Dev Anand Would Be 101 Today!

Did
you
know
Dev
Anand
worked
as
a
clerk
at
a
salary
of
Rs
85
before
he
became
an
actor?

Dev
Anand
led
a
larger-than-life
existence
on
screen.
His
real
life
was
just
as
eventful.

A
passionate
workaholic
even
in
his
80s,
he
had
two
releases
to
his
credit
in
one
single
year
—

Hum
Dono
Rangeen
and

Chargesheet.

Says
a
lot
about
the
evergreen,
ever-enthusiastic
hero
who
breathed
his
last
on
December
3,
2011,
doesn’t
it?

There’s
a
lot
more
about
the
late
legend
you
probably
don’t
know,
but
are
most
eager
to
find
out.

On
his
101st
birthday
anniversary
on
September
26,
we
highlight
facts
about
Devsaab
you
may
not
have
known.

1.
He
was
called
DD
in
school

Born
Dharam
Dev
Anand,
the
actor
was
fondly
addressed
as
DD,
an
abbreviated
version
of
his
first
name
by
his
peers
in
school.

2.
Tried
to
procure
admission
in
the
Navy

After
attaining
a
BA
from
the
Lahore
Government
College,
in
pre-Independence
India,
Dev
Anand
made
a
failed
attempt
to
procure
admission
in
the
Royal
Indian
Navy.

His
father
then
proposed
his
son
seek
a
clerical
position
in
an
office.

3.
Worked
as
a
clerk
before
movies
happened

During
his
struggling
days
in
Bombay,
Dev
worked
as
a
clerk
in
an
accountancy
firm
for
a
meager
salary
of
Rs
85
to
make
ends
meet.

4.
Bought
his
first
car
after
debut
film

Dev’s
first
car
was
a
Hillman
Minx,
which
he
bought
from
the
money
he
earned
from
the
remuneration
of

Vidya,
his
first
film
opposite
the
woman
he
loved
on
and
off
screen
—
Suraiya.

5.
First
onscreen
romance
in

Hum
Ek
Hain

While
everyone
remembers
and
raves
about
his
chemistry
with
Suraiya,
Madhubala,
Nutan,
Vyjayanthimala,
Waheeda
Rehman,
Mumtaz
and
Hema
Malini,
Dev
Anand’s
first
on
screen
romance
was
reserved
for
Kamala
Kotnis
in

Hum
Ek
Hain,
directed
by
P
L
Santoshi,
film-maker
Rajkumar
Santoshi’s
father.

6.
Wanted
cricketer
Imran
Khan
for
Ronnie’s
role
in

Awwal
Number

Did
you
know
Imran
Khan,
legendary
cricketer
and
former
Pakistan
prime
minister,
was
Dev’s
original
choice
for
the
role
of
Ronnie,
an
arrogant
player
in

Awwal
Number.

Aamir
Khan
was
then
sought
for
the
role,
which
was
eventually
played
by
Aditya
Pancholi.

7.
Launched
many
actors
and
actresses

Besides
creating
some
unforgettable
movie
classics,
Dev
is
responsible
for
giving
breaks
to
stars
like
Shatrughan
Sinha
(Prem
Pujari),
Zeenat
Aman
(Hare
Rama
Hare
Krishna),
Zarina
Wahab
(Ishq
Ishq
Ishq),
Jackie
Shroff
(Heera
Panna),
Tina
Munim
(Des
Pardes)
and
Tabu
(Hum
Naujawan).

8.
Had
a
great
sense
of
visuals

Other
than
a
keen
ear
for
music,
Dev
was
all
about
striking
visuals.

A
lot
of
his
films
have
been
shot
abroad
in
countries
like
England
(Prem
Pujari,
Des
Pardes),
Nepal
(Hare
Rama
Hare
Krishna,

Johnny
Mera
Naam,
Ishq
Ishq
Ishq),
Denmark
(Pyaar
Ka
Tarana)
and
Scotland
(Main
Solah
Baras
Ki).

9.
Worked
in
a
Hollywood
film

Not
many
know
Dev
worked
in
a
Hollywood
film,

The
Evil
Within
that
starred
Zeenat
Aman
along
with
Vietnamese
actress
Kieu
Chinh.

10.
His
first
foreign
trip
was
to
Italy

Dev’s
first
foreign
trip
was
to
Italy,
following

Baazi‘s
selection
at
the
Venice
film
festival.

Making
the
most
of
his
European
trip,
he
decided
to
stop
by
to
admire
the
grandeur
of
Rome,
Paris,
Geneva
and
London.

11.

Hare
Ram
Hare
Krishna
helped
a
father
reconcile
with
his
runaway
daughter

Apart
from
bringing
attention
to
the
booming
hippie
culture
of
the
1970s,

Hare
Rama
Hare
Krishna
helped
an
estranged
father,
living
in
the
US,
reconcile
with
his
runaway
daughter
after
he
spotted
her
in
one
of
the
song
sequences
and
traced
her
whereabouts.

12.
Bought
the
iconic
checkered
cap
in
Denmark

The
iconic,
checkered
print
cap
Dev
donned
in

Jewel
Thief
was
bought
from
a
shop
in
Copenhagen,
Denmark,
where
he
was
filming

Pyar
Mohabbat
with
Saira
Bano.

13.
Turned
down

Junglee
and

Teesri
Manzil

Dev
was
the
original
choice
for
both
—
Subodh
Mukherjee’s

Junglee
and
Nasir
Hussain’s

Teesri
Manzil.

Owing
to
differences
with
the
makers,
he
turned
down
both
offers.

Dev’s
loss
turned
out
to
be
Shammi
Kapoor’s
gain
since
both
films
turned
out
to
be
milestones
in
Shammi’s
career.

14.
Won
Filmfare
best
actor
award
for

Kalapani
and

Guide

From
Filmfare’s
Best
Actor
trophies
for

Kala
Pan
and

Guide
to
prestigious
laurels
like
te
Padma
Bhushan
and
Dadasaheb
Phalke
awards,
he
won
them
all.

15.
Married
Kalpana
Karthik
while
working
on

Taxi
Driver

Dev
tied
the
knot
with
his
leading
lady
Kalpana
Kartik
while
they
were
still
working
on

Taxi
Driver.

The
duo
opted
for
a
discreet
registered,
marriage
over
an
elaborate
ceremony.

16.
Films
closest
to
his
heart

Among
the
100
plus
films
he
worked
on,

Guide,

Hare
Ram
Hare
Krishna,

Des
Pardes
and

Hum
Dono
were
closest
to
his
heart.

17.
Chance
meeting
with
Gregory
Peck

While
in
Rome,
Dev
bumped
into
Gregory
Peck,
the
Hollywood
star
he
was
relentlessly
compared
to,
on
the
sets
of

Roman
Holiday.

Peck
was
filming
the
legendary

Spanish
Steps
sequence
with
co-star
Audrey
Hepburn.

18.
Admired
Ashok
Kumar

He
may
have
drawn
comparisons
with
Gregory
Peck,
but
it
is
Ashok
Kumar
Dev
truly
admired.

Dev
aspired
to
become
a
performer
in
Dadamoni’s
class,
awed
by
his
work
in
films
like

Achhut
Kanya
and

Kismat.

Dadamoni
signed
up
Dev
to
play
a
romantic
role
in

Ziddi
opposite
then
top
heroine
Kamini
Kaushal.

The
film
was
a
bona
fide
hit
and
launched
Dev
into
the
big
league.

19.
Never
worked
with
Amitabh
Bachchan

It’s
startling
how
Dev
worked
with
everyone
from
Dilip
Kumar
and
Ashok
Kumar
to
Mithun
Chakraborty
and
Aamir
Khan,
all
except
Amitabh
Bachchan,
who
gained
stardom
after
signing
on
Prakash
Mehra’s

Zanjeer,
originally
offered
to
Dev.

20.
Worked
closely
with
family

Never
too
shy
to
promote
talent
within
his
family,
Dev
gave
a
break
to
son
Suneil
in

Anand
Hi
Anand
as
well
as
nephew
Shekhar
Kapur
in

Ishq
Ishq
Ishq
under
his
banner,
Navketan
formed
in
collaboration
with
elder
brother
Chetan.

Their
youngest
brother
Vijay
aka
Goldie
contributed
to
Navketan
with
some
of
his
most
acclaimed
works
—

Nau
Do
Gyarah,
Guide,
Johny
Mera
Naam,
Tere
Mere
Sapne
and

Jewel
Thief.

21.
Dev
was
asked
not
to
wear
black

After

Kala
Pani,
Dev
was
asked
not
to
wear
a
black
suit
in
public
because
women
would
swoon
and
jump
from
buildings
seeing
him
dressed
in
black.

22.
Saved
Suraiya
from
a
capsized
boat
and
fell
in
love

The
Dev-Suraiya
romance
began
when
shooting
the
film

Vidya.

While
filming
the
song

Kinare
kinare
chale
jaayenge
on
a
boat,
the
boat
capsized.

Living
up
to
his
heroic
image,
Dev
rescued
her
and
wanted
to
marry
her.

23.
Proposed
to
Suraiya
with
a
diamond
ring
worth
Rs
3,000

Dev
proposed
to
Suraiya
on
the
sets
of
the
film

Jeet
with
a
diamond
ring
worth
Rs
3,000,
but
Suraiya’s
maternal
grandmother
was


strongly
opposed
to
the
inter-religious
romance.

As
a
result,
Suraiya
remained
unmarried
all
her
life.

24.
Started
looking
for
solo
roles
for
stardom

During
his
successful
run
with
Suraiya
—
with
hits
like

Vidya,

Jeet,

Shair,

Afsar,

Nili,

Do
Sitare
and

Sanam
—
the
actress
got
top
billing
in
the
film
credits,
and
was
considered
a
bigger
star
than
her
hero.

Dev
started
looking
for
solo
roles
to
establish
his
own
stardom.

25.
First
leading
role
in

Ziddi

The
first
time
Dev
played
a
leading
man
was
in

Ziddi,
opposite
Kamini
Kaushal.

The
actor
got
his
big
break
as
a
hero
when
introduced
thus
by
Ashok
Kumar,
already
a
major
star.

Ashok
Kumar
had
spotted
Dev
hanging
around
and
handpicked
him
as
hero
for
the
Bombay
Talkies
film.

26.
Became
close
friends
with
Kishore
Kumar
after

Ziddi

Dev’s
association
with
Kishore
Kumar
started
in

Ziddi
,
with
the
film
featuring
the
singer’s
first
solo
song,

Marne
Ki
Duayen,
picturised
on
Dev.

The
two
became
close
friends
from
that
film
onwards.

27.
Launched
Navketan
Films
in
1949

Dev
launched
Navketan
Films
in
1949.
He
was
just
26
years
old.

By
2011,
Navketan
had
produced
35
films.

28.
Yash
Johar
started
out
as
production
controller
for
Navketan

The
production
controller
for
Navketan
Films
was
a
certain
Yash
Johar,
who
himself
went
on
to
become
one
of
Bollywood’s
prominent
producers.

29.
Fell
in
love
with
wife
Kalpana
Karthik
while
shooting

Taxi
Driver

Guru
Dutt’s
first
film

Baazi
established
the
on-screen
pair
of
Dev
Anand
and
Kalpana
Karthik,
and
the
two
went
on
to
make

Aandhiyan,

Taxi
Driver,

House
No
44
and

Nau
Do
Gyarah,
another
succession
of
hits.

The
two
fell
in
love
while
making

Taxi
Driver
and
Dev
and
Kalpana
got
married.

30.

Tere
Mere
Sapne
was
an
adaptation
of
AJ
Cronin’s
novel

Few
know
that
the
film

Tere
Mere
Sapne,
featuring
Dev
and
Mumtaz
and
directed
by
Vijay
Anand,
was
an
adaptation
of
A
J
Cronin’s
novel,

The
Citadel.

The
film
was
yet
another
massive
Dev
Anand
success.

This
was
first
published
on

Rediff.com
on
December
7,
2011.