He was not a star nor a superstar, but he shone with the brilliance of the Pole Star or the Dhruv Tara, which is perched high in the sky. He was not just an actor, but one of the most well educated persons, a journalist, a radio announcer, a writer and a Leftist activist. In short he was a Titan and a legend, a man called Balraj Sahni .
He was a Titan among actors, and a man beyond compare. Words like stardom and superstardom paled into insignificance before him as he was well beyond that. He was in a league of his own where none could even dream of reaching. This article is a very humble tribute to one of the greatest actors of Hindi cinema.
In fact I am surprised that Mouthshut didn?t put this legend?s name in the list of Bollywood personalities. This is simply unforgivable. What made Balraj Sahni one of the greatest actor of all times? The 50?s and 60?s were the decade when over the top acting and hamming were a norm in Bollywood. And Balraj Sahni?s greatest achievement was that he imbued his portrayals with a sensitivity and dignity rarely found in Bollywood. Subtle and endearing that was what Balraj Sahni?s portrayals were.
To date I don?t recall him going over the top in any movie. Even in a rank commercial movie like Jawani Diwani where every actor vied with each other in going over the top, Balraj Sahni lent a poise and dignity to his role. That was his greatness that even in typical commercial movies like Waqt, Ek Phool Do Mali , Do Raaste he would always stand out from the rest of the cast with his sober and dignified portrayals. Its for this reason that I consider him one of the greatest actors of all time.
Balraj Sahni was a graduate of the Govt Degree College in Lahore along with other alumni like B.R.Chopra, Khushwant Singh . He taught English and Hindi at Shantiniketan and was also an announcer for BBC?s radio service in Hindi. He was one of the pioneer founders of IPTA(Indian People?s Theater Association). He achieved fame with plays like Zubeida and the Inspector General.
He made his movie debut in K.A.Abbas?s offbeat venture Dharti Ke Lal in 1946 about disposed peasants. He got his first major commercial break with K.Asif?s Hulchul in 1951 co starring Dilip Kumar and Nargis. He was arrested for his communist leanings and K.Asif had to seek special permission to shoot the scenes involving him. 1951 also saw him writing the story and script for Guru Dutt?s box office success Baazi . Guru Dutt, Dev Anand and Balraj Sahni saw their careers taking off with this movie. But Balraj Sahni?s uncompromising nature as a writer saw him settling down as an actor.
1953 was the year Balraj Sahni broke into public consciousness with Bimal Roy?s classic epic of urban poverty Do Bigha Zameen . Balraj Sahni was one of the few method actors of Bollywood along with Dilip Kumar and Sanjeev Kumar.
Bimal Roy was hesitant to offer the role of the illiterate poor peasant Shambu to him, as in real life he was Westernized and well educated, in fact Balraj Sahni fit the description of an English gentleman to the core. But to get into the skin of the character, he dressed like a rickshaw puller and actually drove a rickshaw through the streets of Kolkata to get into his character. And when the movie was released, Balraj Sahni?s performance left an indelible mark on the people of India.
As the poor unlettered peasant Shambu who fights for his two acres of land, Balraj Sahni gave a performance which would rank among the greatest performance not only in Indian cinema, but even in international cinema. What you see on screen is not Balraj Sahni but the poor unlettered peasant Shambu. The same dedication would be displayed for the 1961 movie Kabuliwala where he actually lived with real life Kabuliwalas to prepare for the role. Can any one forget the song ?Ae Mere Pyaare Watan? where he bought tears to the eyes of viewers with his poignant portrayal?
Balraj Sahni was one of the pioneers of neo realistic movies and his first such appearance was in the 1995 movie Garam Coat an off beat story of a postal clerk who hankers after a winter coat. During the 50?s he also worked in mainstream movies like Seema where he played the reformist head of an orphanage and Sone Ki Chidiya where he played a radical poet. In the meanwhile Sahni contributed regularly to Nai Kahani a Hindi magazine edited by his brother Bhisham Sahni.
He also penned poems, stories and his own autobiography Meri Film Aatmakatha. 1960 also saw him in Hrishikesh Mukherjee?s Anuradha where he played an idealistic doctor who neglects his young and beautiful wife. 1964 saw him playing the battalion officer in Chetan Anand?s war classic Haqeeqat and once again Balraj Sahni ?s performance was nothing short of brilliant.
I can never forget the scene when he comes and salutes his superior officer though he has lost a leg, with the song ?Kar Chale Hum Fida ? in the background. Balraj Sahni touches you so much, that it was hard for me to hold back my tears. The Technicolor era of the 60?s saw the rise of escapist movies with over the top performances and hamming. Yet even during this period Balraj Sahni bought a measure of dignity and restraint to his performances in movies like Waqt, Ek Phool Do Mali, Mere Humsafar, Sungursh, Anpadh to name a few.
The 70?s saw him starring again in a multitude of roles like the family head in Do Raaste , in Pavitra Papi with his son Parikshit Sahni and a host of other movies. But he acted again in one of his greatest performances in the 1973 Partition drama Garam Hawa directed by M.S.Sathyu. He played a muslim shoemaker in Agra who has to decide whether he needs to stay in India or migrate. One of Sahni?s greatest performances again and tragically his last as he succumbed to the maker in 1973.
Balraj Sahni is gone physically but he lives in our heart through a series of unforgettable performances. His combination of intelligence, dignity, restraint and subtlety made sure, that he would always be in a league of his own. Balraj Sahni was a Titan among actors and it would be a Herculean task for any to even reach his heights. Indian cinema can always be justifiably proud of this great man.