Parikshit Sahni Age, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Stage name	Ajay Sahni
Profession	Actor
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 170 cm in meters- 1.70 m in feet & inches- 5’ 7”
Eye Colour	Dark brown
Hair Colour	Salt & pepper
Career
Debut	Film: Hindi- Hulchul (1951) Punjabi- Marhi Da Diva (1989)
Personal Life
Date of Birth	1 January 1939 (Sunday)
Age (as of 2025)	86 Years
Birthplace	Muree town, district Rawalpindi, United Provinces of British India (now, Pakistan)
Zodiac sign	Capricorn
Signature
Nationality	Indian
School	• Shri Shivaji Preparatory Military School in Pune • Lawrence School, Sanawar
College/University	• St. Stephen’s College, Delhi • Sir J. J. School of Art in Mumbai • Cinema Institute in Moscow
Educational Qualification	• 1 year Fine Arts degree at Sir J. J. School of Art in Mumbai • A bachelor’s degree in Architecture in Moscow but dropped out midway to pursue direction, scriptwriting, and editing at Cinema Institute in Moscow
Religion	Since childhood, Parikshit was an athiest; however, he became spiritual when read the holy scriptures of several religions such as the Bhagavad Gita, the Quran, and the Bible.
Hobby	Painting
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Married
Family
Wife/Spouse	• First wife- Aruna Sahni (deceased) • Second wife- Nandini Sahni (Surgeon based in Jaipur)
Children	Daughter- Aditi Sahni and Tania Sahni (from first marriage) Son- Varunjai Sahni (Jaipur based abstract artist) (from second marriage)
Parents	Father- Balraj Sahni (Indian actor and teacher) Mother- Damayanti Sahni (Indian actor) Step-mother- Santosh Chandhok (Author and television writer)
Siblings	Sister- Shabnam Sahni (1947-1972) Half-sister- Sanober Sahni (step mother Santosh Chandhok)
Other relative(s)	Uncle- Bhisham Sahni (Hindi fiction writer)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Parikshit Sahni

• Parikshit Sahni is a well-known Indian actor who began his acting career as a child artist in the film Hulchul (1951). Later, he appeared in several critically acclaimed Bollywood films including 3 Idiots (2009) and PK (2014).
  

  Parikshit Sahni as Jaggu’s father in a still from the film ‘PK’ (2014)

• Parikshit Sahni spent most of his childhood in boarding schools since his father, Balraj Sahni, was an activist in India’s fight for freedom against the Britishers. Balraj and his wife Damayanti Sahni were associated with the Communist Party of India.

• At the time of Parikshit’s birth, his parents were teachers at Shantiniketan in Bengal after which they both went to London. His father then worked as a radio announcer for BBC London.

• His mother, Damayanti, was a social worker and worked in the slum. She contracted a disease called Amoebic dysentery, due to the consumption of contaminated water following which she suffered from a cardiac arrest, and passed away at the age of 26.

• After his mother passed away, Parikshit’s father married Santosh Chandhok, who was an author and television writer, in 1951.

• Parikshit spent his childhood in several cities including Kashmir, Dharamshala, and Ambala.

• When Parikshit graduated from St. Stephen’s College in Delhi, he went to Moscow to study Architecture; however, he dropped the course midway to pursue acting as he struggled with mathematics and could not clear the aptitude test.

• Parikshit Sahni wanted to be a director. He wrote the script of the Hindi film ‘Pavitra Paapi’ (1970) and intended to direct it; however, the producer of the project made him act as a lead in the film instead of directing it. During the shooting of this film, Parikshit’s stage name was Ajay Sahni.
  

  Official poster of the film ‘Pavitra Paapi’ (1970)

• In the beginning, Parikshit Sahni adopted the screen name Ajay Sahni on the advice of his very close friend Sanjeev Kumar. But after the accident, he changed his screen name back to his real name, as he says that it was his new birth when he recovered from the injuries.

• He injured his backbone while shooting for ‘Veer Shivaji’. It took a whole year for him to recover.

• He became a household face after the blockbuster Bollywood film 3 Idiots (2009) in which he played the role of Farhan’s father, Mr. Qureshi; Farhan’s role was played by R. Madhavan.
  

• In 2019, Parikshit wrote a book titled ‘The Non-Conformist: Memories of My Father Balraj Sahni’,’ which was a biography of his father.
  

  Parikshit Sahni’s book ‘The Non-Conformist Memories of My Father Balraj Sahni’published in 2019

• Parikshit Sahni is often spotted smoking and consuming alcohol at various events.
  

  Parikshit Sahni holding his alcoholic beverage