( 26th Sept 1923- 3rd Dec 2011)
By dedicating my first block to him on the same day of last year, I began with this activity of preparing the posts of Bollywood artists. Following his footsteps I continued with the task happily without caring much whether my posts are read or ignored, liked or criticised,forwarded or deleted !
Frankly he didn't belong to my generation as such. When I was born in 1960, he had already acted in about 60 films ! But as his filmy persona stretched for 60 years, filled with glamour and fame, probably the longest of any actor till date, he was/is an idol for many like me.
Though his golden era is over since long his aura persists still today.... his songs and movies are still watched across the generations. His journey in the Bollywood is too long .... from 1946 to 2005..to cover in a tiny post. The secret of his popularity is in the lively,carefree image of urban hero he displayed on the screen. as compared to the brooding image of tragedy king Dilipkumar, and an innocent rural image of Raj Kapoor. Moreover while Dilip Kumar and Raj kapoor acted with a limited number of heroines, Dev Anand's co stars range from Kamala Kotnis in 1946 to Tara Sharma in 2005 ( who happened to be younger to him by 55 years !) He acted with almost all the heroines of Bollywood from Madhubala to Madhu and from Geeta Bali to Smita Patil. The another attribute worth noting is that Dev Anand as a head of his Nav Ketan films introduced multitude of talents to the industry beginning with Guru Dutt, Vijay Anand, Sahir Ludhianvi, Jaidev, Shatrughna Sinha, Shekhar Kapoor, Zeenat Amang, Tabbu, Jackie Shroff and so on....
Music and songs remained to be an indispensable part of his film career. He used to spend hours together with S D Burman to finalise the tunes and then used to take strenuous efforts to rehearse the songs. ( His this trait was also followed by superstar Rajesh Khanna who used to practice the songs with Mumtaz and Sharmila Tagore at his home before shooting ),Therefore the songs of Dev Anand and Rajesh Khanna are enjoyed more than those of other stars including Big B and Shah Rukh khan. ( आज सुद्धा दुकानांत लोक देव आनंदच्या गाण्यांची सीडी मागतात... without mentioning the name of the films ! )
Dev Anand did not restrict his lively image to the screen, in fact it was his personality which more or less found reflection in the roles he played . Where others took the failures seriously and ran into depression, Dev Anand's interest never dried and though the film flopped he started with another one vigour and enthusiasm.
Once questioned by a journalist about the financial losses he incurred as his films flopped, he said " I came to Mumbai with Rs 30 in my pocket. As long as I am not left with Rs 29/- I am not a financial looser'. A positive and zealous attitude, Yoga, strict diet and a busy but regular schedule kept him physically and mentally fit till the last years of his life.
Mr Ganesh Anantharaman , a writer who interviewed Dev Anand in 2008 in his Anand Studios recalls ' Sitting in the midst of books and files, and dressed impeccably in formals, with the famous scarf round the neck, nothing about him suggested that he is touching 84. He got excited when I informed him about my book and wished me best of luck. He told me he is working on a new script for his new film. For the next 40 minutes I had a tough time keeping pace with the speed of his thought and articulation .. In his presence, I can comprehend, why he is called evergreen !
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