Dev Anand was one of Bollywood's iconic actor-directors
Dev Anand was the first hero of India cinema who was a happy figure.
The heroes of post-independence era cinema were solemn and grave like Dilip Kumar or tragic underdogs like Raj Kapoor.
Dev Anand ushered in positivity. He made the Indian leading man look dapper and debonair and playful and romantic.
His dashing looks and makeover included a quiff, neckties and hats jauntily perched on his head with a stick he liked to twirl. He dressed like a gentleman of leisure and smiled and joked with his leading ladies.
His early success had him playing a rake and bad guys with a magic touch with women who found his appeal irresistible.
He was called Mr Charming and later with his magic pairing with actress Madhubala he was called the Adonis of Indian cinema. Though he had a long standing marriage his image of a ladies' man was one he wore with elan.
Some of the actresses he introduced to Bollywood went on to become some of the most famous on the South Asia screen.
"Grew up watching your films. Sorry to say goodbye," tweeted writer Salman Rushdie.
Bollywood director Mahesh Bhatt said: "As the new dawn breaks over Mumbai I salute the memory of this star who has left left us with the glow of his smile."
Dev Anand introduced some of the most fashionable actresses to Bollywood, including Zeenat Aman, with whom he paired in Hare Krishna Hare Ram.
He also set up a production company in 1949, Navketan International Films, which produced more than 35 films.
Anand was much feted, winning the Dada Saheb Phalke award, the highest honour in Indian cinema, in 2002, and countless other awards.
One of his most popular films was Guide, based on a novel by celebrated Indian writer RK Narayan.
In his autobiography, Romancing with Life, he said he had been approached by the Nobel prize winning author Pearl Buck and director Tad Danielewski to act in an American film, based on an English novel by an Indian writer.
"But I eventually declined the offer. I told them that keeping my star status in India in mind, I would accept a role only if it was really challenging and aroused my interest," he wrote.
Dev Anand is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.
____________ Music forms a part of me again It gives Shape to my faceless Expressions...To my Thoughts. {Alochana}
The Hindu Yesteryear Hindi cinema idol Dev Anand during his 88th birthday in Mumbai.
File Photo: Vivek Bendre
Dev Anand, the ‘Evergreen Romantic Superstar’ of Indian cinema, has passed away here on Saturday night following cardiac arrest. He was 88.
Dev Anand, who had come here for medical check up, was not keeping well for the last few days, family sources told PTI. His son Sunil was with him when he breathed last.
Dev Anand made his debut as an actor in 1946 in Hum Ek Hain. By the time his Ziddi was released in 1947 he was a superstar and has never looked back.
Versatile Dev Anand has given countless hits like Paying Guest, Baazi, Jewel Thief,CID, Johny Mera Naam, Amir Garib, Warrant, Hare Rama Hare Krishna and Des Pardes.
For his outstanding contribution to Indian cinema, Dev Anand was honoured with the prestigious the ‘Padma Bhushan’ in 2001 and ‘Dada Saheb Phalke Award’ in 2002.
He established his film production company ‘Navketan International Films’ in 1949 and has produced more than 35 movies.
Dev Anand has won two Filmfare Awards in 1958 for his performance in the film Kala Paani and in 1966 for his performance in Guide.
Guide went on to win Filmfare Awards in five other categories including “Best Film” and “Best Director” and was sent as India’s entry for the Oscars in the foreign film category that year.
He co-produced the English Version of Guide named The Good Earth with Nobel Laureate Pearl S. Buck.
In 1993, he received Filmfare “Lifetime Achievement Award” and in 1996 he received a Screen Videocon “Lifetime Achievement Award“.
Of late he was involved in the direction of a new all American film Project Song Of Life — a musical love story which was to be shot in the United States.
He was to play the central character in the film which was to have a predominantly American star cast.
Dev Anand is the second of three brothers who were active in Hindi Cinema. His brothers are Chetan Anand and Vijay Anand. Their sister, Sheel Kanta Kapur, is the mother of renowned film director Shekhar Kapur
____________ Music forms a part of me again It gives Shape to my faceless Expressions...To my Thoughts. {Alochana}
End of era as Bollywood's "evergreen" Dev Anand dies
By Shilpa Jamkhandikar
MUMBAI (Reuters) - Movie actor and director Dev Anand, known for his joie de vivre as Bollywood's "evergreen hero," has died aged 88, an aide said, bringing the end to an era of Indian cinema.
Anand, whose last film, "Chargesheet," was released in September, was in London with his son, Suneil, when he died on Saturday from a heart attack, aide Mohan Churiwala told Reuters.
"He was never sick. Even when I spoke to him last evening, he sounded fine -- hale and hearty," Churiwala said.
Anand is also survived by his wife, Kalpana Karthik.
Born in Lahore, Anand travelled to Mumbai to work as a clerk in a government office in 1944 and got his first break two years later in the film "Hum Ek Hain." He turned director soon afterwards and went on to deliver a string of hits.
"CID," "Guide," "Hare Rama Hare Krishna" and "Jewel Thief" are movies considered part of Bollywood's essential viewing catalogue, and Anand's unique acting style is widely celebrated.
He is said to have been inspired by Hollywood's Gregory Peck, but his own casual style and the signature nod of his head while delivering lines were often imitated by fans.
Anand refused to retire from Bollywood, often telling interviewers he would work till his last breath. He was working on a new film at the time of his death.
"An era has come to an end," Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan wrote on Twitter. "Dev Anand leaves a void never perhaps to be filled again... his never-give-up belief, his joy of life."
Dev Anand, the Bollywood actor with the longest shelf life, died after a heart attack in a central London hotel on Saturday night. He was 88.
"It is with great sadness that the family of Mr Dev Anand announces his death," his British representative Kenny Muir said in a statement on Sunday.
"He passed away in his sleep last night from a sudden cardiac arrest. The family requests privacy until further announcements are made."
The veteran actor's son Sunil was with him at the Washington Hotel in London's posh Mayfair neighbourhood when he passed away around 3.30am on Sunday (Indian time). Dev had come to London for a medical check-up after feeling unwell.
Paramedical staff, who rushed to the hotel in ambulances, was unable to revive him, family friends said.
The evergreen hero is expected to be cremated in London this week, after the rest of the family - wife Kalpana and daughter Devina - arrive in London.
With a large circle of friends and admirers - as well as family - in London, Dev had made the British capital his second home.
His sister - mother of celebrated filmmaker Shekhar Kapur - lives in London, as does Kapur himself.
"He felt welcome here," said documentary filmmaker Nasreen Munni Kabeer, who curated a season of Dev Anand films for Britain's Channel 4 television earlier this year.
"We filmed an interview to introduce the season, and even then he appeared quite frail."
____________ Music forms a part of me again It gives Shape to my faceless Expressions...To my Thoughts. {Alochana}
Often compared to the US actor Gregory Peck because of his matinee idol looks, the legendary actor was best known for his boundless energy and passion for film
From Baazi in 1951 to Chargesheet in 2011, it was an untrammelled joy ride through six decades of Bollywood. Dev Anand, died aged 88, oversaw the growth of the Hindi film industry from the black and white era to Technicolour and beyond, leaves behind a unique legacy of a star who had moved way beyond his cinematic works.
He acted, he directed and produced... almost until the end, with his last film Chargesheet being released this year. Reviewing Chargesheet, a well known critic put against the rating "irrelevant". It truly didn't matter by then whether the film was good or bad. The much loved legend had given so much through the years that he was forgiven almost everything.
Anand lived and died on "his own terms," his nephew and renowned film director Shekhar Kapur said in a posting on Twitter. "He was working one minute. Sat down and smiled. And was gone the next. So much to learn."
Anand died of a heart attack on Saturday night in a hotel in London, where he had gone recently for a medical checkup, the family said.
Anand epitomised the suave, urban gentleman who romanced his way through generations of heroines —from Nalini Jaywant to Zeenat Aman.
He ruled the black and white era with movies like Munimji, CID and Hum Dono and then moved into the colour age with classics like Jewel Thief and Johny Mera Naam. He provided the launch pad for some of Bollywood's most remembered head-turners such as Aman and Tina Munim.
He acted as the lead in more than 110 movies. Chargesheet, in which he also directed, was released this year. The prolific star released an autobiography Romancing with Life in September 2007.
Early life
Born on September 26, 1923 as Dharam Dev Pishorimal Anand in Gurdaspur district of then undivided Punjab to a lawyer father, he graduated in English literature from the Government College, Lahore (now in Pakistan) before moving to Mumbai, where his elder brother, the late filmmaker Chetan Anand, was finding his foothold in Bollywood.
Like others, Anand too had his share of struggles before embarking on his celluloid journey. He worked as a military censor officer at Churchgate on a salary of Rs160 (Dh11) and joined as a member of the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA).
Destiny, however, had something else in store for him and soon he was offered a role in Hum Ek Hain (1946).
Two years later, the turning point in his career came when he was offered his first big break by Ashok Kumar in Bombay Talkies' hit Ziddi.
A genius in his own right, Anand turned producer and launched his production house Navketan in 1949. As a prior commitment, he asked Guru Dutt to direct the banner's first outing — crime thriller Baazi (1951), which made him a star.
Inspired by Hollywood actor Gregory Peck, Anand's rapid style of dialogue delivery, his array of hats, jackets and mufflers, and a penchant for nodding while speaking became his trademarks.
His first colour film, Guide, which was directed by his brother Vijay Anand, with Waheeda Rehman in 1965, became a cult movie and is remembered as one of his best works.
His maiden attempt at direction, Prem Pujari, flopped. But Anand got lucky with his 1971 Hare Rama Hare Krishna, which launched actress Aman. Later he introduced Jackie Shroff, Tabu and Richa Sharma to filmdom.
After the 1978 hit Des Pardes, which introduced Munim, his films failed to create a mark. But he was never one to lose heart.
On his birthday in September, the upbeat actor told the Press Trust of India that he still had more to offer.
"My life is the same, and I am at a beautiful stage at 88," he reportedly said in the interview. "I am as excited as I was in my 20s. I have so many things to do," including a sequel to his 1971 film that he had titled Hare Rama Hare Krishna Aaj.
Anand was given several prizes during his career, including lifetime achievement awards by Filmfare in 1993 and Screen Videocon in 1996.
Also known for social work, Anand dabbled in politics in the 1970s, launching a short-lived political party and leading other film stars in opposing then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's "Emergency" regime, which gave her the power to rule by decree.
____________ Music forms a part of me again It gives Shape to my faceless Expressions...To my Thoughts. {Alochana}
After attaining a degree in Bachelor of Arts from Lahore Government College, in pre-Independence India, Dev Anand made a failed attempt to procure admission in the Royal Indian Navy.
His father then proposed his son seek a clerical position in an office.
____________ Music forms a part of me again It gives Shape to my faceless Expressions...To my Thoughts. {Alochana}
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