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Heroes never die

16/12/2011

13 Comments

 
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If you forget Guide, Dev Anand was never seen as a great actor. In fact, in Hum Dono  he did such a bad job of Major Verma, the Army officer with a peculiarly placed parting in the hair, a funny fake moustache and a fat pipe in his mouth, that he was almost comical in his agony. But if you want to feel his real power, get on U tube or bring home some old DVDs. And there you’ll find Dev saab  in all his glory, seducing you with Mohammad Rafi’s voice, Elvis’ puff and a 1000 watt charisma that had never before been seen on the Indian silverscreen. Not difficult to understand then why girls nearly died when he smiled that lopsided smile and crinkled those deadly eyes.
 
Check Tere Ghar ke Saamne where he is sprawling at a miffed Nutan’s feet in the green meadows and draping himself around trees, begging her to smile again with: Dekho rutha naa karo, baat nazron ki suno. Or find Teen Deviyan where he's turning up his collar and smiling into the mirror, nearly cracking it with his sheer star power, while in the house across the street a blushing Nanda almost falls out of the window  with sheer delight at his Aise to na dekho, ki hamko nasha ho jaaye. Or, bring home Hum Dono and catch him traipsing down tea gardens with a trailing tie in one hand and a fragile Sadhana in another, shaking that lethal head to Abhi naa jao chod kar, ke dil abhi bhara nahin.

But if you want to feel the full blast of his cinematic power, sit in the quiet of the night and watch Din dhal jaaye; hai, raat na jaaye; tu toh naa aaye teri yaad sataye, where he leans back against a sofa leg with a bottle of whiskey and a glass in his hands, eyes shut to the world in pain. As the black shirted, bound-for-doom lover drowning his sorrow in drink, Dev Anand epitomizes unrequited love while the beautiful Rosy (the limpid-eyed Waheeda Rehman) tosses in her bed upstairs. 

He introduced Indian audiences to the anti-hero who smoked, who drank, who lied, who cheated, who fell in love with women he wasn’t supposed to be falling in love with (other men’s wives (Guide); adopted sisters (Bambai ka babu) included). As Raju, the man who helps a young girl realize her dream to dance by encouraging her to walk out of her marriage; but is also not averse to exploiting her in the process, Dev Anand was at his acting career best. But that’s not how most of us remember him now that he is gone. For his fans he was the style icon with a deadly puff, an endearing crick in the neck, a limp wrist and a smile that lit up the world. That little bit of Gregory Peck in him just added to his romance.

 But to each his own. What makes him immortal for me is the song: Main zindagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya, har fikr ko dhuyen mein udata chala gaya where he is the stylish Army officer, who walks with a careless swagger, lights up a cigarette with a musical lighter and chucks a butt into the flowing river (those were the good old days when smoking was stylish and littering not a big issue). He returns from war with a leg lost, but gives us, his fans, a philosophy to live by: Jo mil gaya usi ko mukaddar samajh liya, jo kho gaya main usko bhulata chala gaya. Yes, the Gita had given it to us earlier but Sri Krishna never put it the stylized way Dev did when he quoted Sahir Ludhianvi: Gam aur khushi mein fark naa mehsus ho jahan, main khud ko us makaam pe lata chala gaya with eyes half shut, half smile playing on the lips
 
As he got older, that was probably the philosophy he lived by as well. Making film after film that no one wanted to watch, but refusing to let it affect him. He directed 19 films of which only seven were commercially successful. The last – Chargesheet -was released just a while before he died. This was also the year when Hum Dono was rereleased in colour, 50 years after it first hit the cinema screens. He probably knew we had started laughing at him for refusing to age, in the process becoming a sad caricature of his earlier self. And when he left us, he was  probably upset by the fact that we didn’t want to watch any of the films he had been making lately. In fact, he didn’t even allow his body to be brought back to India from London where he died in a hotel room because he wanted his fans to remember him the way he had lived: in a full sleeved shirt with a scarf draped casually around the neck. Heroes might age, but they never die. They live forever in our memories. Goodbye Dev saab. Long life!

Dev trivia:
Once, returning from the Paris film festival, he modestly stood in the crowd in Rome to watch Gregory Peck shooting for Roman Holiday. Only to have Peck recognize him as the Bollywood sensation he had become and call him over for a
chat. Later he said in an interview that he had been hoping Gregory Peck’s eyes would fall on him.

In his lifetime, and a career spanning more than 65 years, Dev Anand acted in 114 Hindi films of which 110 had him play the main lead. His contributions to Indian cinema include immortalizing Rafi’ voice and Guru Dutt’s films, and introducing Indian audiences to glamourous divas like
Tina Munim and Zeenat Aman, which - he once said in an interview - was “like giving caramel custard to jalebi eaters”.


That's my favourite Dev Anand song. If you want to leave behind yours, please do. I'll find it on U tube and activate a link.

Big B JB's favourite song. Also Anju and Tanu's:
Prithvi's song:
Ritha's song. I found both versions but used this to show you how Hum Dono looks in colour:
Riten's song:
13 Comments
richa
16/12/2011 04:31:46 pm

DA evergreen hero. He is immortal. thanks Rachna for bringing back the music back with Devanand's song (my Firozpur trip).

Check this out how true is this. "Dev Anand. was banned by mumbai govt.to wear black coat due to reason every girl wants get ..." dont know how true it is

Reply
Anju
16/12/2011 08:01:17 pm

"jo mil gaya usi ko mukaddar samajh liya , mukaddar samajh liya ..jo kho gaya main usko bhulata chala gaya " ...Eyes well up ...Gives an inspiration to move on despite trials n set backs ..RIP Dev Sb .
Rachna a perfect tribute by you ..

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Swapan Lahiri
17/12/2011 01:13:13 am

Dev Saab is probably the longest acting Bollywood actor having started in 1946 till Chargesheet in 2010. You're absolutely right in that he was not very good in acting except I feel in Guide, but an absolute stylist. I felt really cheesed off when his stupid-looking clone used to caricature him more like a chimp in these 80s and nineties movies. But I admire his tenacity, carrying on making films every year till he died. You have beautifully brought out his philosophy based on his all time favourite song. But you failed to mention how Sachin Deb Barman contributed towards Devanand's image building with perhaps some of the music maestro's best compositions.Loved the song at the end.

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Tanu
18/12/2011 01:40:45 am

2011 has seen the passing away of quite a few living legends jagjit singh, bhupen Hazarika and now Dev Anand.....! Main zindagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya, har fikr ko dhuyen mein udata chala gaya ......that would be one of my fav. It epitomises what i wish i could acheive.

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Prithvi
18/12/2011 10:48:37 am

Nice Tribute Rachna.

Am a big fan of Dev Anand. My favorite is tere ghar ke samne. Tu Kahan, wandering around a hill station on a foggy night. And the overt delight shining on Nutan's face when he finds her. SD Burman, Vijay Anand and Dev Anand were a magical combination. May they all rest in peace.

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Anisha
19/12/2011 02:06:41 am

Good one Rachna.. Must say 2011 bhaari pada hum per, we lost a lot of well known artists and technologists..

I have seen most Dev Saab movies because my better half is a big fan :-) For songs, Raji ji being my fav, i like mostly all the songs.

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Ritha Hegde
19/12/2011 11:45:30 am

I am a big fan of oldies (both movies and songs), Dev Anand being a part of that era mesmerizes me too. I thought he was quite handsome back in his days. His expressions for 'abhi na jao chod kar' brings a wave in a romantic heart.

And not to forget you,dear I loved the para on 'Zindagi ka saath nibhatha chala gaya'. It needed a Rachna Bisht Rawat to put it so nicely that Dev gave a stylish outlook to gita words :)
You have made me want to go back and hear his songs...will come back to this article and tell you what all I like :)

Reply
RITEN
21/12/2011 02:37:34 pm

One of the best writes up on Dev Anand the ultimate romantic//congratulations,Rachna.There's so much more,like the songs from Munimji,Jeevan ke safar mein raahi.What a team with Nutan,Waheeda going upto zeenie baby.If you notice,he was never a lech,handling pretty women with respect professionally yes,but never vulgar.But Rachna,why a sweet creative man like Dev could not get his share of gleams of sunshine from Mona his wife.
And only in Hum Dono,his high frequency shaking,elasticity was controlled.There must have been an Army guy to cut that out.Dev Anand was indeed a sweetheart,befitting this story by You,Rachna.Absolutely wonderful indeed.

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manoj rawat
22/12/2011 06:26:54 pm

Difficult to single out my favourite. There are so many. His contribution to hindi cinema is enormous and he will always remain my number one.

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Jayendra Negi
23/12/2011 12:46:26 am

A nice tribute to late Dev sahab. He had original ideas.

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Big B JB
26/12/2011 11:04:18 pm

an evergreen hero with enagmatic smile, a legacy of style who never bogg down on his failure as director and continued his journey till his death. A magnificient,versatile actor had seen lots of ups and down in his career however his journey continued with" Har fikra ko dhuoan mein udata chala gaya".His "Khoj" Zeenat amaan,Tina munim gave a new dimensions to hindi cinema..."Hre Rama HareKrishna" showed the life of gypsy where as "Desh Pardesh" depicted the actual life of NRI's......Lootpat, Prem Pujari, Gambler, and above all Guide had its own impact on Indian Cinema.....a real hero and thorough gentleman who helped Kishore Daa...during crisis...and their friendship was so deep that his all songs are sung by kishore Daa.......His love and Passion for Suraiya..ban on black dress always kept him limelight.....Joshila, Sharif Badmash,chupa rustam were his few lows but he continued his journey with same pace and zeal.......Mein har fikr ko dhuayein mein udata chala gaya....is my all time fav.....very well written Ma'am.....Mazza aa gaya......ha ha

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noopur
9/1/2012 10:17:33 pm

Piyush was one die hard fan of Devanand....he spent his growing years trying to get his hair in a puff like his favourite star. And the songs you have mentioned will live for ever !!

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Anil Saxena
30/5/2015 09:38:18 pm

A very nicely written tribute...Dev is a legend. A person who was always full of enthusiasm and life. such people are rare. such people are original. To me, Dev sahib still posses the top most rank in Bollywood on the list of the most Stylish and handsome heroes Indian cinema has produced so far.

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    Rachna Bisht Rawat is a full time mom and part time writer. She is married to an Army officer whose work takes the family to some of the most interesting corners of India.

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