Kohima days - Mere Ghar Ke Saamne !!
When 'autograph' was the in-thing and selfies days were not in thought process !! .... legendary star Dev Anand visited Kohima War Cemetery in 1987.... words spread and some of us from Science College gang had rushed .... our Kohima house in Midland area was at a stone's throw from the cemetery.
Dev Anand was certainly a great star and very popular. But as an entertainer he had his share of criticism and 'blame game' too. He had a copycat label and that his performance mattered more about 'style' and less of substance.
It's a matter of fact that during his peak in the black-and-white era, critics frequently accused Dev Anand of being repetitive, relying on his famous puff of hair, tilted cap, rapid dialogue delivery, and nod.
Reviewers often dismissed his films as mere entertainers rather than films with deep, overt social messages.
Because of his westernized wardrobe and certain mannerisms, critics sometimes compared him to Hollywood icon Gregory Peck, suggesting he emulated the American actor's style.
But Dev Anand - nevertheless- famously defended his consistent on-screen persona by stating that audiences wanted their favorite star to act the way they always had.
Critics also would maintain that even in his twilight years as a director and actor, he rarely reinvented himself to match his actual age.
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| Gregory Peck |
Dev Anand in other words stuck being what he has been. He was confident and as they say maybe -- 'over-confident' enough to not to seek an image makeover.
“... those who like me and love me call me Dev, just Dev, short and sweet and progressive" -- he had written in his memoir 'Romancing with Life'.
But there has been another refrain about his style and performance. --
He was certainly, The most loved hero, who was also a flamboyant anti-hero
To many, Dev Anand was much ahead of his time with his bold film choices -- he could convey even complicated emotions with a smile on his face and a song on his lips.
"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," went a tribute about him in 2023. Ask any old timer ... well my father is dead; he liked both Dev Anand and Ashok Kumar and the dialogue from the film 'Jewel Thief' --
"हम तो सिर्फ प्यार करते हैं, चोरी नहीं... और प्यार में दिल का सौदा होता है, इल्जाम नहीं।"
Pyar me dil ka sauda hota hae ...
(We only love, we don't steal... and in love, hearts are traded, not blamed.)
It is said 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.
Certain things were summed up well in an article. ---
Across generations, every girl got the impression that Dev is in love with her but perhaps there is one more competitor in the fray!
The dialogue from 'Hum Dono' mesmerized some of us ... struggling with Science.
He had said - "I can give you support .... not love". That's was Calculas and many more 'stupid things' in our lives.
Dev Anand and Waheeda Rehman in CID
Alongside his brother Chetan Anand, he co-founded Navketan Films, a production house responsible for introducing fresh talent and modern urban themes to Indian cinema.
For his massive contributions to entertainment spanning six decades, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2001 and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2002.
At the end, we all remember Dev Anand for impeccably tailored suits, gleaming shoes, slick hairstyle ....
As someone had said - he was a dashing young man with a twinkle in his eye. As he stormed into Bollywood in the 1940s; Dev Anand had arrived, and Hindi cinema was never the same again.
ends
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