Dharam Dev Pishorimal Anand , better known as
Dev Anand, was an Indian
film actor, writer, director and
producer known for his work in
Hindi cinema died from cardiac arrest he was 88..
[1] Part of
the Anand family, he co-founded
Navketan Films in 1949 with his elder brother
Chetan Anand.
[2][3][4] Anand is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors in the history of
Indian cinema.
[5] Considered as a
Matinee Idol and a Legend of
Indian Cinema, Dev Anand is one of the most celebrated actors of India, who is believed to have ruled the
Hindi Film Industry for many decades. The actor is also termed as
evergreen
by film critics and his fans due to the fact that he continued to be a
successful leading actor

when all his contemporaries had already
retired, and used to look extremely younger than his actual age. Dev
Anand is also regarded as one of the most handsome actors of Hindi
Cinema. The
Government of India honoured him with the
Padma Bhushan in 2001 and the
Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2002 for his contribution to
Indian cinema.
His career spanned more than 65 years with acting in 114 Hindi films of
which 104 have him play the main solo lead hero and he did 2 English
films.
(26 September 1923 – 3 December 2011)
Early life
Dev was born Dharam Dev Pishorimal Anand on 26 September 1923
[6] in the
Shakargarh tehsil of the Gurdaspur district in
Punjab (British India)
(present-day Narowal district of Pakistan). His father Pishori Lal
Anand was a well-to-do advocate. Dev was the third of four sons born to
Pishori Lal Anand. One of Dev's younger sister is Sheela Kanta Kapur,
who is mother of
Shekhar Kapur. His older brothers were Manmohan Anand (Advocate, Gurdaspur Dist. Court) and
Chetan Anand and younger one was
Vijay Anand.
Dev Anand spent his early years in Gharota village near Gurdaspur,
Gurdaspur town. He did his schooling till matriculation from Sacred
Heart School, Dalhousie,
Himachal Pradesh (then in Punjab) and went to college
Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh before going to Lahore to study.
[7][8] Later Dev completed BA degree in
English Literature from the
Government College, Lahore in
British India.
Career
After completing BA degree in English Literature from the
Government College, Lahore (then in
British India, now in
Pakistan),Dev Anand left his hometown for
Bombay in the early 1940s. He began his career in the military censor's office at Churchgate, for a monthly salary of
Rs. 165. Later he joined as a clerk in an accountancy firm for a salary of Rs. 85.
[9]
He joined his older brother, Chetan, as a member of the Indian People's
Theatre Association (IPTA).Dev Anand aspired to become a performer
after seeing Ashok Kumar's performance in films like Achhut Kanya and
Kismat.
[10]
Dev Anand quoted in an interview that "I remember when I gatecrashed
into the office of the man who gave me the first break, he kept looking
at me – Babu Rao Pai of Prabhat Film Studios. At that time he made up
his mind that this boy deserves a break and later mentioned to his
people that ‘this boy struck me because of his smile and beautiful eyes
and his tremendous confidence."
[11] Then he was soon offered the lead role in
Prabhat Films'
Hum Ek Hain (1946), a film about Hindu-Muslim unity, where Dev Anand played a Hindu boy and was paired opposite
Kamala Kotnis.
[12] While shooting the film in
Pune, Anand befriended the actor
Guru Dutt.
Between them, they agreed that if one of them was to become successful
in the film industry, they would help the other to be successful. They
formed a mutual understanding that when Anand produced a film, Dutt
would direct it and when Dutt directed a film, Anand would act in it.
[13]
Late 40s and romance with Suraiya
Dev Anand and
Nargis starred in
Birha Ki Raat (1950).
In the late 1940s, Anand was offered a few roles starring as the male lead opposite singer-actress
Suraiya
in woman-oriented films. He considered himself to be very lucky to get a
chance to star opposite such an established actress and accepted the
offers. While shooting these films, he became romantically involved with
Suraiya. The two of them were paired in seven films together:
Vidya (1948),
Jeet (1949),
Shair (1949),
Afsar (1950),
Nili (1950),
Do Sitare (1951) and
Sanam
(1951), all of which were successful at the box office. In these films,
Suraiya was always first-biller in the credits, indicating that she was
a bigger star than Anand. She fell in love with him during the shooting
of the song
Kinare kinare chale jayen ge from the film
Vidya—while
shooting the scene, the boat they were in capsized, and Anand saved
Suraiya from drowning. Their entire affair was conducted in a
clandestine manner, with friends like Durga Khote and Kamini Kaushal
going out of their way to engineer secret rendezvous. On the sets of the
film
Jeet, Anand finally proposed to Suraiya and gave her a
diamond ring worth Rs 3,000. Her maternal grandmother opposed the
relationship as they were Muslim and Anand was Hindu, and so, Suraiya
remained unmarried. They stopped acting together after her grandmother
opposed their partnership, and
Do Sitare was the last film in which they appeared.
[14][15]
Although the films he starred in with Suraiya had been successful, the
producers and directors of those films attributed their success to the
acting prowess and screen presence of Suraiya. Anand began looking for
an opportunity to play the main male lead in a film where his acting
skills could be demonstrated, so as to dispel scepticism about his
acting abilities.
Break and the 1950s
Anand was offered his first big break by
Ashok Kumar. He spotted Anand hanging around in the studios and picked him as the hero for the
Bombay Talkies production,
Ziddi (1948), co-starring
Kamini Kaushal, which became an instant success. After
Ziddi's success, Anand decided that he would start producing films. It was in the film Ziddi, where the first-ever Kishore-Lata duet,
Yeh Kaun Aaya Karke Yeh Sola Singhar, was recorded.
[16]
This duet was an instant hit, and from here, on both the playback
singers' association with Dev Anand began. It continued for next four
decades. His association with Kishore Kumar started when the former sang
the first solo of his playback singing career –
Marne Ki Duayen – picturised on Dev Anand in the movie Ziddi. Dev had forged a very strong bond of friendship with
Kishore Kumar during the making of the film. In 1949, he launched his own company
Navketan Films (which means "newness"), which, as of 2011, had produced 35 films.
[17]
Dev chose
Guru Dutt as director for the crime thriller,
Baazi
(1951). The film, starring Dev Anand, Geeta Bali and Kalpana Kartik was
a trendsetter, regarded as the forerunner of the spate of urban crime
films that followed in Bollywood in the 1950s. The film
Baazi saw debut of
Kalpana Kartik (aka Mona Singh) as the lead female actress and
Guru Dutt
as a director. The collaboration was a success at the box office and
the duo of Dev Anand and Kalpana Kartik were offered many films to star
in together. They signed all the film offers and subsequently the movies
Aandhiyan,
Taxi Driver,
House No. 44 and
Nau Do Gyarah went on to become big hits too. During the making of film
Taxi Driver, the couple fell in love and Dev proposed marriage to his heroine Kalpana. In 1954,
Taxi Driver was declared a hit and the two decided to marry in a quiet ceremony. The couple had a son,
Suneil Anand in 1956 and later a daughter, Devina, was born. After her marriage, Kalpana decided not to pursue her acting career further.
Nau Do Gyarah was the couple's last movie together.
A rapid-fire style of dialogue delivery and a penchant for nodding while speaking became Dev's style in films like
House No. 44,
Pocket Maar,
Munimji,
Funtoosh,
C.I.D. and
Paying Guest.
[18] In the 1950s his films were of the mystery genre or light comedy love stories or were films with social relevance like
Ek ke baad ek and
Funtoosh.His
style was lapped up by the audience and was widely imitated. He starred
in a string of box office successes for the remainder of the 1950s
opposite newcomer
Waheeda Rehman in
C.I.D.,
Solva Saal,
Kala Pani,
Kala Bazar and
Baat Ek Raat Ki. Waheeda first became a star with C.I.D becoming a hit.
[19] In 1955 he also co-starred with
Dilip Kumar in
Insaniyat. With his acting in
Kala Pani
(1958), as the son who is willing to go to any lengths to clear his
framed father's name, he won his first Filmfare award for Best Actor for
the film.
[20] He attempted films of tragic genre occasionally like
Pocket Maar (1956),
Kala Pani (1958),
Bombai Ka Baboo (1960) and Sharabi (1964) and tasted success with them. Dev also played a few characters with a negative shade, like in
Jaal(1952) where he played a smuggler, then as an absconding gang member in Dushman, as a black marketer in
Kala Bazar.
[21] Apart from his pair with
Suraiya and
Kalpana Kartik, his pair with
Nutan and
Waheeda Rehman was popular among the audiences in late 50’s and 60’s. His films
Rahee and
Aandhiyaan, were screened along with
Raj Kapoor's
Awaara. From the early fifties till mid sixties, the trio of
Dilip Kumar,
Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand ruled the roost.
Romance hero image in the 60s
In the sixties, Dev Anand acquired a romantic image with films like
Manzil and
Tere Ghar Ke Samne with Nutan,
Kinaare Kinaare with
Meena Kumari,
Maya with
Mala Sinha,
Asli-Naqli with
Sadhana Shivdasani,
Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai and
Mahal with
Asha Parekh and
Teen Deviyaan opposite three heroines
Kalpana,
Simi Garewal and
Nanda. In the film
Teen Deviyaan, Dev Anand played a playboy.
His first colour film,
Guide with
Waheeda Rehman was based on the novel of the same name by
R. K. Narayan.
Dev Anand himself was the impetus for making the film version of the
book. He met and persuaded Narayan to give his assent to the project.
[22] Dev Anand tapped his friends in Hollywood to launch an Indo-US co-production that was shot in Hindi and
English simultaneously and was released in 1965.
Guide,
directed by younger brother Vijay Anand, was an acclaimed movie. Dev
played Raju, a voluble guide, who supports Rosy (Waheeda) in her bid for
freedom. He is not above thoughtlessly exploiting her for personal
gains. Combining style with substance, he gave an affecting performance
as a man grappling with his emotions in his passage through love, shame
and salvation.
He reunited with Vijay Anand for the movie
Jewel Thief, based on thriller genre which featured
Vyjayanthimala,
Tanuja,
Anju Mahendru,
Faryal and
Helen and was very successful. Their next collaboration,
Johny Mera Naam (1970), again a thriller, where Dev was paired opposite
Hema Malini was a big hit.
[19] It was Johnny Mera Naam which made Hema Malini a big star.
[23]
In 1969 he was a member of the jury at the
6th Moscow International Film Festival.
[24]
Directorial debut and the 70s
His directorial debut, the espionage drama
Prem Pujari,
was a flop but has developed a cult following over the years.The film
introduced Zaheeda and had Waheeda Rahman as the lead female artiste. He
tasted success with his 1971 directorial effort,
Hare Rama Hare Krishna which talked about the prevalent
hippie culture. His find
Zeenat Aman,
who played the mini-skirt sporting, pot-smoking Janice, became an
overnight sensation. Dev also became known as a filmmaker of trenchantly
topical themes. This same year, he starred with
Mumtaz in
Tere Mere Sapne, an adaptation of
A. J. Cronin's novel,
The Citadel. The film was directed by Dev's brother, Vijay and was also successful. In 1971 he paired again with Zaheeda in
Gambler which went on to become a success.
In the 1970s,
Raj Kapoor started playing roles of father in films like
Kal Aaj Aur Kal in 1971 and
Dharam Karam in 1974 and had put lot of weight and films with
Dilip Kumar
as lead hero were failures at the box office . Some of the
hurriedly-made films with Dev Anand as the leading man—three each
opposite Hema Malini and Zeenat Aman and
Yeh Gulistaan Hamara
with Sharmila Tagore became flops and posed a threat to his career as
leading man. But he delivered commercial hits again with young heroines
Yogeeta Bali and
Raakhee in
Banarasi Babu (1973), Hema Malini in
Chhupa Rustam (1973) and
Amir Garib (1974),
[25] Zeenat Aman in
Heera Panna(1973),
Warrant(1975)
[26] and
Darling Darling(1977) and
Parveen Babi in
Bullet(1976). The presence of his discoveries in the 1970s—Zeenat, and later
Tina Munim, in films and his good onscreen chemistry with beautiful young stars like
Raakhee,
Parveen Babi,
Hema Malini,
Zeenat Aman in various films boosted Dev's image as the evergreen star even though he was well into his fifties.
Political activism during the Emergency in the late 70s
Dev Anand has also been politically active. He led a group of film personalities who stood up against the
Internal Emergency imposed by the then
Prime Minister of India,
Indira Gandhi.
He actively campaigned against her with his supporters in Indian
parliamentary elections in 1977. He also formed a party called the "
National Party of India", which he later disbanded.
The 1978 hit
Des Pardes, directed by Dev Anand was the debut movie of actress
Tina Munim
and this film’s success gave him the tag of evergreen hero. He was 55
but he shared very good chemistry with the 20-year old Tina Munim. Dev
Anand was offered lead role in
Man Pasand by director Basu Chatterjee. Dev Anand’s successful run at the box office continued in the 1980s with
Man Pasand,
Lootmaar (both opposite Tina Munim),
Swami Dada (1982) being both critically acclaimed and box office hits.
Later career
Though Dev Anand’s demand as the lead hero had not decreased even in
the 1980s, he decided that it was the right time to introduce his son
Suneil Anand in films as the hero. He launched his son in the
Kramer vs. Kramer inspired
Anand Aur Anand (1984), which was produced and directed by Dev Anand himself and had music by
R.D. Burman. He expected the film to do well but the film was a box office disaster and
Suneil Anand decided not to act in films any more.
But films with Dev Anand as the lead hero
Hum Naujawan (1985),
Lashkar (1989) continued to be box office success and was appreciated by critics.
[27] Awwal Number
(1990), where Dev Anand co-starred with Aamir Khan became an average
grosser. Aamir said in an interview that Awwal Number is the only film
he signed without reading the script because it was being directed by
his senior Dev Anand. Aamir quoted “Dev saab was an icon for many
generations and entertained us throughout his life.
[28] He was already 60 years old in 1983 when he acted with
Padmini Kolhapure in Swami Dada but looked half his age and shared a good on screen chemistry. In 1989, his directorial venture
Sachche ka Bolbala was released. Though critically acclaimed, it was a commercial failure.
Since the 1990s except for Awwal Number, rest of the eight films directed by him were box office failures. But
Sau Crore (1991) and
Censor (2000) were critically acclaimed. His last film
Chargesheet
(2011) was panned by critics across the board. The only two hero film
he acted in were Insaniyat in 1955 with Dilip Kumar and Return of Jewel
Thief with Dharmendra in 1996. He also starred in English films like The
Evil Within(1970) where he was paired opposite Vietnamese actress Kieu
Chinh and Zeenat Aman
[9] and
Guide (English Version). Off the 114 Hindi films he appeared in 6 decades,
Kahin Aur Chal (1968) had a delayed release in early 1970s and multistarrer film
Ek Do Teen Chaar (1980) remained unreleased and
Shrimanji
(1968) had him in guest appearance and 82 were box office hits and 29
were commercial failures. By 2011, he held the record for being the
second actor from Hindi films who has played the central solo lead
character in maximum films—104, with first being Rajesh Khanna who
played author backed solo lead hero in maximum films 106.
Comparisons with Gregory Peck
Often compared to the famous actor
Gregory Peck the world over,
[29]
Dev Anand said that he didn't feel ecstatic bearing the tag line
bestowed on him in his hey days. "When you are at an impressionable age
you make idols. But when you grow out of the phase, you develop your own
persona. I don't want to be known as India's Gregory Peck, I am Dev
Anand".
[30]
Acquainted to the Bollywood actor, Peck's personal interactions with
him spanned four to five long meetings in Europe and Mumbai.
[30][31][32]
Dev Anand and Suraiya met Peck for the first time at Mumbai's
Willingdon Club,after the Filmfare Awards in 1954, on Peck's stopover in
the city from a schedule at Sri Lanka after shooting for Purple Plane.
He knew of the 'Indian Star' as an actor, more so probably because of
his romance with Suraiya was grabbing the headlines, and they had a
chat. The second time they met in Rome when Dev Anand was on his way
back from the Venice Film Festival, he visited him on the sets of Roman
Holiday. "I was returning from the Venice film fest. I stopped my car
and joined the crowd watching the shoot, hoping that his eyes would fall
on me. As expected, he nodded and I walked up to him. He remembered me
and we exchanged pleasantries." The third meeting was at London on the
sets of Moby Dick. However, Suraiya asked for an exclusive meeting with
her idol at her house. Though Anand says jealousy was natural for anyone
in love, he didn't mind that he was not invited. "I didn't quite feel
anything. It wasn't as if they were going to fall in love or make love.
Even if they would have, it wouldn't have mattered. I was mature enough.
Moreover, he wasn't my rival. I too was a big star by then," says
Anand.
Critical appraisal
Dev Anand has directed 19 films and produced 35 films of which 7
directorial ventures and 18 films respectively were commercially
successful at the box office. He wrote the story for 13 of his films.
Critics say his directorial ventures have always been ahead of its time.
Dev Anand's films are well known for their hit songs. He is known to
have been an active participant in the music sessions of a number of his
films. His association with music composers
Shankar-Jaikishen,
O. P. Nayyar,
Kalyanji-Anandji,
Sachin Dev Burman and his son
Rahul Dev Burman, lyricists
Hasrat Jaipuri,
Majrooh Sultanpuri,
Neeraj,
Shailendra,
Anand Bakshi, and
playback singers Mohammed Rafi,
Hemant Kumar and
Kishore Kumar
produced some very popular songs. S.D Burman, R.D Burman, Rafi, Pran
and Kishore Kumar were his closest friends from film industry.
[33][34]
In September 2007, Dev's own autobiography
Romancing with Life was released at a birthday party with the Indian Prime Minister
Dr. Manmohan Singh.
[35] In February 2011, his 1961 black and white film
Hum Dono was digitised and colourised and released.
Dev Anand is credited with giving actors like
Zarina Wahab in Ishq Ishq Ishq,
Jackie Shroff in
Swami Dada,
Tabu in
Hum Naujawan and
Richa Sharma(Sanjay Dutt’s first wife) a break into the film industry, discovered Zeenat Amaan, Tina Munim and encouraging music composer
Rajesh Roshan.
[9]
Amit Khanna started his career with Navketan as executive producer in
1971 and had been secretary to Dev Anand in 70's. He adds, "The
uniqueness of Navketan today is that it's the only film company in the
world still run by the one who started it."
[36]
Shatrughan Sinha disclosed in an interview that it was Dev Anand who
gave him a break in films by giving a role in 'Prem Pujari' and since
Dev had given Sinha a very small role in that film, he compensated for
it by giving Sinha another role in his next film 'Gambler'. Sinha quoted
"Later on we worked together in 'Sharif Badmash' and it was really a
privilege to work with him,".
[37]
It was under Dev Anand's Navketan Banner where Guru Dutt, Raj Khosla,
Waheeda Rahman, S.D. Burman, Jaidev, Sahir Ludhianvi, Majrooh
Sultanpuri, Yash Johar, Shekhar Kapur, Kabir Bedi were given breaks into
Hindi films and Dev launched actors Zaheera,
Zaheeda Hussain, Zarina Wahab, Natasha Sinha, Ekta Sohini, Sabrina.
Death
Dev Anand died in his room at
The Washington Mayfair Hotel in
London at the age of 88 on 3 December 2011 (4 December 2011 by Indian Standard Time) of a
cardiac arrest.
[38][39][40] His death came just months after the release of his last film,
Charge Sheet.
[41] Anand was reportedly in London for a medical check up at the time of his death.
[42] Condolences poured in from all corners of the
Indian film industry, with most of them remembering his positive attitude towards life.
[41][43]
On 10 December, his funeral service was held at a small chapel in
London after which his casket was taken to the Putney Vale Crematorium
in South West London for cremation. His ashes were returned to India for
immersion burial in the
Godavari River.
[44]
Awards, honours and recognitions
Civilian award
National Film Awards
Winner
Filmfare Awards
Winner
National honours and recognitions
- 1996 – Star Screen Lifetime Achievement Award
- 1997 – Mumbai Academy of Moving Images Award for his Outstanding Services to the Indian Film Industry
- 1998 – Lifetime Achievement Award by the Ujala Anandlok Film Awards Committee in Calcutta[50]
- 1999 – Sansui Lifetime Achievement Award for his 'Immense Contribution to Indian Cinema' in New Delhi[51]
- 2000 – Film Goers' Mega Movie Maestro of the Millennium Award in Mumbai[52]
- 2001 – Special Screen Award for his contribution to Indian cinema
- 2001 – Evergreen Star of the Millennium Award at the Zee Gold Bollywood Awards on 28 April 2001 at the Nassau Coliseum, New York[53]
- 2003 – Lifetime Achievement Award for "Outstanding Achievement in Indian Cinema" at IIFA Award in Johannesburg, South Africa[54]
- 2004 – Legend of Indian Cinema Award at Atlantic City (United States)[55]
- 2004 – Living Legend Award by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in recognition of his contribution to the Indian entertainment industry[56]
- 2005 – Sony Golden Glory Award[57]
- 2006 – ANR National Award by the Akkineni International Foundation[58]
- 2006 – Glory of India Award by IIAF, London[59]
- 2007 – Punjab Ratan (Jewel of Punjab) Award by the World Punjabi
Organisation (European Division) for his outstanding contribution in the
field of art and entertainment.[60]
- 2008 – Lifetime Achievement Award by Ramya Cultural Academy in association with Vinmusiclub[61]
- 2008 – Lifetime Achievement Award by Rotary Club of Bombay[62]
- 2008 – Awarded at the IIJS Solitaire Awards[63]
- 2009 – Outstanding contribution to Indian cinema at the Max Stardust Awards[64]
- 2009 – Legend Award was given to Dev Anand by Rajnikanth[65]
- 2010 – Phalke Ratna Award by Dadasaheb Phalke Academy[66]
- 2010 – Rashtriya Gaurav Award[67]
- 2011 – Rashtriya Kishore Kumar Samman from the Government of Madhya Pradesh[68]
- 2011 – NDTV Indian of the Year's Lifetime Achievement Award with Rahul Dravid[69]
International honours and recognitions
- In July 2000, in New York City, he was honoured by an Award at the hands of the then First Lady of the United States of America, Hillary Rodham Clinton, for his 'Outstanding Contribution to Indian Cinema'.[70]
- In 2000, he was awarded the Indo-American Association "Star of the Millennium" Award in the Silicon Valley, California.
- Donna Ferrar, Member New York State Assembly, honoured him with a "New York
State Assembly Citation" for his 'Outstanding Contribution to the
Cinematic Arts Worthy of the Esteem and Gratitude of the Great State of New York' on 1 May 2001.
- In 2005, he was honoured with a "Special National Film Award" by the Government of Nepal at Nepal’s first NationIndian film festival in Stockholm.
- In 2008, he was guest of honour at a dinner hosted by the Provost of Highland Council in Inverness, Scotland
to celebrate 10 years since he first worked in the Scottish Highlands.
He spent several days in the area, en route to Cannes, as a guest of the
Highlands and Islands Film Commission.
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