Kanhaiyalal Chaturvedi

Acting

Kanhaiyalal Chaturvedi

Born 1910-01-01 · Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

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

Acting credits

Mother India poster
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 poster
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

Diwana poster
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

Malhar poster
7.0

Two lovers Ratan and Reshmi are torn apart by Reshmi's scheming, cruel brother, Anand. After the death of his father, Anand banishes Ratan from the house and gets Reshmi married to his wealthy friend.

Malhar

1951

Daag poster
7.5

Shankar and Paro love each other, but their relationship is strained by his drinking problem and Paro's sudden wealth.

Daag

1952

Neelam poster
8.0

An early romantic comedy staring Meena Shorey and Harish

Neelam

1945

Insaan poster
9.0

A philosophical drama follows a disillusioned man's journey to rediscover his lost humanity in a society that has forgotten what it means to be a true human.

Insaan

1952

Daku Aur Jawan poster
10.0

Birju and Ramu are brothers and have a friendly bond with each other, They do a lot of pranks with the villagers, but the pressure of the landlord and the urban bad guy Bhairon Singh leads villagers to pay a fee for their lands to work on them. This leads Ramu to join the army as a Jawan (Soldier). Bhairon Singh, with the help of Thakurain, plans to frame Birju as a criminal on the night of Janamashtmi. Bhairon Singh brutally rapes Ganga and steals the entire wealth from the safe of her father.

Daku Aur Jawan

1978

Satyam Shivam Sundaram poster
6.6

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

Dost poster
7.0

Maanav is an orphan who was brought up by a Catholic Priest. After completing his M.A. he returns home and finds out that his mentor is dead. He re-locates to Bombay and a man named Gopichand Sharma attempts to steal his luggage. The men become friends - Gopichand eventually changes his lifestyle, decides to be honest. Maanav gets him a job with Hercules Milk Foods. Maanav meets with and falls in love with the daughter of the owner of Hercules Milk Foods, much to the chagrin of her Dad. Then one day Maanav disappears from Gopichand and Kaajal's lives. He re-locates to Simla and it is here that he learns that things have spiraled out of control.

Dost

1974

No artwork available
10.0

1939 Mehboob Khan film

Ek Hi Raasta

1939

Dulhan Ek Raat Ki poster
7.0

Arrogant son of a wealthy, blind woman, rapes his mother's nurse and abandons her. She gets pregnant but the child does not live, and she continues to live her life and follow up on her love life, only to face the past, and her "reformed" rapist.

Dulhan Ek Raat Ki

1967

Chirag poster
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

Dharti Kahe Pukar Ke poster
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

Jeevan Mrityu poster
6.9

An honest bank manager is arrested for embezzlement on the eve of his marriage. After his release, he seeks out his fiancee and decides to take revenge on his colleagues, who falsely implicated him.

Jeevan Mrityu

1970

Sitara poster
10.0

No synopsis available yet.

Sitara

1980

Meri Bhabhi poster
10.0

A simple-minded, yet loving young couple, Rajoo (Sunil Dutt), and his wife Maya, who allow their child to be adopted by Rajoo's sister-in-law/Bhabhi, Shanti (Kamini Kaushal). Shanti's child was still-born after an accident. But Shanti does not know this, and believes the child to be her own. She is misled and misguided by Gangajali (Lalita Pawar), and as a result Rajoo and Maya are humiliated, not allowed to come near the child, asked to leave the house, and ultimately are charged with kidnapping the child. Rafi's joyful song "Aaj mera haal na poocho..."; and Lata's lullaby "Sohya mera pyar aanchal me pehli bar...", are still popular on radio.

Meri Bhabhi

1969

Meri Surat Teri Ankhen poster
10.0

Raj Kumar is a wealthy businessman and dislikes everything ugly. When his wife, Kamla, becomes pregnant and gives birth to an ugly son, he asks the attending Dr. Mathur to inform his wife that their child was still-born. Dr. Mathur places the child in the hands of Rahmat and his wife, Naseeban, who welcome him with open arms. But misfortune follows them, as the child, who is named Pyare, accidentally burns their dwelling down, killing Naseeban. Rahmat then re-locates to his village when he teaches Pyare the skills required to play musical instruments and sing. Years later, Rahmat passes away, and informs Pyare that he is really a Hindu. Dr. Mathur fills the rest of the blanks for Pyare, and arranges a song and dance play and hopes that Raj will overcome his dislike for his now-grown son.

Meri Surat Teri Ankhen

1963

Gunga Jumna poster
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

Ram Aur Shyam poster
7.6

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

Biradari poster
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

Bandhan poster
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

Daadi Maa poster
7.0

Parvati seeks to heal the breach between her husband and his mother

Daadi Maa

1966

Gharana poster
6.3

A mother and daughter create bitterness, hatred, acrimony and discord in a wealthy family.

Gharana

1961