Balraj Sahni, a legendary actor who was also known as Yudhishthir, was born on this day 110 years ago, on May 1, 1913 in Rawalpindi. He was known for effectively bringing the lives and hardships of the ordinary people on the big screen. In his illustrious career, Balraj Sahni collaborated with ace performers and beautiful actresses like Meena Kumari, Nargis and Nutan. People like watching his flicks even today and also the songs from his movie have its share of admirers.
Balraj Sahni is considered as one of the finest and most natural actors hailing from the golden era of Indian cinema. His performances in Indian classics such as ‘Do Bigha Zamin’ (1953) and ‘Kabuliwala’ (1961) are considered master-classes in the art of acting.
In this article, we’ll list out five of his best performances.
Dharti Ka Lal
The 1943 Bengal famine and the plight of the farmers were shown very authentically in the movie ‘Dharti Ka Lal’ (1946). This Balraj Sahni movie received rave reviews and was well accepted by the audiences.
Do Bigha Zamin
Bimal Roy’s film ‘Do Bigha Zamin’ (1953) became the first Indian film to win an international prize at the Cannes Film Festival. In this film, Balraj Sahni co-starred with Nirupa Roy. The film was based on a poem by Rabindranath Tagore and is considered as a trend setter film of Indian cinema.
Waqt
The story and soundtrack from Balraj Sahni’s multistarrer film ‘Waqt’ (1965) are still popular with audiences. Rajkumar, Shashi Kapoor, Sharmila Tagore, Sadhna and Jeevan played prominent roles in the film while the song “Aye Meri Zohrazabeen” has a fan following across all generations.
Ghar Sansar
‘Ghar Sansar’ (1958) was a smashing success in which actress Nargis portrayed the character of Balraj Sahni’s wife. It was directed by VM Vyas and starred Rajendra Kumar and Kumkum in prominent roles.
Kabuliwala
The film ‘Kabuliwala’ (1961) was based on Rabindranath Tagore’s short story of the same name. Balraj gave a notable performance as Abdul Rehman Khan Kabuliwala in this classic.
