon with which he mixed with others endeared him to all. He had a very sensitive, literary bent of mind. He wrote poems in English and was also fond of writing stories. A few of these appeared in Ravi, the monthly college journal. Prem Bhatia, one of the most reputed and respected journalists of our times, was its editor at that time. Prem Bhatia, Balraj and myself were class fellows in Government College, Lahore, in the early Thirties.
Balraj was very fond of theatre. I saw him on stage in the role of a young lady in a delightful play called The Man Who Ate the Popomack.While watching him in that frivolous role, little did I know at that time that one day the young Balraj would develop into one of India's foremost screen actors.
After doing his MA in English, Balraj went back to his hometown of Rawalpindi and joined his father in the family business. But business did not interest him. In early 1937, Balraj,along with his newly married wife Damyanti, came to my house and we went to the improvised hut of our common friends, the Bedis.
A scheme was hatched there to bring out a weekly English paper. Besides Balraj and
myself, B.P.L. Bedi and his British wife Freda (the parents of the famous screen actor Kabir Bedi), with Ramesh Chander, formed the group that launched the paper. It was called Monday Morning. In those days, besides The Tribune, a nationalist daily, there was the pro-British Civil and Military Gazette published from Lahore. On Mondays, neither of them brought out any edition. So, thinking that there would be a ready clientele for our weekly venture, we brought it out on Monday, naming it Monday Morning. The paper became the mouthpiece of the nationalist movement and was a success from the start.
Balraj, however, fell ill and left us soon after. There were also other vistas that pulled him away. A few months after he left, we learnt that he, along with his wife, had reached Shantiniketan and got the job of a Hindi teacher.
His political consciousness was full of depth. It took him to Sevagram in 1938 to work for Gandhiji?s new venture of Basic Education. He was too excited to live with the saint-politician.
After the war started in 1939, Balraj, with the permission of Gandhiji, went to London to workin the BBC. He was there for four years.
In 1955, Balraj led the Indian Youth Delegation to the World Youth Festival held in Warsaw, Poland. He then went to China as a member of the Indian film delegation led by Prithviraj Kapoor.
In 1960, Balraj went on a tour of Pakistan and wrote Mera Pakistani Safar. In 1969, he flew to the Soviet Union and wrote Mera Roosi Safarnama. The book won the Soviet Land Nehru Award.
In 1944, Balraj entered a new phase of life in Bombay. He got his first break in the film Justice.
Later, he made his name in Hum Log as an unemployed youth. However, his talent was finally recognised in Do Bigha Zamin.
It was in this film that he achieved his reputation as a serious actor.
Since he believed that film had become a powerful medium influencing the minds of millions,he acted in over 100 films. His commendable contribution to the films earned him the Padma Shri.
Sometimes he dreamt of establishing a simple abode on the lines of Shantiniketan after returning back to Punjab. But following a heart attack in 1973, death took him away and along with that withered away his dream of having, his own little Shantiniketan?.
