Motilal

Motilal Rajvansh (1910–1965) was an Indian film actor and the winner of Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for Devdas (1955) and Parakh (1960). He is credited with being among Hindi cinema’s first natural actors.

He also directed a film Chhoti Chhoti Baatein (1965) but died before its release. At the 13th National Film Awards, it won the award for Certificate of Merit for the Third Best Feature Film and he posthumously won Certificate of Merit for the Best Story Writer.

Early life and background

Born in Shimla on 4 December 1910, Motilal came from a distinguished family from Delhi. His father was a renowned educationist, who died when Motilal was one year old. He was brought up by his uncle who was a well-known civil surgeon in Uttar Pradesh. At first, Moti was sent to an English school at Shimla and later, in Uttar Pradesh (UP). Thereafter he shifted to Delhi where he continued with school and college.

Acting career

Motilal Rajvansh said of his screen career with characteristic humour: