Film Impressions

REDISCOVERY: Balraj Sahni

THE ACTIVIST ACTOR

Balraj Sahni  was unarguably one of the best actors Indian cinema ever produced.  If he hasn’t got his rightful place in the pantheon of stars, it was because he was always an actor and a gentleman, and, unfortunately passed away before the celebrity-worshipping culture came into being. 

RE-DISCOVERY: Motilal

THE GENTLEMAN

Motilal Rajvansh is credited with being among Hindi cinema’s first natural actor actors. At a time when stars like Prithviraj Kapoor and Sohrab Modi relied on theatrical performance, Motilal breezed in with his modern sensibilities and paved the way for actors like Dilip Kumar to emulate his stylised sophistication.