By Jagmohan Singh Barhok
Motilal, gifted with a natural ability to both act & react, is rated as one of the finest actor and show man in his own right. He was an aristocrat who lived in style like a King. Most people compared him with Balraj Sahni.
Born at Simla in Punjab, Moti Lal came from a reputed family. His father was an educationist who died when the latter was an infant. He has had his schooling at Simla & Uttar Pradesh. He later shifted to Delhi. Motilal started working in films as early as in mid 1930s.Some of his earlier films include,” Hum Tum Aur Woh” ( 1938) directed by Mehboob Khan, “Achhut” ( 1940),”Pardesi” ( 1941),”Shaadi” with Khursheed,& “Armaan” ( 1942). He, however,got recognition in Bimal Roy’s “Devdas”( 1955) featuring Dilip Kumar ( Devdas) ,Vyjayantimala (Chandramukhi) , Suchitra Sen ( Paro) & Moti Lal as Chunni Babu. The film’s lyrics were penned by Sahir & music scored by S.D.Burman. His performance won him Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award in 1955.”Devdas” was followed by Raj Kapoor’s “Jagte Raho” (1956) & Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s “Anari” ( 1959),a musical extravaganza & . The film won Filmfare Awards in 5 categories including President’s Silver Medal.
