Sajjan (actor)

Born on January 15, 1921 in Jaipur, his full name was Sajjan Lal Purohit. But he was known by his first name in the Indian Film Industry. Sajjan did his graduation from Jaswant college, Jodhpur. He had a desire to be a lawyer, but not an actor.

In 1941, he arrived in Calcutta and worked as an apprentice in a laboratory of East India Company. His initial breakthrough in films was as an extra in films such as Masoom (1941) and Chowringhee (1942). Sajjan left Calcutta during World War II and reached Mumbai. In Mumbai he worked as an assistant to famous director Kidar Sharma. At that time, the great showman Raj Kapoor also worked as an assistant to Kidar Sharma. He also worked as assistant to Gajanan Jagirdar and Vakil Sahib and got Rs.35 as salary.

A poet by heart, Sajjan showed his talent when he wrote dialogues for Meena (1944) and lyrics for Door Chalen (1946) and Dhanyavad (1948). Sajjan also acted in small roles in Prithvi Theatre. His acting debut film was Dhanyavad. After that, Bombay Theatre's Muqaddar was released in 1950. The heroine was Nalini Jaywant.

By then Sajjan was well established in the films. In the 1950s and 1960s, Sajjan acted as hero or side-hero in films such as; Sainya, Rail Ka Dibba, Bahana, Sheesha, Malkin, Nirmohi, Kasturi, Mehmaan, Lagan, Girl School, Paridhaan, 00 Dulhe, Ghar-Ghar Mein Diioali, Haa-Haa-Hee-Hee-Hoo-Hoo, Poonam Jhanjhar and Halla-Gulla. As hero, his last film was Kabuliwala, Do Chor, and as an artist he last appeared in the 1986 release Shatru with Rajesh Khanna. An artist of more than 150 films, Sajjan also worked in TV serials. In Vikram Aur Betaal he played Betaal. His other serial was Lena-Dena.

• Sajjan at IMDb
• Sajjan's interview