The evergreen magic of “DevaNand”

His name is Dev Anand bit fans call him “Deva-nand”. The name has become a legend for those born during 1940s and beyond. He does not belong to ‘Bollywood’, he represents the golden years of the Indian Film Industry. The ‘Trimurti’ of Indian Cinema, Dilip Kumar (Yusuf Khan), Raj Kapoor (Ranbirraj Kapoor) and Dev Anand (Devdutt Pishorimal Anand) ruled the Indian Film Industry for more than two decades. Dilip Kumar was the thespian, Raj Kapoor was the show-man and Dev Anand was the Hero, the star of 1950s. Nobody has every enjoyed the universal magic of Dev Anand. For people my age, he remains a milestone.

During the 1950s, the six of us were young and our parents were strict about us watching too many films. We were allowed to watch only one Hindi film and one English film every month. That too my father preferred us to watch patriotic Hindi films or mythological films. We were also allowed one Walt Disney movie a month. The only exception for me at least was a Dev Anand film with Johnny Walker as the comedian. My father did not have the heart to stop us from a Dev Anand starrer, as simple as that. Such was the magic of Dev Anand and his Navketan Films.

Devdutt Pishorimal Anand (Dev Anand) was born in Gurdaspur, Punjab on September 26, 1923. He was born in a well-to-do Punjabi-speaking family of Advocate Pishorimal Anand. His elder brother was the late Chetan Anand (Producer & Director) and the younger brother was director Vijay Anand. Dev Anand graduated in English literature from Government College, Lahore, British India and then left his hometown to work in the Military Censor Office at Churchgate, Bombay. He was offered a role in 1946 Hindi film, ‘Hum Ek Hain’ by the film maker P L Santoshi. It was at Prabhat Studio where ‘Hum Ek hain’ was being filmed that Dev Anand first met Guru Dutt. Ashok Kumar introduced Dev Anand as a leading man opposite Kamini Kaushal in ‘Ziddi’.

DEV ANAND & KALPANA KARTIK – AAJ KI RAAT PIYA – 1951 FILM (BAAZI)

DEV ANAND & GEETA BALI TADBEER SE BIGDI HUI

DEV ANAND & KALPANA KARTIK AANKHON ME KYA JI

DEV ANAND MADHUBALA ACHHA JI MAIN HAARI