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

The Pathans of India…

Yusuf Khan (born on November 17, 1982) and Irfan Khan (born on October 27, 1984) are the two Pathan brothers who have fired the imagination of Indian Cricket in the 21st century. Born to Mehmood Khan and Shamim Bano, the brothers grew up in a mosque in Baroda. Mehmood Khan worked as the muezzin. The impoverished Muslim family wanted their sons to become Islamic scholars, instead the brothers took interest in cricket. The family had no welfare checks coming. Like so many millions in India, they had their grit, determination and simple hard-work.

Although Yusuf is the older one, Irfan made his Test debut in the Second Test against Australia at the Adelaide Oval in December 2003. He was introduced as a left-arm fast-medium swing bowler, reminding some of the legendary Wasim Akram of Pakistan. Irfan improved his batting skills to become a bowling all-rounder. This was the birth of ‘Irfan Pathan’ the Indian pride after the renowned all-rounder and former skipper Kapil Dev. How did Irfan Khan become Irfan Pathan? Shamim Bano, his mother, laments “Tum logo ne uska naam badal diya hai” (you media people have changed his name). Does it matter? It suits him, anyway.

Yusuf Pathan, the elder brother (half-brother) is a hard-hitting right handed batsman and a right-arm off-break bowler. He was selected for the Indian Squad for the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship, held in South Africa in September 2007. He made his Twenty20 international debut in final against Pakistan. His performance was hardly noteworthy, but India pulled off the last ball victory and the rest is history. Yusuf Pathan became a part of history-making win for India. Subsequently, because of a good domestic season, he was signed by the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League for $475,000. In the 2008 IPL season, Yusuf scored 435 runs and took 8 wickets. Shane Warne, the captain for Rajasthan Royals, placed great faith in Yusuf Pathan. He was the Man of the Match in the final against Chennai Super Kings. Yusuf Pathan has arrived.