Motilal

Motilal was India’s first natural actor. The actor was born in Shimla on December 4, 1910. He is still remembered for portraying the role of ‘Chunni Babu’ in Bimal Roy’s Devdas, which he acted with Dilip Kumar. Since then he has been described as one of the best actors of all times in Indian cinema. Few actors followed his footsteps like Balraj Sahni, Yakub or even Nasseruddin Shah. But everyone lacked the spontaneity he had as an actor. He was effortlessly a natural actor that everyone felt he was not at all acting. That was his grace and credibility as an actor. He dodged the style of theatrical acting. It is noteworthy that previous actors like Sohrab Modi and Prithviraj Kapoor relied on theatrical acting. His natural acting had paved the way for actors like Dilip Kumar, or even Balraj Sahni. Even Dilip Kumar used to emulate his sophisticated style and natural acting principles. This actor started his career in 1934 with film ‘Shaher Ka Jadoo’.

He first acted with Sagar film company later switched to film under Ranjit Studios. His memorable films include Taqdeer(1943), Armaan(1942) and Kaliyan(1944). He also had an excellent comic timing and excelled even in protagonist roles. He proved to be a versatile actor since he had an excellent education and had a liberal mindset too.

In mid-1950’s he acted in films of Shambhu Mitra’s ‘Jaagte Raho’ and Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s ‘Anari’(1959) which were critically acclaimed and even was a crowd-puller too. He was also known for having an affair with Shobhana Samarth ( mother of Nutan and Tanuja). He had the most tempestuous relationships ever with Shobhana, and even he used to write love letters to her. Shobhana too had a soft corner for Motilal as he resembled her father. Motilal had a flying license, and he hired a plane and flew over Shobhana’s cottage throwing love letters with stones. Motilal also had a relationship with Nadira. He led a stylish life always but died penniless in 1965.

He enjoyed playing races and loved gambling too. The actor turned director and made film ‘Chhoti Chhoti Batein’ in 1965 but before the film could release, he passed away. The film received the National Award after his demise.