On Balraj Sahni's birth anniversary, let's salute the first method actor of India

Balraj Sahni never acted. He was a method actor before method acting was invented. Long before immersive acting came into vogue, Balraj learnt to own his characters as though they were part of his DNA.

And yet the Hindi film industry never acknowledged his greatness. At a time when shrieking and ranting were considered great (they still are) Balraj chose to underplay all his characters even in heavy melodramas like Ghar Grihasti, Devar Bhabhi, Ghar Sansar, Bhabhi(a big hit), Chhoti Bahen and Shaadi.

In the early stages of his film career, he was either made to play the husband in heroine-oriented films like Lajwanti, Bhabhi Ki Chudiyaan, Anuradha, Seema, Bhabhi and Sone Ki Chidiya. Or else he played the lead in neo-realistic cinema which had its roots in the progressive Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA).

Commercial Indian cinema just didn’t know where to position the unadorned genius of Balraj Sahni. Not until Raj Khosla ’s Do Raaste in 1969 where Balraj gave a profoundly moving performance as the patriarch desperately trying to keep the family together, did Balraj Sahni find commercial success.

Early on he started with the neo-realism of K A Abbas’ Dharti Ke Lal where Balraj had a strong though supportive role. Hemen Gupta’s Kabuliwala was a rare instance of a lead role for Balraj in the 1960s. As a homesick Afghan dry fruit seller in Kolkata who misses his daughter, Balraj has moved generations to tears. This great performance came at a time when filmmakers cast him as the hero’s elder brother or the heroine’s reluctant husband. Satta Bazar in 1959 and Bhabhi Ki Chudiyaan in 1961 revolved completely around Meena Kumari’s character, though admittedly Balraj was outstanding as the husband

In 1953 Bimal Roy gave Balraj his first of several memorable roles in Do Bigha Zameen . As the emaciated rickshaw puller Shambhu, Balraj Sahni actually plied the rickshaw on the streets of Kolkata, unrecognizable in his dirty dhoti and unkempt appearance. When Om Puri played a rickshaw wallah in Roland Joffe’s The City Of Joy he modelled his performance on Sahni’s method acting.

Some think Balraj Sahni was greater in M S Sathyu’s Garam Hawa . I think the performance in Do Bigha Zameen is every bit as honest as Garam Hawa. Initially, Balraj was hesitant about doing the role in Garam Hawa of a Muslim patriarch divided between India and Pakistan. He asked his colleague from IPTA Shaukat Kaifi if he would be able to pull off Salim Mirza‘s part. Shaukat assured him that only he could do it. To prepare for the part Balraj Sahni had gone and stayed with a family in Bhiwandi, an area populated by Muslims. Balraj Sahni as Salim Mirza gives what many film experts consider the one single-most flawless performance in the history of Hindi cinema. He gets into the skin of his character and inhabits the inner-most recesses of Salim Mirza’s soul. You really don’t see Balraj Sahni on the screen. You see this Muslim patriarch of a disintegrating family who never stops believing in his God even when he seems busy elsewhere.

Incidentally, the dialogues of Garam Hawa were dubbed from the artistes’ memory! Director M S Sathyu thought there was no point in recording in the noisy streets of Agra. So they edited a ‘silent’ film and then invited all the artistes from Mumbai, Delhi and Agra to dub. Balraj had to dub without sound on screen. And the tape containing the dialogues was lost. He had to relive the emotions through his imagination. As Balraj was from theatre it wasn’t difficult for them to remember their lines while dubbing.

Balraj Sahni died the day after he finished dubbing for Garam Hawa. When he had finished his dubbing he wasn’t satisfied with one line. So he called director Sathyu over to re-dub that line at Raj Kamal Studios. Sathyu went there at lunchtime and re-recorded that one line.

And then, there was silence.

Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based film critic who has been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out. He tweets at @SubhashK_Jha.

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