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The evergreen hero Dev Anand has had a life-long romance with cinema. Mohan Sahay on the actor whose autobiography will be released by the Prime Minister on September 26
That his autobiography is titled Romancing with Life is befitting to his persona and character on and off-screen. The young Dev Anand cast magical spells in romantic roles in black and white films. One has to forgive his directorial ventures where he proved a disaster. But he never minded the string of failures attached to his career as a director. "I don’t care how many people come and see my films. It is a passion for me. If I stop making films, think Dev Anand is dead", he had uttered these words few years ago. He stands by his conviction. Dev Sahib is how he is addressed in the film industry for his honesty and gentlemanliness. In making of the lesser-known film Ishq Ishq Ishq under his home banner Nav Ketan films, Dev Anand ran into debt due to a massive cost of production since the film was shot at a high altitude. When it was released in the theatres in the early 1980s, it flopped at the box office. Dev Anand returned the money to his distributors for the losses that they had incurred by purchasing the prints of the film. How many producers, directors or leading men would do this today? Not one. To make up for the losses incurred, Dev Anand teamed with his brother Goldie — Vijay Anand to produce a remake of Taxi Driver. The film Janeman, directed by Vijay Anand, was a great hit and made up for the losses. As far as survival goes, Dev has dubbing studios Anand & Anand at Pali Hills in Mumbai which earn a fairly good amount of money. Besides, he has few friends who help him financially in making films. Going back to his golden era, one film that impressed me immensely, besides Guide, was Bambai ka Babu. Dev’s leading lady was Suchitra Sen. Dev by accident lands in the village as the lost brother of Suchitra Sen. He falls in love with her. He knows that the girl he loves is not his sister, but the girl does not know this. She is puzzled and dismayed at the romantic behaviour, body language and gestures of Dev who starts flirting with her in the woods. Some charming melodies by S.D. Burman are haunting numbers even today. By the time Suchitra discovers that Dev is not her brother, it is too late and she is about to get married. It was an adult and mature love story. Dev Anand won two Filmfare Awards as Best Actor for his performance in Kala Pani and Guide. Some of his memorable roles were in Taxi Driver, Nau Do Gyarah, C.I.D, Baazi, House No.44. Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai, Tere Ghar Ke Samne, Sharabi, Johny Mera Naam, Paying Guest, Teen Deviyan , Hare Krishna Hare Rama and Guide. Hare Krishna Hare Rama was a path-breaker. It was based on the hippy cult that was fast catching up with the Indian youth in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The famous number dum maro dum invited the attention of Parliament where MPs demanded a ban on the song and the film for its alleged corrupting influence on the youth. His first love was Suraiya. What about your affairs with Suraiya, he was asked. "Well, she is a nice girl", Dev had said when Suraiya was alive at past 70. Though Dev fell in love with Kalpana Kartik on the sets of Nau Do Gyarah whom he married, he continued to flirt with his girls in films. His birthday falls on September 26 coinciding with the birthday of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who is slated to release his autobiography on that day. One does not know if Dr Manmohan Singh is also a fan of Dev Anand. But a politician who has been a great fan of the actor was Mohammed Shafi Qureshi, former Union Minister and Governor. The leader from Kashmir, while presiding over a function in Lucknow to honour Dev Anand, had disclosed how he would stand in the queue in Srinagar to buy a ticket for the film of Dev Anand on the opening day.
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Romance