Dev Anand - Romancing Life at 83

Urstruly,

That was a very poignant writing, rarely do I praise a pakistani.

Regards

Jay

"Guide" was DevSaab's film no doubt, but a lot of its success and abiding appeal is surely because of Waheeda Rehman's luminous presence and her fantastic dancing and acting abilities.

"Dev was a grander version of what Shah Rukh Khan is now - a star with limited acting talent."

Absolutely apt comparison.Shah Rukh is also a bundle of mannerisms and tricky gestures that have captured the Jantha's minds, even though he is not even handsome.
The story about Devji and Suraiyya has various versions.One says that her family were very controlling, especially since she was the goose that was laying the golden eggs for all of them to live off. Common story in the lives of many successful film actors.But these days some of them are breaking away from or even sueing the family for misuse of earnings.
Anyway, Suraiyya's family are supposed to have forbidden her from marrying him and he married Kalpana Kartik (who was considered much less beautiful and talented than Suraiyya) on the rebound.
Suraiyya was supposed to be bonkers about Gregory Peck whom she met and was photographed with, probably when he visited India/Bombay. So I guess it was easy for her to fall for DevSaab who is supposed to resemble Peck.
The sad part is that she died under mysterious circumstances a few years ago and there was a free-for-all by near and dear ones (??) to claim all the extensive property she owned.
I wonder if the book will also throw some light on the actual and real story on the loves of his life to edify curious people like me!!

Urstruly:

That was a moving story and you are a wonderful narrator. I hope you would return to chowk with some new fiction.

Naqsh:

Dev may not be a good actor but he does not have the reputation of being a lech. In fact, in a culture of Kanjarpana, he has a very good reputation and his female costars have vouched for his sharafat. And unlike, Raj, Dilip, Dharmendra and others, his personal life has not been surrounded by scandals. But yes, he refuses to act his age.

i don't think that Dev Anand could act to save his life!
His over-acting is nauseating and his continuing leching over nublile young maidens at his old age is just embarrasing.

He can de described as 'an old lech!'

Of all the Bollywood actors the one who displays most dignity in his older age is Dharmendra and, also, Raj Kapoor ji as well before he died as does his younger brother Shashi Kapoor. They are very well mannered and spoken...

I have pleasure and honor of meeting Dev twice. The first time I met him he was in Oslo. I was visiting my uncle there, who was one of the biggest fan of Dev ever. As a matter of fact all of the older generation - my father and my uncles - were Dev's fans. But this uncle literally worshiped Dev. This fact became so obvious when on the day when we were going to see Dev, he pulled out a 50s syle off white pants with really narrow legs and a shirt in sharp red color.Probably he had seen Dev in that get up in one of his movies. My aunt was looking at her husband with tight lips but she could not resist when he pulled out a Fedora hat as well - presumabley he had bought it recently when he heard that dev was coming to the town. So far it has only been a muted protest on part of my aunt but the minute my uncle emerged from the bathroom with Dev's signature neckerchief around his neck the protest turned into a battle. My aunt and their two sons refused to go with him to the show unless he changed his do. Sensing that I was around, they switched the mode of their fight into Norwegian. I did not understand what transpired between those four people but after one hour of pitched battle and bickering they all agreed to go to the show. While Uncle got to keep his do his family chose to give him silent treatment from then on.

In those days Dev was shooting his picture Tirana pyar ka or something like pyar ka tirana in scandanevia. Most of the movie had already been shot. Probably, it was Indian community and his fans in Oslo who ararnged a sort of variety show type program in his honor. Most of the cast members and technical staff was also present. He showed some preliminary parts and picturized songs at the show.

After the show dev mixed with public. He was very pleasant, well mannered and eloquent guy. It is then the moment came when my uncle got to shake his hand. My uncle was as nervous as a teenager who meets her lover in private the first time. Uncle shook his hand but could only mumble one sentence 'Sir I am one of your biggest fan". Dev smiled and while adjusting the knot of my uncle's neckerchief said "I can see that". Dev proved to be quite easy going and eased my uncle's tension. He initiated some small talk, introduced himslef to all of us and asked how we were doing. He asked me how I liked the parts of the movie that he'd exhibited. I wanted to tell him that the movie was a "dabba" and it would be a miracle that it would survive a week in theaters but then I played nice. I looked into the deep blue eyes of Anita Ayub, the Pakistani model, who happened to be the heroine of the movie, and probably his most recent squeeze at that time, and said "Dev Sahib aap jaisa director ho aur anita ji jaisi husn ki malika heroine hon tao koi kaffir he ho ga jo iss movie ko passand nah kare ga."

I could go on and on but but my aunt pinched me in my back with all the strength she could muster and whispered in my ears angerily 'tumhari ammi ko bataoN gi". I think a part of that anger was due to her husband. My uncle and aunt invited him and other cast members for the dinner but Dev politely refused.

The second time I met Dev, it was two weeks later in Copenhagen. I was raoming about the city as a tourist when I saw that commotion and gathering on the street. And sure it was Dev picturising a dance with about 20 extras. Soon it started to drizzle and troupe was asked to take a break when suddenly he recognized me in the crowd. He called me with a gesture and said "hay young man, are you following me.". After that we had a brief conversation which was soon interrupted by his crew who told him that it was ok to resume the shooting. He politely excused himself. Before I left I looked into the deep blue eyes of Anita Ayub, who was standing their in her skimpy bikini, but could not find even a slight hint of recognition. It is true that neelee aankhoN waalay baray bewafa hotay haiN.

But this is not the end of the story. On the day when I met dev in Oslo with my uncle; after the show my uncles' family decided to go to their friends' house. My uncle asked me to accompany him to their own house, which was outside Oslo in in a small village. On our way back unexpectedly my uncle looked quite sad and quiet. At one point he just couldn't hold it anymore. He wiped his eyes and said that even though on that day one of his life's long awaited wish had come true but he wasn't happy. He wasn't happy to see Dev old, frail and wrinkled. He almost wished that he hadn't met Dev because he wanted to preserve that youthful, vibrant and agile Dev in his mind whom he had seen in the prime of his own youth; cherished him, idolized him and loved him. My uncle was in tears and couldn't talk but he said something very poignant that day. he said that on that day he had realized that how fast the chapters of life close one by one. I did not pay much attention to that at the time but four years later after that fateful day when my uncle died right in my hands in Pakistan his words just pierced my heart. Uncle was suffering from a terminal illness for past several years but he had kept his illness secret all that time even from his family and any other soul. But on that day when we met Dev he knew exactly what he was talikng about.

We are just dust in the wind.

mittarji:

I have yet to see the Mukherjee films. And as for him lending credibility to Kishoreda, then even more proper respect, because Kishoreda had that special ability to make actors like Dev and Rajesh Khanna later on sound like it was them singing. Agreed on the senior Burman saving his best for him: Guide is a good example of that.

I have visited Seattle quite a few times myself and do not find it as interesting as Vancouver. Afsos se mujhe pata nahiN chala, I would have traveled three hours by train to have met you. :)

ana:
I was a regular Dev Anand fan and have seen practically all of his films made before I left India. In my opinion, his best acting talent was on display in the two Filmistan films by Subodh Mukherjee, Munimji and Paying Guest.

One little known fact about him is the role he played in the success of Kishore Kumar as a singer. It was Dev who agreed to lend him credibility as a singer in film, Baazi (meray laboN pay sada dekh lay taranay hain) and especially the hit song from Munimji (jeevan kay safar mein raahi). The two made quite a team. Dev was also lucky to have had a special relationship with the music director S.D. Burman. The senior Burman seemed to save his best for Dev.

On another note, I visited your neighbourhood (Seattle) for the first time this year and did not find it as interesting as Vancouver.

mittarji, Actually reading about Dev Anand did cause a flutter here, but lately I am at a loss as to what to say about the man. So much has been said already.

The one thing that bothers me about one of my favorite fillum actors (even with his limited acting talent)is that even though he still is romancing life at 83, there are times when he looks more plastic than real.

And IB, if Dev Anand did indeed study at Aitchison College and Government College in Lahore, where he is said to have received a degree in English literature, it really is not surprising at all that he knows more Urdu and English than Hindi. And not to begin an argument here, par farq kya parta hai?

My favorite films of his are the pre-Guide ones, like Kala Bazaar and Bambai ka babu. We used to make fun of the song in Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai, where he sat on top of the train, and the line "Zara pake tujhe koi khota hai" using the word for the animal rather than the verb "to lose"

And his birthday is on September 26th, so happy birthday in advance to Anand ji!

Dev Anand may not have the fan following which he enjoyd for many decades,simply because many of his admirers would have said goodbye to life itself but his 'never say die' attitude is still envy of many. Guide was definitely the peak of his carrier.
He has been the first trend-setter or you can say the first real 'hero' of the Indian middle class...be it hair style with a puff, trendy collars, cap etc.
Salaam to the man with never-ending stream of energy, liveliness and enthusiasm.

Oh, the ravages of time! A whole day of an article on Dev Anand and just a solitary interact so far. There was a time that the very mention of Dev would cause a flutter in the bosoms of millions of women, young and not-so-young.

Dev was a grander version of what Shah Rukh Khan is now - a star with limited acting talent. He was the part of the trinity of stars - Dev-Dilip-Raj - that ruled the silver screen during the black-and-white era, and the only one with a graduate college education. He turned his good looks and hir urban-urbane demeanor to great advantage; surprisingly, though, he played a village character in dhoti in two of his earlier films, which brought him fame - Ziddi with Kamini Kaushal and Jeet with Suraiya who loved him so much that she never married after he abandoned her for Kalpana Kartik.

Dev Anand created a great team under the Navketan banner and produced some very successful films. Those films owed their success to some top-notch directors, such as Guru Dutt, Raj Khosla and his brothers Chetan and, especially, Vijay Anand. His downfall came when he started scripting and directing his own films. After he made Prem Pujari, his brother Vijay went to him and asked, "Bhappe, tu ay kee keeta" [oh brohter, what have you done!]. But Dev soldiered on. His confidence never left him even though he lost his fans, his wealth and his reputation. He is the embodiment of the proverb, "if you don't succeed once, try, try, try again".

Dev Anand was also one of the few film personalties who did not fall in line during the Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi and came out in the open to oppose its imposition and risk the displeasure of the supreme power of that time.

Dev's enduring legacy is his endurance and a never-say-die attitude towards life.

May his zest for life never leave him!

IB:
Nothing surprising about his not knowing Hindi. Dev went to school in Punjab before the Partition, when the medium of instruction in schools was Urdu; indeed Farsi was more common a subject during those days than either Hindi or Punjabi.

Dev Anand attitude towards life - is amazing . He actually came with Vajapayee to Lahore where he belongs too - he studied at Aitchison Lahore. Another intresting thing is that Dev Babu does not know hindi so his dialouges are written in urdu.
He's such a character - !