Opinion Because the appearance was the essence

But that stint at the censor’s office must have influenced him. There would be the struggle to balance pacifism with patriotic duty that came together so well in Hum Dono (1961),but was undone by the poor editing of his first directorial venture,Prem Pujari (1970). There would also be his thumbprint on Hindi cinema of the 1950s and 1960s with his Navketan productions: perhaps distilled from that focus on how emotions are transcribed,the essential dignity and appearances his character strove for as he negotiated the messiness of the daily grind.

Line up the early Navketan films chronologically and watch them at a stretch (stopping at Guide,1965). To watch them is to find a soundtrack for all our emotions,to document the talent and innovative camerawork they introduced to Hindi cinema (Baazi,1951; Taxi Driver,1954; Kala Bazaar,1960),to feel the constant ambition of finding an edgy theme,to marvel at his aspiration to be urban and urbane,to zip headlong through the vital compromises of a life on the periphery with a song on one’s lips,and always mindful of the consequences of one’s actions or of letting the appearance slip.

Before Dev Anand became over-mannered,before vanity replaced a good-natured confidence in his good looks — circa mid-sixties — his stylishness was a vital part of his cinema,a cinema that underlines what it means to be modern. It’s routine to say his films were ahead of their time,but how wrong that assessment is. His Navketan films were modern because the characters made choices by an inner standard,the choices they made then by rising above their circumstances would be the choices they’d make now,they lived with what they had but were not limited emotionally by their environs. To be modern is to not find excuses about what goes,instead of what’s right. Feminism,for instance,is not a statement in these films,women are just assumed to be equal individuals.

Anand’s characters lived on the edge,just one knock away from going under,and the template was set by the first Navketan film that survives (reportedly no print survives of Afsar,1950,with his then great love,Suraiya): Baazi. It’s my favourite. It brought together amazing talent,bringing talent together being Dev Anand’s unique achievement in Navketan’s first decades: Guru Dutt (in direction),S.D. Burman,Sahir Ludhianvi,Geeta Bali,Kalpana Kartik (the surprisingly under-rated actress he’d soon marry),Johny Walker (in debut),Balraj Sahni,Geeta Dutt,Raj Khosla,Kishore Kumar (who’d sing playback only for Dev Anand for a long time),and an army who’d keep reappearing in Navketan films (K.N. Singh,Rashid Khan,Krishna Dhawan,M.A. Latif).

Like most of Dev Anand’s characters Mohan (in Baazi) is a man with no antecedents or resources,and must live by his wits. We know he was a taxi driver,but now makes do with slim pickings in a grimy gambling den. His sister is desperately ill (TB),and to provide for her he is drawn into illicit activity,and so grows up double-fast and must confront the consequences of his actions. But in these straitened circumstances,he is always dressed for the daily carnival,as it were,the patched-up pants stylishly ankle-length,the scarf tied just right to seem as if it were an afterthought,the beret angled just so,the puff perfectly coiffured,the jacket sleeves too short for his arms (a Dev Anand trademark) — and always a smile and a wisecrack as armour.

Dev Anand was the most handsome presence in cinema,and he got enough flak for his mannerisms and vanity — but has anyone else ever used his looks to attempt a code for being,as he did in those early films,by placing himself at the centre of so much talent? Were someone to be transported back in a time capsule,she’d okay the same choices his characters did then — and were a stylist to return to the fifties,she’d learn her craft from Dev Anand. Just as even today “Dev Anand songs” capture every emotion best.

mini.kapoor@expressindia.com