Dev Anand, a star of Hindi cinema whose popularity is seen not only in India but also abroad. He was born in Hoshiarpur in Punjab which is now located in Pakistan. After graduating from Lahore, Dev Anand came to Bombay in 1943 with Rs 30 in his pocket and became a superstar. He passed away on December 3, 2011.
On the occasion of Dev Anand's 101st birthday, let's take a look at some interesting facts related to him… When Dev Anand came to Bombay from Lahore in 1943, he initially had to work as a clerk. After this, he worked in a British government office reading soldiers' letters, but when he didn't like it, he decided to become an actor. One day he met film producer Baburao. Baburao Dev was impressed by Anand's body, gait and gestures and cast him in the 1946 film 'Hum Ek Hai'.
Dev Anand wrote about this in his book 'Romancing with Life', “During the shooting of the film, I was told that there was a gap between my teeth that needed to be filled with fillers.” I didn't refuse and fillers were put in but I felt stubborn. I requested the makers of the film to remove the filler and they removed the filler. I was happy that people liked me the way I was in the movies. After starring in hit films like Hare Krishna Hare Ram, Johnny Mera Naam, Dev Anand became so famous that boys even started pulling out their teeth to keep the shape of his teeth.
When the President of Indonesia came to see the shooting of Dev Anand Former Indonesian President Sukarno was also a fan of Dev Anand. Dev Anand shared an incident related to this in Romancing with Life. He said that Indonesian President Sukarno came to see the shooting of the film 'Kala Pani'.
That day we were shooting for the song 'Hum Bekhudi Mein Tumko Pukare Chale Gaye'. We were told in advance that the President will come on the sets. We waited for him for two hours but he didn't come so we shot the song. The President arrived as soon as the shooting was over. We shot for them again. He clapped a lot during the shoot.
Jawaharlal Nehru laughed when he heard Dev Anand's talk This incident dates back to 1947 when Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru invited Dev Anand for dinner. Meanwhile, along with Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar were also present. The three were very close friends in real life. Dev Anand shared the story of this meeting in his book Romancing with Life and wrote that, when we went to meet him (Nehru), he hugged all three of us. He was sick but found us very conscious. Raj Kapoor asked him, 'Panditji, we heard that women used to follow you wherever you went.'
Nehru said, I am not as popular as you people. Then I asked her, 'Your laugh impressed Lady Mountbatten.' Is this true?
Nehru laughed loudly and said, 'I am happy to hear these things about me.'
Then Dilip Kumar spoke, but Lady Mountbatten herself had said that you were her weakness. Nehru then laughed out loud and said, 'People want me to believe these things.'
People said crazy on making 'Guide' The film 'Guide' was one of the biggest films of Dev Anand's career. The film was very bold for the time in showing extramarital affairs. This is the reason why some people in the film industry questioned Dev Anand when he was making this film. Dev Anand himself said this in an interview.
He said, when we made the guide which was on adultery. People told me that you are crazy. Dev is ruining himself, his stardom will end. According to reports, when the film was made and Dev Anand organized a special premiere show for the film Instry, many celebs came to watch the film but did not speak a word after the show. Film director BR Chopra criticized Guide saying that he did not understand the film but when the film was released it slowly started getting positive reviews and audiences thronged theaters to watch the film. It is still considered a classic film. Dev Anand won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor and Waheeda Rehman for Best Actress for this film.
Dev Anand with Jawaharlal Nehru.
When the robbers knocked the door of Dev Anand's room It was the year 1957 when Dev Anand was shooting for the film 'Nau Do Gyarah'. The shooting was going on in Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh. At that time bandits ruled the area. After the shooting was packed up, the entire team including Dev Anand stayed in a guest house. At midnight someone knocked on the door of Dev Anand's room.
He asked internally – who? A voice came – I am Amar Singh. When Dev Anand opened the door in fear, there was a robber with a big mustache standing in front of him. Before Dev Anand could say anything, the dacoit took a photo of the actor and said, sign it. Hearing this, Dev Anand came to life. He immediately autographed his photograph, seeing which the robber said – Dev Sahib, if you ever need anything, remember us.
Dev Anand won the Best Actor Award and Waheeda Rehman won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for 'Guide'.
Zeenat offered us cigarettes and Dev Anand said – will you become a heroine? Dev Anand launched his banner Navketan in 1949 along with elder brother Chetan Anand. One of the most successful films produced under her banner was the 1971 film 'Hare Krishna Hare Ram' in which Zeenat played the role of Aman Dev Anand's sister. There is an interesting story behind Zeenat's casting in the film. At that time no actress wanted to play the role of Dev Anand's sister. Even Dev Anand was tired of looking for such a face. Then, at a party, his eyes fell on Zeenat Aman, who had won the title of Miss Asia. Zeenat Aman was sitting in front of Dev Anand.
Dev Anand saw in Zeenat the image of the lead actress of his film. Dev Anand saw Zeenat take out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from her pocket. Then he put the cigarette to his lips and lit it with the lighter. When Zeenat caught sight of Dev Anand, he smiled and offered a cigarette to Dev Anand too. Dev could not refuse the pleasure. Then Dev Anand asked him, does he want to work in films? Zeenat blew cigarette smoke on Dev Anand's face and looked at him. Dev Anand asked the next question, can I call you for a screen test?
Zeenat asked, when? Dev Anand said, come tomorrow at your convenient time. The next day Zeenat went for a screen test and thus got her debut film. The song 'Dum Maro Dum' shot on Zeenat Aman and sung by Asha Bhosle in the film became a hit and Zeenat became a big star.
While planning a wedding with Suraiya on the pretext of scene The unfinished love story of Dev Anand and Suraiya was much discussed in the film industry. Both were in love with each other but Suraiya's grandmother was against the relationship due to different religions, due to which the two could not get married.
There is an interesting story associated with the film Jeet. In one scene of this film, the wedding scene of Dev Anand and Suraiya was to be shot. Fed up with the strictness of Suraiya's family, Dev and Suraiya decide that in this scene they will call the right pandit, recite the right mantras and get married for real. All arrangements were made on the sets. A real Pandit also arrived. But then an assistant director broke the news to Suraiya's grandmother. A ruckus ensued on the set and Nani dragged Suraiya from the set and forcibly took her home.
After this Suraiya's grandmother decided to get her married soon. But even after many attempts Suraiya did not marry anyone else. Dev Anand married actress Kalpana Karthik and started his own house.
'Because of this close friendship with Guru Dutt broke off' Dev Anand and Guru Dutt were close friends but in 1960 there was a sudden rift in their friendship. When many of Dev Anand's films were flopping, he approached Guru Dutt to make his next film a success through his direction. But Guru Dutt refused to do so and asked to select another director. Dev Anand was deeply saddened by this and decided never to seek help from Guru Dutt again.
In 1959, Guru Dutt's film 'Kagaz Ke Phool' flopped and Guru Dutt was completely broke. He started drinking heavily. Dev Anand on the other hand kept himself under control and kept trying despite the failure of his films. He became a star again after the success of 'Kaala Bazar' (1960), 'Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai' (1961) and 'Hum Doon' (1962).
Said goodbye to the world at the age of 88 Dev Anand died of a heart attack on 3 December 2011 in London at the age of 88. His last film Chargesheet, which he directed and produced, was released two months after his death.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
