IS Johar was born on 16 February 1920 in Talagang now Pakistan British India He completed MA degree in Economics and Politics before completing his LLB In 1947 during the Partition crisis Johar was visiting Patiala with his family for a wedding when riots broke out back home in Lahore He could never go back and thereafter he worked in Jalandhar for a while and his family remained in Delhi before he eventually moved to Bombay where he made his acting debut with Roop K Shoreys Ek Thi Ladki 1949