Kanhaiyalal Chaturvedi

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

0.2517

Gender

Male

Birthday

01-Jan-1910

Age

(116 years old)

Place of Birth

Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

Also Known As
  • Kanaiya Lal
  • Lala
  • Munim
  • Sukhilala
  • Kanhaiyalal

Kanhaiyalal Chaturvedi

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


Credits

Dharti Kahe Pukar Ke Dharti Kahe Pukar Ke (1969) Character: N/A
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.
चिराग चिराग (1969) Character: N/A
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.
Jeet Jeet (1949) Character: Thakur Kalyan Singh
India has finally won independence from British rule, and there are signs of progress among the population. One such sign of progress is in the village where two childhood sweethearts, namely Jeet and Vijay live. Vijay lives with his mom and brother Ratan. Ratan, who lives abroad, returns home to India, with all new ideas of progress and advancement. This is not met well with some of the villagers, including Jeet and Vijay themselves. Ratan overhears a conversation that Vijay is not his real brother, and asks Vijay to leave the house, despite of his mother's protests. Self-respecting Vijay leaves the house, and Ratan plans to marry Jeet, and schemes with some villagers that will revolutionize his plans for progress, and make Vijay the culprit.
Lal Haveli Lal Haveli (1944) Character: Chacha
Mukta and Anand are childhood friends and love each other. But Mukta belongs to higher social class than Anand and her family wants to arrange her marriage with Jawahar, son of a rich man.
Ghunghat Ghunghat (1960) Character: N/A
An adaptation of Rabindranath Tagore's 1906 Bengali story Noukadubi (The Wreck).
Daadi Maa Daadi Maa (1966) Character: N/A
Parvati seeks to heal the breach between her husband and his mother
Naata Naata (1955) Character: N/A
A woman describes the relationship between her sister and a postmaster
Buzdil Buzdil (1951) Character: N/A
Two brothers fall in love with the same girl, but the girl loves younger brother creating an intriguing love triangle.
Nai Roshni Nai Roshni (1941) Character: Mohan
A neglected wife, Indira, schemes to win back her philandering bank manager husband, Bihari. She uses an unwitting musician, Madan, as a pawn, making him fall for her until her husband's jealousy is ignited. Once Bihari returns, Madan is quickly married off to the daughter of a poor clerk, Mohan, to neatly tie up the loose ends.
Gaali Gaali (1944) Character: N/A
An unusual story of Mangala, a young blind widow who believes her deceased husband still communicates with her
Aasra Aasra (1941) Character: Ticket Examiner
Aasra revolves around the life of Chanda (Sardar Akhtar), a sweet girl, who runs away from her house after her forcefully arrangement of marriage and meets with Chandan (Amar), a kind man in train and pretends to be married and worked in a Hotel. However, she meets with him again to save her life from an evil man and he pretends to be her husband. But they fell in love after an accident and this causes chaos and complications leading to consequences.
Radhika Radhika (1941) Character: Mohant
Radha is deeply devoted to Lord Gopal and spends her days in worship and spiritual pursuit. Her beauty and piety attract the attention of the Jagirdar, a powerful and wealthy man, who desires to marry her. However, Rasha is uninterested in worldly attachments and seeks only spiritual fulfillment.
Gramophone Singer Gramophone Singer (1938) Character: N/A
Thakur’s music-dominated debut tells of a love triangle involving the famous gramophone singer Sundardas (Surendra) who is happily married to Mohini (Prabha), and the even more popular singer Tilottama (Bibbo), who falls in love with Sundardas’s voice and wants them to sing a duet and have an affair. Ghosh Babu (Advani) is the manager of the record label.
Neelam Neelam (1945) Character: N/A
An early romantic comedy staring Meena Shorey and Harish
Insaan Insaan (1952) Character: N/A
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.
Ramayani Ramayani (1945) Character: N/A
Ramayani is a 1945 Hindi mythological film directed by Sarvottam Badami for Purnima Productions. The music direction was by S. N. Tripathi with lyrics written by Bekal Several films were made in that era based on the Ramayana. Vijay Bhatt made his famous Ram Rajya (1943), and Purnima Productions made their version of the epic, titling it Ramayani The film starred Pahari Sanyal, Nargis, Chandra Mohan, Rose, Kanhaiyalal and Amirbai Karnataki [Wikipedia]
औरत औरत (1940) Character: Sukhilala
Radha is a resolute mother, who strives hard against poverty and a lecherous money lender to feed her two sons who grew up with contrasting temperament.
ग्रहस्ती ग्रहस्ती (1963) Character: Station Master Ram Swarup
Drama about a large Indian family coping with revelations about the fathers past.
Dulhan Ek Raat Ki Dulhan Ek Raat Ki (1967) Character: N/A
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.
औरत औरत (1967) Character: N/A
A woman responsible for her mother and 7 siblings faces challenges after marrying a widower with 6 children.
Zindagi Zindagi (1964) Character: N/A
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?
समाज को बदल डालो समाज को बदल डालो (1970) Character: Kundanlal
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.
Duniyadari Duniyadari (1977) Character: Mevalal Sahukar
A Bollywood drama.
दोस्त दोस्त (1944) Character: Lobhi Chand
A cruel uncle usurps his niece's inheritance, but a kind doctor and his wife help her reclaim it. Their lives intertwine with betrayal, a scheming dancer, and ultimate vindication, proving that providence always intervenes.
एक ही रास्ता एक ही रास्ता (1939) Character: Banke
1939 Mehboob Khan film
Ram Rajya Ram Rajya (1967) Character: N/A
1967 film by Vijay Bhatt
जादू टोना जादू टोना (1977) Character: N/A
A family is plagued by the vengeful spirit of a murdered man who uses the body of an innocent child to enact his revenge.
Mr. Sampat Mr. Sampat (1952) Character: Seth Makhanlal Jhaverimull Gheewala
The charming Mr. Sampat weaves his way into theatrical company with his moneymaking schemes, only to cause the everyone involved to go bankrupt, including Malini, the young actress who has fallen in love with him.
Meri Surat Teri Ankhen Meri Surat Teri Ankhen (1963) Character: Rahmat
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.
Shri Krishnarjun Yudh Shri Krishnarjun Yudh (1945) Character: Narad
Chitrasen inadvertently humiliates Gabal Rishi, who approaches Bhagwan Shri Kishan and prays that the former be punished. Kishanji readily agrees to punish Chitrasen by beheading him with the Sudarshan Chakra. When no amount of pleas for mercy are adhered to, a compassionate Subhadra, moved by Chitrangini's plight, asks her spouse, Arjun, to intervene. The later, at first, refuses to take up arms against Kishanji, his friend, but subsequently relents - resulting in war - that will not only end their friendship - but may well also destroy the universe and annihilate Arjun, his brothers and their entire army.
नूर महल नूर महल (1965) Character: N/A
A story of a revenge taken by Vir Singh in greediness to get the throne of his brother, who was the real king.
Malhar Malhar (1951) Character: N/A
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.
Sahara Sahara (1958) Character: Chaudhary Gaman Singh
Sahara is a 1958 Indian Bollywood film directed by Lekhraj Bhakri. The film stars Meena Kumari in the lead role of Leela and relates her life story.
Meri Bhabhi Meri Bhabhi (1969) Character: N/A
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.
Bahut Din Hue Bahut Din Hue (1954) Character: Pujari
Kidnapped by a villainous sorcerer, young mother Balanagamma (Pushpavalli) remains in captivity for more than 12 years, spurning her captor's sexual advances with claims of being in the midst of a long-term penance ritual. In her absence, her son has grown to adulthood -- and is determined to rescue his missing mother.
Ram Aur Shyam Ram Aur Shyam (1967) Character: N/A
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.
Bharosa Bharosa (1963) Character: Raunaklal
Ramdas is a trusting individual, and trusts everybody around him. When times turn bad for him, he entrusts the life of his son, Bansi, to his trusted employee, Ronaklal, and departs. He regularly sends money to Ronaklal to provide for the upkeep of his son, but Ronaklal uses this money to educate his son, Deepak, keeps Bansi uneducated, and makes him do a lot of manual work. Years pass by, Ronaklal is now crippled, and is dependent on Bansi, as Deepak has left him, got married to a wealthy girl, and lives with his in-laws. Ronaklal is unable to show his face to Ramdas, and avoids him, and Bansi has grown up without knowing who his real father is. Will Ronaklal be able to tell Ramdas the truth when he returns, or will be just let Deepak be the sole heir to all the estate and the property?
ऊँचे लोग ऊँचे लोग (1965) Character: Master Gunichand
A blind, principled Major Chandrakant takes in a stranger on the run, unaware the man murdered his younger, irresponsible son who had abandoned a pregnant woman, leading to her suicide. The Major's elder son, a police inspector, is investigating the murder, creating a dramatic conflict of duty, family, and justice.
Gaban Gaban (1966) Character: N/A
Based on novel by Munshi Prem Chand. Believing himself to be a suspect for embezzlement in British India, a man must testify against non-violent freedom-fighters.
दोस्त दोस्त (1974) Character: Gadibabu
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.
नौकरी नौकरी (1954) Character: Hari
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.
Bandhan Bandhan (1969) Character: N/A
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.
Himalay Ki Godmein Himalay Ki Godmein (1965) Character: Ghoghar Baba
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.
Jeevan Mrityu Jeevan Mrityu (1970) Character: Jagat Narayan
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.
हमलोग हमलोग (1951) Character: Lalaji / Haricharandas
An impoverished family faces illness and financial challenges after one of them is sent to prison.
Apna Desh Apna Desh (1972) Character: Sevaram
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.
Diwana Diwana (1967) Character: Kaka
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.
मदर इण्डिया मदर इण्डिया (1957) Character: Sukhilala
A poverty-stricken woman raises her sons through many trials and tribulations. But no matter the struggles, always sticks to her own moral code.
Gharana Gharana (1961) Character: N/A
A mother and daughter create bitterness, hatred, acrimony and discord in a wealthy family.
दाग दाग (1952) Character: N/A
Shankar and Paro love each other, but their relationship is strained by his drinking problem and Paro's sudden wealth.
सत्यम शिवम सुंदरम सत्यम शिवम सुंदरम (1978) Character: Pandit Shyam Sunder
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.
बिरादरी बिरादरी (1966) Character: Rammurthy 'Dudhwala'
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.
Palkon Ki Chhaon Mein Palkon Ki Chhaon Mein (1977) Character: N/A
When Ravi gets a job as a post officer in a village, he falls in love with Mohini, not knowing she loves another
बनफूल बनफूल (1971) Character: Muninji
Haria lives with his widowed and elderly grandmother at a tea estate and works as Elephant Driver. He has no knowledge of his biological father, as his mother died at the time of his birth. He meets and falls in love with a gypsy girl, Gulabi, and both want to get married. But Gulabi has another suitor, none other than Ajay, the only son of the tea estate owner. When Ajay finds out that Gulabi loves Haria, he plans to get rid of Haria, but fails. He waits for the right moment, and has his men abduct Gulabi. But before he could have his way with her, she is rescued by Raja, but Ajay subsequently shoots Raja to death. An enraged Haria wants to kill Ajay in return, but Ajay's dad stops him from doing so. Then Ajay's dad finds out a secret about his past life, and decides to change his last will and testament. Ajay finds out about this and lays in wait with a shotgun to kill his very own father - and anyone else who dares to stand in his way
उपकार उपकार (1967) Character: N/A
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.
Daku Aur Jawan Daku Aur Jawan (1978) Character: N/A
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.
परख परख (1960) Character: Pandit Tarkalankar
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.
गंगा जमुना गंगा जमुना (1961) Character: Kallu
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.
डोली डोली (1969) Character: N/A
Amar and Prem, college friends, and Asha and Shobana form friendships. Marriages are arranged, but dowry demands a US ticket. Prem returns, becomes office predator, and Asha endures harassment to pay off debts.
Son of India Son of India (1962) Character: Paro's dad
The film is based on an incredible true story about a village woman who gets lost at a railway station and waits fourteen years for her husband to come.
Rishte Naate Rishte Naate (1965) Character: N/A
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.
Hum Paanch Hum Paanch (1980) Character: Lala Nainsukh Prasad Srivastav
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.
हीरा हीरा (1973) Character: Dhaniram
A man is arrested for murder but escapes and becomes a bandit to clear his name and find the real killers.



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