Balraj Sahni was born in Rawalpindi and he studied at the Government College of Lahore. A graduate in Literature, he taught Hindi and English at Shantiniketan and wrote his first compilation of Hindi fiction, 'Shahzadon Ka Drink' in 1936. He also worked as a journalist and briefly as a radio announcer for BBC's Hindi service, besides setting up the Monday Morning journal in Delhi. A man with genuine social conscience with leanings towards the left. He became a key personality in the Indian People's Theatre Association (I.P.T.A.) when he came to Mumbai in 1947.

He began his tryst with Hindi cinema with a walk-on part in Phani Majmudar's Insaaf (1946). His first real film was also director-writer K. A Abbas's first film, Dharti Ke Lal (1946), the only film produced by I.P.T.A. Set in the days of the 1943 Bengali famine, the film's symbol-laden realism influenced many later films. While, Balraj Sahni won accolades for his performance in the film, it didn't do much to kick-start his career.

Bimal Roy's Do Bigha Zameen happened in 1953 and is perhaps Balraj Sahni's most well known film. He had to shed his sophisticated air and undergo a total transformation to portray as a son of the soil. The culminating scene in the film is unforgettable with the wretchedness of human defeat written on Sahni's face as he sees a factory built on his land.

Balraj Sahni continued his commitment to good, serious cinema with films like Garam Coat (1955), Anuradha (1960) and Kabuliwallah. But he also dabbled in commercial cinema in lead roles opposite actresses like Nargis, (Lajwanti, Ghar Sansar 1958), Meena Kumari (Satta Bazar 1959, Bhabhi Ki Chudiyan , 1961), Vyajayantimala (Kathputli 1957) and Nutan (Seema 1955, Sone Ki Chidiya 1958).

Even in the commercial films, as in the offbeat ones, Balraj Sahni brought a rare dignity, depth and grace to his portrayals. Truly, Balraj Sahani was a legend we will always miss this talented man

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