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M. L. Dhawan on the evergreen hero Dev Anand, who received the Phalke Ratna recently
On the birth anniversary of the doyen of Hindi film industry, Dadasaheb Phalke, actor, producer and director Dev Anand received the prestigious Phalke Ratna. The award was given by the Dadasaheb Phalke Academy for his contribution towards cinema. Dashing and debonair, Dharam Dev Anand from Gurdaspur came to Bombay to try his luck in the film industry but started his career as a clerk in the military censor department. However, soon he got an opportunity to play the lead role in Prabhat Film Company’s Hum Ek Hain (1946). Based on Hindu-Muslim unity, the film proved to be his stepping stone to fame. Following this, he acted in Aage Badho, Hum Bhi Insaan Hain, Ziddi. His crooked smile, boyish forelock and naughty eyes had women drooling. The eternal romantic and evergreen hero arrived with a bang.
Dev Anand soon became a symbol of romance in his heydays. He wooed his leading women with characteristic `E9lan. This is evident in the way when he pleads with Sadhana in "Abhi na jao chhod kar keh dil abhi bhara nahin," or teases Waheeda Rehman in "Hai apna dil to awaara, na jane kis pe aayega", or chases Asha Parekh in "Jab pyaar kissi se hota hai". Having modelled himself on Gregory Peck, Dev Anand’s naughty smile and his primed puffs all combined to make him the heartthrob of moviegoers. The romantic image which he had cultivated, outlived that of his contemporaries — making him the ‘the eternal ladies’ man’. His jaunty walk and confident mannerism in films like Paying Guest, Munimjee, Arman, Patita, Love Marriage, Hum Dono, Asli Naqli, Tere Mere Sapne, Tere Ghar Ke Samne, Maya, Teen Deviyaan, Jewel Thief and Johnny Mera Naam made him synonymous with success. He played morally ambient characters in his earlier films but Vijay Anand’s Guide made him the apotheosis of rakish yet right character. Those who had accused Dev of being more style than substance were proved wrong when he oozed histrionics in his newfound role of a godman in the film. Dev Anand’s character in the film is undoubtedly the best that has been described in Hindi cinema. Hordes of people reached the sets of Guide, as they were convinced that Dev Anand’s character Raju Baba was indeed a holy man. As a filmmaker, Dev Anand focussed on the burning issues of his times. In his directorial debut Prem Pujari, he propagated that the golden theory of non-violence held no weight when the nation is in peril. In Tere Mere Sapne, he analysed the medical profession in all its aspects. In Des Prades, he focussed on the immigration racket and how NRIs present false colours to marry gullible innocent people. His Swami Dada was the story of an American girl hung up on an Indian swami. As a conscientious journalist in Sache Ka Bol Bala, he unveiled the nexus between the police and the politicians. His magnum opus Hare Rama Hare Krishna focussed on the pressing problem of the 1970s — the hippie cult. The film was perceived as a plea against the desecration. He may not have hit the bull’s eye in films like Hum Naujawan, Sau Crore, Pyar Ka Tarana, Main Solaha Baras Ki, Censor, Love At Time Square etc but these films were daringly different. His differences with his brother Vijay Anand proved to be his Waterloo. If Dev had concentrated more on acting instead of production/direction, both his banner and he would have endured much longer. From Hum Ek Hain to his forthcoming Chargesheet, it has been a long eventful journey during which both his charm and charisma have remained undiminished. His Midas touch was still intact at the 2003 National Awards function where Dev Anand was given the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award. His jaunty walk up to the podium was accompanied by a resounding applause as everyone gave him a standing ovation. "People say a lot
of things; they call me a non-actor. But I am no fluke. Acting is not
just my profession, it is me," says Dev Anand, in his endearing
and disarming way.
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G.
Trivedi’s Vidya saw the coming together of Suraiya and Dev
Anand. They worked together in films like Jeet, Shayar, Afsar,
Neeli, Do Sitare, Sanam. With his affected mannerism and
overwrought dialogue delivery, Dev Anand mostly portrayed a
hard-bitten character living in the urban underbelly in his earlier
films. He played a small-time gambler in Baazi, a heartless
smuggler in Jaal, a pickpocket in House No 44, a taxi
driver in Taxi Driver, an exploiter in Rahi, and an
absconding gang member in Dushman, a black marketeer in Kala
Bazaar, a murderer in Bambai Ka Babu and a fearless
inspector in CID. With the success of these films, Dev Anand
came to embody the rakish drifter, who had taken to petty crime due to
circumstantial exigencies.