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Kanhaiyalal Chaturvedi

Kanhaiyalal Chaturvedi

Acting

Biography

Kanhaiyalal was born in Varanasi into a theatrical family. His father, Pandit Bhairodutt Choube, owned a drama company but disapproved of his son’s interest in acting. Undeterred, Kanhaiyalal began working backstage and gradually transitioned into small stage roles. After his father's death, he moved to Bombay to pursue a career in cinema—initially aspiring to become a writer and director. However, fate had other plans, and he made his screen debut as an extra in Sagar Ka Sher. He rose to national and international fame for his iconic portrayal of the scheming moneylender Sukhilala in Mehboob Khan’s Mother India (1957), one of Indian cinema’s most legendary villains. He had originally played the same role in Aurat (1940), making him the first Indian actor to reprise a character in a remake 17 years later. Mother India also earned the distinction of being India’s first official entry to the Academy Awards (Oscars) for Best International Feature Film—cementing Kanhaiyalal’s performance in global film history. Known for his mastery of negative and elderly roles, Kanhaiyalal acted in over 100 films including Ganga Jamuna, Upkar, Apna Desh, Dushman, and Grahasti. He also wrote dialogues and lyrics for films like Sadhana. His cinematic legacy lives on through the 2022 documentary Naam Tha Kanhaiyalal, produced by his daughter Hemaa Singh. TMDB mini biography by: Ashvin Borad

Known For

Mother India
7.0

A poverty-stricken woman raises her sons through many trials and tribulations. But no matter the struggles, always sticks to her own moral code.

Mother India

1957
Hum Paanch
6.8

Tyrannical and wealthy Veer Pratap Singh, rules over a small town - ruthlessly. Whoever opposes him is crushed. He is attracted to women, and has a lengthy affair with Soundariya, and even has a secret marriage ceremony with her. When Soundariya gets pregnant, he asks her to abort the child. When she refuses, he shuns her, and denies ever having married her or even being intimate with her. Her brothers attempt to get justice, but are dealt with ruthlessly by Pratap Singh's bodyguard, Bhima. Soundariya then must garner support of herself, and must find someone who can stand up to Veer Pratap Singh and end his tyranny, in a town with men who have been subdued for eons by Veer Pratap Singh and his men for eons.

Hum Paanch

1980
Himalay Ki Godmein
6.0

Sunil Mehra has successfully completed his medical studies and is now a qualified doctor, who can now practice medicine anywhere in India. He chooses to do so in a small and remote Himalayan village without any doctor or any medical facilities. His doctor fiancee, Neeta, decides to accompany him, but is appalled at the lack of facilities, and leaves. Dr. Mehra must now decide to continue his work there or re-locate.

Himalay Ki Godmein

1965
Diwana
9.3

Meet Pyarelal, a simple-minded, naive young man, orphaned at birth, living with a Muslim landlady, Fatima, who treats him like her son. When the police arrest Pyarelal on the charge of murder, no one really believes that this harmless man could harm anyone, leave alone kill. Their belief is shattered when Pyarelal openly admits in Court that he has indeed committed this crime, and demands capital punishment for it.

Diwana

1967
Palkon Ki Chhaon Mein
10.0

When Ravi gets a job as a post officer in a village, he falls in love with Mohini, not knowing she loves another

Palkon Ki Chhaon Mein

1977
Apna Desh
4.5

When it's discovered that four prominent members of the community are crooks and black marketeers, young Akash (Rajesh Khanna) -- posing as an expatriate smuggler -- teams with his girlfriend, Chanda (Mumtaz), to expose them. But to nail the quartet -- a tradesman, a doctor and a builder, all led by a wealthy industrialist (Madan Puri) -- Akash must get them to confess their misdeeds while Chanda surreptitiously captures everything on film.

Apna Desh

1972
Satyam Shivam Sundaram
7.0

Rajeev falls in love with Roopa, a beautiful singer who hides the fact that half her face is disfigured. However, he soon discovers her secret after marriage and begins to ignore her.

Satyam Shivam Sundaram

1978
Biradari
7.0

Seema lives a wealthy lifestyle with her widowed mom in Bombay, India. Her mother is a compassionate soul who rents out several rooms in a self-owned building, which is occupied by very poor and nearly destitute people. Seema's mom often ends up looking after her tenants financially and also gives them ample time to find money to pay the rent. Seema, who wants a luxurious lifestyle, has sold the building to Bihari, and is all set to evict the tenants forcibly. Watch what happens when Seema's mother and Rajan decide to confront her to try and stop this sale.

Biradari

1966
Rishte Naate
10.0

Thakur Narendrapal Singh is a generous and kind-hearted landlord and zamindar. He has a daughter Kalpana and a son Raja. Distrusting his son and his new wife, Roopa, he asks a village laborer, Sunder who is honest, loyal and hardworking, to marry his daughter. In this manner, Sunder and Kalpana get married, and soon Kalpana gives birth to a daughter. Tragically Kalpana passes away, and the Thakur, Sunder, and the child are devastated. The Thakur asks Sunder to get married to Savitri, who is the daughter of his childhood friend, the local Collector. He hopes that in this manner the child will get the love of a mother. Sunder reluctantly agrees, and soon Savitri and he get married. Savitri is unable to win the love of the child nor does she get any affection from Sunder, as he is unable to get Kalpana out of his mind and thoughts. In the meantime, Roopa's dad is plotting the death of Sunder, so that his daughter can take over the wealth of the Thakur after his death.

Rishte Naate

1965
Chirag
7.0

When Ajay (Sunil Dutt) meets Asha (Asha Parekh), he mistakenly believes she's wealthy. The fact that she's not, however, doesn't prevent him from becoming smitten, and the couple soon marries with the full blessings of Ajay's family. Poverty is one thing, though, and childlessness quite another -- which Asha finds out the hard way. When she fails to produce an heir for the clan posthaste, her mother-in-law begins a search for her replacement.

Chirag

1969
Naukari
6.8

The comic, tragic and heartrending saga of Ratan Kumar Chaudhary, who leaves his village, aging mom and seriously ill sister, to obtain employment in Calcutta, only to end up in a tiny tenement apartment full of other unemployed youths.

Naukari

1954
Zindagi
8.0

Beena falls in love with Rajan after he rescues her from some goons. Soon they marry and she is pregnant. The trouble starts when Beena spends the night with Gopal. What compels her to do this?

Zindagi

1964
No image
8.0

Two close friends, Vimla and Chhaya, part ways when their friendship turns bitter. Years later, when Chhaya is arrested for a crime, Vimla, a lawyer, faces a moral dilemma.

Samaj Ko Badal Dalo

1970
Bandhan
8.0

Jeevanlal lives in a small village in India with his wife, Sita, a son, Dharmchand and daughter, Meena, and makes a living by stealing which causes great distress to his family.

Bandhan

1969
Grahasti
7.0

Drama about a large Indian family coping with revelations about the fathers past.

Grahasti

1963
Gunga Jumna
6.2

Widowed Govindi lives a poor lifestyle in Haripur along with two sons, Gungaram and Jumna. While Jumna is studious, Gungaram is the opposite, but has a good heart and decides to use his earnings to ensure his brother gets a decent education. After her employer, Hariram, accuses Govindi of theft, the shock kills her. After her passing, Gungaram works for Hariram while Jumna goes to the city to study and becomes a police officer. His first assignment is in Haripur, where he will be forced to confront Gungaram, who is now is the leader of a dreaded band of killer bandits.

Gunga Jumna

1961
The Test
6.8

The postmaster of a village receives a check for 500,000 rupees, for the purpose of bequeathing it to the village’s most upstanding citizen.

The Test

1960
Ram Aur Shyam
7.7

Abused by an oppressive brother-in-law Gajendra (Pran), Ramchandra (Dilip Kumar) runs away from home, and ends up in a small village where he is mistaken for Shyamrao (also Dilip Kumar), and must accept Ganga (Leela Mishra) and his new name or face severe exorcism. Meanwhile, Shyamrao is mistaken for Ramchandra by Anjana (Waheeda Rehman) and her dad (Nazir Hussain). When Gajendra finds out, he is enraged and attempts to beat the stuffing out of the person he thinks is his brother-in-law, but Shyamrao refuses to be abused or beaten, and all of a sudden things start changing in the household as well as in the community. It is not long before Gajendra finds out about the truth, and plans an ugly death for Shyamrao, and all those opposed to him.

Ram Aur Shyam

1967
Upkar
6.3

Widowed Radha lives in rural India in the 1960s, along with two sons: Bharat and Puran. While she would like to educate her sons and ensure that they lead good lives, she cannot do so on her own, and must sacrifice the career of one son so that the second can achieve this goal. Bharat sacrifices everything to educate his brother Puran. However, Puran turns into a greedy man and gets involved in drug trafficking in order to make money.

Upkar

1967
Dharti Kahe Pukar Ke
10.0

Gangaram, a farmer, has two younger step-brothers, Moti and Shivram. Supported by Gangaram, Moti has gone to Calcutta to be a lawyer, while Shivram is an illiterate farmer like Gangaram. A series of unfortunate events leads to an estrangement between the three brothers while they face the threat of losing their land to a local greedy moneylender.

Dharti Kahe Pukar Ke

1969