At a time when Hindi film actors were crying over heartbreak and struggling to live up to Nehruvian idealism on the big screen, there emerged a flamboyant anti-hero who filled the audience with optimism. With a cap dangerously perched on puffed-up hair, a smile on his face and a song on his lips, Dev Anand straddled the space between the good and the bad, old and new, sometimes as a rakish cab driver and at others as a debonair con artiste seeking redemption.
Actor Dev Anand during the celebrations to mark his 88th birthday in Mumbai.
| Photo Credit:
Picasa
Untouched by self-pity, his characters effortlessly serenaded confident urbane women on screen and flirted with those besotted by his luminous charm in the darkness of theatres. Across generations, every girl got the impression that Dev is in love with her but perhaps there is one more competitor in the fray!
Dev Anand in Baat Ek Raat Ki – (1962).
| Photo Credit:
The Hindu Archives
Since his films didn’t have an overt message, they were often dismissed as just entertainers by critics of the time but over the years we have come to realise that the image of a restless, romantic hero who loved to dress up in black suits in the black & white era was carefully crafted by him, his left-leaning elder brother Chetan Anand and the visionary Guru Dutt, his good friend from the Prabhat Studio days perhaps as a counterpoint to the idealism and bucolic innocence that Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor presented.
A wave of Hollywood noir
Dev Anand
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JH THAKKER
In Baazi (1951), the second film of Navketan, the production house that the Anand brothers co-founded, when Anand as Madan, an incorrigible hustler, enters a cigarette-smoke-filled gambling club for a promised job, the lackey of the don asks him to keep itminan (patience) and tashreef (sit with respect). Madan retorts he doesn’t have time for either of the two. Directed by Guru Dutt, the film brought a wave of Hollywood noir to Hindi cinema in the 1950s with elements of song and dance, humour and a plot reminding how idealism got corrupted and woven into the narrative so that the flawed hero could easily find mass acceptance. When as a club dancer Geeta Bali jives to Geeta Dutt’s voice in ’Tadbeer se bigdi hui taqdeer bana le’ in Baazi (contrive when fortune doesn’t work), we get the implicit message through Sahir Ludhianvi’s sharp verse composed by S.D. Burman. With music complementing technique, in Taxi Driver and C.I.D. they brought Hindi film narratives out of the sets and let them breathe in the sea breeze of Mumbai.
In C.I.D, a Guru Dutt production starring Dev Anand, ‘Ae dil hai muishkil jeena yahan…ye hai bambai meri’captures the business-like approach of the metropolis and it is followed by ‘Leke pehla pehla pyar’ to showcase the joie de vivre in the same city. Interestingly, following the Western pattern, both songs are not lip-synced by the main actors. The frequent presence of nightclubs and gambling dens also helped in creating realistic song situations where a sensuous performer would try to entice the hero.
Baazi was followed by an even more noirish Jaal (1952) followed by Taxi Driver where Dev is called Mangal but his friends in the film call him Hero, perhaps to check the growing shades of grey. The immense success of the film meant that House No 44 (1955), Funtoosh (1956), Kala Pani (1958) followed the trend. When Guru Dutt and Chetan Anand moved on to follow their more profound pursuits, Dev’s younger brother Vijay Anand carried forward the image with Nau Do Gyarah (1957) and Kala Bazar (1960). Even when he played a law enforcer in C.I.D., Dev Anand didn’t play an infallible hero and carried the trait when he gradually moved on to more mature roles in the 1960s with Hum Dono (1961) and Guide (1965) — the acme of his creativity with which Dev Anand not only transcended geographical borders but also went on to describe the philosophy of his life.
Dev Anand and Waheeda Rehman in Kala Bazar
| Photo Credit:
THE HINDU ARCHIVES
New breed of musical talent
At Navketan, he provided a platform to a new breed of musical talent in the Hindi film industry that played a crucial role in creating the abiding mystique of Dev Anand. From the plaintive ‘Jayen’ to ‘Jayen kahan’ (Taxi Driver) and the beseeching ‘Abhi na jao chhodkar’ (Hum Dono) to the moving ‘Khoya khoya chand’ (Kala Bazar) and the mournful ‘Hum bekhudi main tumko pukare chale gaye (Kala Pani), Dev Anand performed myriad moods of romance that continue to evoke emotions decades after they were composed.
Having an innate sense for Indian and Western music, he actively participated in the making of music for his films and would often say that “music must be haunting.” He would go to any length to ensure that the melodies reflected the soul of the story. When S.D. Burman, his favourite composer, was seriously indisposed and advised him to take someone else to compose the music for Guide, Dev Anand decided to wait.
Dev Anand and Vyjayanthimala in Jewel Thief
| Photo Credit:
The Hindu Archives
When his hunch said Hasrat Jaipuri’s verse did not match up to the emotional depth of the film, he and Vijay Anand knocked at the door of Shailendra and persuaded him to join the team. It is said that Shailendra didn’t like to be seen as the second choice and raised his price but eventually agreed and together with Burman came up with arguably the most accomplished musical score for a Hindi film. They followed it up with Jewel Thief and Johny Mera Naam, which marked the actor’s return to his bread-and-butter thriller zone. It is still remembered for bringing out the best of Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle in ‘Hontho pe aisi baat’ and ‘Raat akeli hai’ respectively. Not to forget Shailendra’s poignant swansong ‘Rula ke gaya sapna mera’ rendered by Lata.
Dev Anand and Zeenat Aman in Hare Rama Hare Krishna
| Photo Credit:
The Hindu Archives
Donning the director’s role
Years later, when he took up the director’s mantle, Dev Anand invited Gopaldas Neeraj to collaborate with S.D. Burman on Prem Pujari (1970) and stood by him when Burman found the ways of the eminent Hindi poet not suitable for the film world driven by the tune. The effort resulted in classic numbers such as ‘Rangeela re’ and ‘Shokiyon main ghola jaye’. But around the same time, he collaborated with R.D. Burman and Anand Bakshi to give us a completely new sound with the ultimate youth anthem ‘Dum maro dum’ in his Hare Rama Hare Krishna.
Though Talat Mahmood, Hemant Kumar and Mohammed Rafi sang several memorable songs for Dev Anand, it was Kishore Kumar who became his abiding screen voice with songs like the naughty duet with Asha Bhosle ‘Chhod do aanchal’ (Paying Guest), flirtatious ‘Khwab ho tum ya koi haqeeqat’ (Teen Devian) the meaningful ‘Gata rahe mera dil’ (Guide) and again the coquettish ‘Pal bhar ke liye’ (Johnny Mera Naam). “He would keep me in mind while singing,” Dev Anand would often say.
Close to his mother, Dev Anand was often surrounded by strong female characters in his films. In Navketan’s universe, female characters were often working women not afraid to express their opinion and desire or frequent spaces that were hitherto forbidden for them. When the conservative forces in the establishment raised questions on the infidelity of Rosie in Guide, Dev Anand stood his ground and said that the film is made on a book that has won the Sahitya Akademi award. Of course, unlike the English version, Vijay Anand gave new clothing to R.K. Narayan’s theme to suit the sensibilities of the Hindi film audience and it included music that expressed the essence of Narayan’s complex characters like a layered work of visual art.
Dev Anand and Waheeda Rahman in the film Guide
| Photo Credit:
The Hindu Archives
Describing Rosie as the most challenging character she ever played, Waheeda Rehman once told this journalist, she was happy that Dev Anand offered her the opportunity when some of his colleagues advised otherwise. It was her stately screen presence and dancing abilities that titled the balance in her favour. “I told Dev (Anand), that if you want, chop my dialogues but don’t cut my dance sequences, and he agreed!” Her favourite is ‘Piya tose naina lage re’ because of the way “Vijay Anand established the whole sequence”. Be it ‘Mohse chhal kiye jaye’ or ‘Kya se kya ho gaya’, each song conveyed the mental state of the characters more than any dialogue could and the picturisation explained the chemistry between the Anand brothers and the Burman father and son. The editing of the songs complemented the musical notes and carried the narrative forward.
Even when his rapid-fire delivery and exaggerated mannerisms became dated, the themes of his films still remained relevant. Unfortunately, he could not separate the chambers of acting and direction inside him. His immensely talented nephew, Shekhar Kapoor once said that it took his uncle just 10 minutes to get over the colossal failure of Ishk Ishk Ishk (1974) that marked Shekhar’s debut as an actor. Untouched by cynicism, Dev Anand didn’t carry the baggage of unfulfilled relationships and professional failures. His candid nature is reflected in his autobiography as well and the Hum Dono song, ‘Main zindagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya’ describes his zest for life and the urge to live up to his youthful image till the very end.
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