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Journalism of Courage
“Let’s have cocktails, dinner… Let’s all be friends,” announced Dev Anand in his signature ebullient manner. The occasion was the first look launch of his nineteenth directorial outing, Chargesheet (2011), in which he played the protagonist, a former tough cop (Don’t go by his character’s costume featuring a denim jacket, orange scarf and pink shirt). With child-like excitement, the director-actor, who was then 87, addressed media queries, including those meant for his co-actors.
No one seemed to mind. Jackie Shroff, who stepped into the industry with Dev Anand’s Swami Dada (1982), kept blowing him kisses. Naseeruddin Shah cheerily rendered famous dialogues from Guide (1965), and Divya Dutta expressed happiness for being part of the film.
The film released on September 30, 2011, and shortly after, on December 3, Devsaab, as he was fondly called, passed away, leaving behind a bouquet of timeless classics. Had he lived on – September 26 would have marked his 100th birthday – the actor-director-scriptwriter-producer wouldn’t have allowed himself to slow down. His work defined him; otherwise, in his own words, “he was ordinary”. He is the ‘evergreen romantic hero’ who headlined timeless classics, and who introduced some of Indian cinema’s biggest talents. He kept reinventing himself over the decades, transitioning from being the nation’s heartthrob to a thoughtful producer, and then a competent director.
In the ’80s and ’90s, he turned scriptwriter for his films too, though it marked a difficult phase in his career with poor box-office returns. It was a test of his deep reserves of resilience. “I make what I think should be made for the world,” he had said.
Born Dharamdev Pishorimal Anand in Gurdaspur district, on September 26, 1923, the actor studied English literature at Lahore Government College before travelling to Mumbai in 1943 with thirty rupees and dreams of making it big. “I have grown with this country…I struggled from 1943-45. I got training from the people on the streets. It is after getting the break as a lead actor in Prabhat Films’s Hum Ek Hain (1946), I started to learn the ropes of acting,” he said in a BBC Hindi interview in 2008.
With Ismat Chughtai’s Ziddi (1948), a love story that explored the class divide, Dev Anand had his first hit. With the ambition of “making films that no one has made”, he started Navketan Films with his elder brother Chetan Anand. Its first production was Afsar (1950), based on Nikolai Gogol’s play, ‘The Government Inspector’. In the following years, his younger brother Vijay Anand would direct several landmark movies under this banner. But before that, Dev Anand was going to honour the pact he had made with Guru Dutt, after they struck up a friendship following an accidental swapping of their shirts during the filming of Hum Ek Hain. Dev Anand has promised that if he turned producer, Guru Dutt, who was then an assistant director, would direct his film.
This commitment turned out to be mutually beneficial. With Baazi (1951), Guru Dutt debuted as director and Dev Anand got an image makeover, playing a debonair with grey shades. The actor-director duo came together again with Jaal (1952), with whose success Dev Anand emerged as a prominent face of what’s known as ‘Bombay noir’.
From the ’50s till the mid-’60s, Dev Anand headlined several romantic movies – Taxi Driver (1954), House No. 44 (1955), Solva Saal (1958), Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai (1961), Asli-Naqli (1962), Tere Ghar Ke Samne (1963), romancing some of the industry’s leading actors such as Madhubala, Nutan, Sadhana, and Geeta Bali. The success of these movies established him as a major matinee star and part of the ‘Big Three’ along with Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar.
At the Jaipur Dev Festival held in his memory in 2021, lyricist-screenwriter Javed Akhtar tried to unpack the Dev Anand phenomena. “Guru Dutt gave Dev Anand a different style and persona. Nasir Hussain, too, contributed to his screen persona with popular movies such as Munimji (1955) and Paying Guest (1957). These movies gave the audience a modern, mischievous romantic hero, who was not badtameez (ill-mannered). He teased the heroine. But he didn’t harass her… Dev Anand had so much decency and innocence that it never felt out of line,” he said.
Writer-director Vasan Bala too iterates the uniqueness of Dev Anand’s style. “His biggest contribution is his unabashed style. When India was young, socialism was preached, there came a guy wearing great clothes, looking good and celebrating life. He brought in so much panache and style,” says Bala, “He was so full of life…life-affirming.”
What came to be known as his trademark style grew out of his imperfections. “I stoop a bit. I still do,” he said, on BBC Hindi on his loopy walk. As for the buttoned-up look, it was a careful choice to hide his lack of muscularity. The fast dialogue delivery was prompted by chunky dialogues which he preferred to say in “a single breath”.
In the ’60s, Dev Anand eyed global recognition. In August 1962, after an international tour, he worked towards the making of Guide (1965), one of the most-critically acclaimed movies of his career. Based on the novel by RK Narayan, it became a landmark movie for actor Waheeda Rahman and director Vijay Anand. Recounting her experience, in the book Conversations with Waheeda Rehman, the actor said Chetan Anand and Tad Danielewski, an American filmmaker who directed Guide in English, seemed wary of casting her but Dev Anand was certain she was the film’s ‘Rosie’.
This was followed by commercially successful movies such as Jewel Thief (1967) and Johny Mera Naam (1970) – both produced by Navketan. He made his directorial debut with Prem Pujari (1970) and then created a big splash with his next directorial, Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1971) – both films were written by him.
Though he continued to play lead in several entertainers such as Banarasi Babu (1973), Heera Panna (1973), Amir Garib (1974), Warrant (1975), Des Pardes (1978), his grip over the box-office loosened in the 80s. This period coincided with the rise of Amitabh Bachchan as the ‘angry young man’ and ‘garam’ Dharmendra. But still that was not going to slow Dev Anand down.
As a tribute to this indefatigable spirit, Film Heritage Foundation (FHF) and NFDC-National Film Archive of India in association with PVR Inox have organised ‘Forever Young’, a film festival to commemorate his birth centenary, on September 23-24.
Summing up Dev Anand’s significance, Amitabh Bachchan told FHF: “He signified something that was endless, a continuity which we all took as a given…I still remember how his attitude and singular style in his performances, would get us out of our hostel beds in the middle of the night, jump the boundary walls of the college to the nearest film theatre repeatedly, just to witness the magic of his charm and energy. And on our way back we would sing along with his songs, his deliveries of dialogue and create this wonderful world he had structured for us to be remembered forever.”
As a star-maker Dev Anand enjoys the credit of introducing Tina Munim, Zeenat Aman and Tabu, among others. His association with Aman, which started with Hare Rama Hare Krishna, drew much attention. In his autobiography, Romancing With Life, Dev Anand talked about his feelings for the actor and being hurt over her closeness with Kapoor, who directed her in Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1976). Though Aman was initially upset with his observations, she no longer holds it against him. In an Instagram post she wrote: “I will always remember Devsaab for his rare talent and warm guidance. He has my earnest gratitude and I do not tolerate disrespect to his name.”
The world has moved on and Dev Anand, with all his creative zest and imperfections, continues to hold us in thrall. That’s perhaps how history will see his legacy. But as someone who embodied the carefree attitude of the song Mein Zindagi Ka Saath Nibhata Chala Gaya in Hum Dono, Dev Anand wouldn’t have bothered with such assessments. “He didn’t care about any kind of judgment but kept expressing himself. That’s my takeaway from his entire career. Someone who never gave up in an industry where it is tough to survive,” says Bala.
Much of Dev Anand’s fame also belonged to the iconic songs he starred in.
Here are 10 of them (By: Suanshu Khurana)
Ye raat ye chandni (Jaal, 1952): In a story of deceit, love and forgiveness, Dev Anand as a smuggler, is calling out to Maria (Geeta Dutt) in this haunting yet gentle ditty crooned by Hemant Kumar.
Hum bekhudi mein (Kala Pani, 1958): Sung at a kotha, this drunk and disorderly exploration of love and life composed by SD Burman and sung to perfection by Mohammad Rafi along Anand’s tilted gait remains iconic for its warm embrace.
Main zindagi ka saath (Hum Dono, 1961): Dev Anand lit up Sahir Ludhianvi’s lyrics while metaphorically presenting the essence of life and its ups and downs.
Tere mere sapne (Guide, 1965): One of SD Burman’s finest hour, the emotional depth of Rafi’s voice and Shailendra’s lyrics along Hari Prasad Chaurasia’s flute take one through the heart of Raju and Rosie in a difficult moment.
Gaata rahe mera dil (Guide, 1965): For years to come, this Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar piece would come to be known as the evergreen hero’s marquee song.
Hum hain raahi pyaar ke (Nau Do Gyarah, 1957): Soundtrack to a drive taken by madan (Dev Anand) from Delhi to Mumbai, this Majrooh Sultanpuri piece that’s brimming with affection, playfulness and the idea, Jo bhi pyar se mila hum usi ke ho liye.
Hai apna dil toh awara (Solva Saal, 1958): The playful and charming train melody had a young RD Burman play the iconic interlude on the mouth organ for this SD Burman and Majrooh Sultanpuri ditty. Hemant Kumar sang it with much tenderness and impishness for Dev Anand, the handsome journalist on the same train.
Khoya khoya chaand (Kala Bazaar, 1960): A lovely example of mischief and melody bound together, the song in Mohommad Rafi’s voice describes the feeling of falling in love and wanting to stay that way.
Abhi na jao chhod kar (Hum Dono, 1961): If there is any hall of fame for Hindi cinema, then this Jaidev melody written by Sahir should be inducted in it for being one of the best romantic duets from Hindi cinema. Etched in the hearts of many, the song has cut across generations to stay as popular even today.
Dil ka bhawar kare pukaar (Tere ghar ke saamne, 1963): Beautifully shot inside Qutub Minar this Hasrat Jaipuri and SD Burman piece picturised on Nutan and Dev Anand, the simple melody sticks in one’s head and treads into a world of relishing a new relationship.
Vahan kaun hai tera (Guide, 1965): One of the few times that SD Burman got behind the microphone. This touching piece by Shailendra opens Guide as Burman sings with a nasal twang in the typical Bhatiyali folk style – the river song usually sung by the boatman as Dev Anand walks. Metaphorically strong, the piece is an unfailingly touching start to a film that came with one of the finest soundtracks of Hindi cinema
Kabhi khud pe kabhi halaat pe: Composer Jaidev and Rafi would go on to weave a tapestry of melancholy in this piece about love and loss in Hum Dono, a film about two soldiers, both played by Dev Anand. The devastatingly truthful lines by Sahir, Kaun rota hai kisi aur ki khatir aye dost, sabko apni hi kisi baat par rona aaya that have Dev Anand emoting them put despair in perspective.
