I have often mentioned this in various posts, blogs and conversations. The first time that I saw this handsome man with a very interesting gait, and a somewhat toothless smile, I decided that I wanted to be like him. I wanted to look like him, talk like him and sing like him.
Of course it took me a few years more to realize that the great voice when he sang was somebody else’s and that somebody else would become an Icon and a big big Hero for me.
But this hero too held my fascination. His hairstyle was something that had left a million hearts a-melting.
Slipping on the pavement on a rainy evening as we walked out of a cinema theatre in Madras, I told my mother and my grandmother that I would also sing “Khoya Khoya chaand….”. I didn’t let the pain of the injury sustained on my back and my knees bother me. Heroes didn’t cry. They only sang songs, wooed heroines and fought the villains.
Dev Anand had taken complete possession of my senses when I was barely six years old.
Those were the days of black and white movies, and there were great songs. In every song, whether it was soulfully sad, or mischeivously funny, or quite simply simple, Dev Anand loo
ked great. I knew that he was invincible. Nobody could ultimately win like he did. He held everybody in awe of him. I grew up collecting pictures of his, and making a list of his films and his songs.
Then came the colour era, and he heralded the kind of technology most people hadn’t even heard about. He hired technicians and assistants who brought international skills to the screen. His dress sense may have seemed bizarre to some, but he carried of his jackets, caps, hats and scarves with panache and great savvy.
He may not have made great box office successes all the time. The crowds may not have got up and clapped till the very end of the movie, they may not have thrown coins at the screen, or performed aarti at his very appearance the first time in the movie.
But I know that secretly many many people admired him, aped him and even marvelled at his abundant energy and his never-say-die spirit.
Nobody could romance a leading lady like he did, whether walking down the stairs of the Qutb or seeking her out on a cold wintery evening on Simla’s Mall Road, or at a lakeside in Udaipur.
Nobody could go around singing even while peeping into a hundred doors and windows, as the heroine kept up a mock rebuff, only to succumb in the end. Nobody could deliver those touching lines that a Major in the army would, reme
mbering his mother, wife and friends, as he battled the enemies on the desolate front.
And of curse, nobody, I dare say, nobody would have that kind of energy at the age of 88 to carry on making films at breakneck speed with the suave and charm of a twenty year old, combined with the experience of a fifty year old.
He has been the handsome Sharabi, the ebullient Pocketmaar, the lost Guide, the dashing Prem Pujari, the soft hearted Gambler, the large-hearted Bambai ka Babu and the charming CID. And of course, the smart Jewel Thief.
And this is the spirit that I want to salute. Actors there will be many. Stars there will be quite a few on the horizon. Box office successes there will be so many. But where will we find a man who can never be stopped. A man who carries on unmindful of success or failure. He reminds me of the famous quote- “don’t let success go to your head or failure go to your heart”.
He carries on, blithe as ever, nimble- footed as ever, colourful as ever.He has introduced to the silver screen more youngsters than he would care to remember.
And the one philosophy of his that I truly admire is- “I don’t stay with my sorrows”.
He has lived well. He has loved well and truly. It is not as if he hasn’t seen sorrow or loss. He has lost as well. But he carries on, stronger than before. More strong-willed than before. He has nothing to prove to anybody. Except perhaps telling himself that- “ I just stayed along with life”.
Joh mil gaya usi ko muqaddar samajh liya, joh kho gaya main usko bhulaata chala gaya.
Happy 88th Birthday to you, Dev Saab. May you continue to do films at 100, and even after that.
Salute !!!!
Of course it took me a few years more to realize that the great voice when he sang was somebody else’s and that somebody else would become an Icon and a big big Hero for me.
But this hero too held my fascination. His hairstyle was something that had left a million hearts a-melting.
Slipping on the pavement on a rainy evening as we walked out of a cinema theatre in Madras, I told my mother and my grandmother that I would also sing “Khoya Khoya chaand….”. I didn’t let the pain of the injury sustained on my back and my knees bother me. Heroes didn’t cry. They only sang songs, wooed heroines and fought the villains.
Dev Anand had taken complete possession of my senses when I was barely six years old.
Those were the days of black and white movies, and there were great songs. In every song, whether it was soulfully sad, or mischeivously funny, or quite simply simple, Dev Anand loo
ked great. I knew that he was invincible. Nobody could ultimately win like he did. He held everybody in awe of him. I grew up collecting pictures of his, and making a list of his films and his songs.Then came the colour era, and he heralded the kind of technology most people hadn’t even heard about. He hired technicians and assistants who brought international skills to the screen. His dress sense may have seemed bizarre to some, but he carried of his jackets, caps, hats and scarves with panache and great savvy.
He may not have made great box office successes all the time. The crowds may not have got up and clapped till the very end of the movie, they may not have thrown coins at the screen, or performed aarti at his very appearance the first time in the movie.
But I know that secretly many many people admired him, aped him and even marvelled at his abundant energy and his never-say-die spirit.
Nobody could romance a leading lady like he did, whether walking down the stairs of the Qutb or seeking her out on a cold wintery evening on Simla’s Mall Road, or at a lakeside in Udaipur.
Nobody could go around singing even while peeping into a hundred doors and windows, as the heroine kept up a mock rebuff, only to succumb in the end. Nobody could deliver those touching lines that a Major in the army would, reme
mbering his mother, wife and friends, as he battled the enemies on the desolate front.And of curse, nobody, I dare say, nobody would have that kind of energy at the age of 88 to carry on making films at breakneck speed with the suave and charm of a twenty year old, combined with the experience of a fifty year old.
He has been the handsome Sharabi, the ebullient Pocketmaar, the lost Guide, the dashing Prem Pujari, the soft hearted Gambler, the large-hearted Bambai ka Babu and the charming CID. And of course, the smart Jewel Thief.
And this is the spirit that I want to salute. Actors there will be many. Stars there will be quite a few on the horizon. Box office successes there will be so many. But where will we find a man who can never be stopped. A man who carries on unmindful of success or failure. He reminds me of the famous quote- “don’t let success go to your head or failure go to your heart”.
He carries on, blithe as ever, nimble- footed as ever, colourful as ever.He has introduced to the silver screen more youngsters than he would care to remember.
And the one philosophy of his that I truly admire is- “I don’t stay with my sorrows”.
He has lived well. He has loved well and truly. It is not as if he hasn’t seen sorrow or loss. He has lost as well. But he carries on, stronger than before. More strong-willed than before. He has nothing to prove to anybody. Except perhaps telling himself that- “ I just stayed along with life”.
Joh mil gaya usi ko muqaddar samajh liya, joh kho gaya main usko bhulaata chala gaya.
Happy 88th Birthday to you, Dev Saab. May you continue to do films at 100, and even after that.
Salute !!!!
2 comments:
Achal... U have said everything about a person I loved all my life and wanted 2 say myself. Only I didn't have the words u so brilliantly put across. What more can I say. I loved it. Thanks.
Jay
Jay
thanks a ton!!
we are birds of a feather !!!
cheers
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