Entertainment - Cinema   

A sibling partnership

By Gautaman Bhaskaran

CHENNAI, FEB. 24. Some Hollywood studios have had to play second fiddle to the stars they made out of certain people. Gregory Peck was an example; so was Ingrid Bergman.

Much in the league of such creators of legends was Vijay Anand, who moulded his elder brother Dev Anand into a classic hero, suave and elegant. Vijay Anand (who passed away in Mumbai on February 23), wrote and directed some of Dev Anand's most enduring films: Kala Bazaar, Tere Ghar Ke Saamne, Guide, Jewel Thief and Tere Mere Sapne. And out of these grew a wonderful director-actor partnership.

But to see Vijay Anand's repertoire as merely an indication of sibling love will be unfair. Take Tere Mere Sapne (1971), where he adopts A.J. Cronin's The Citadel, to reveal fascinating craftsmanship and acting methods. Dev Anand's restraint and Vijay Anand's small, yet intense, role made it a great film.

Vijay Anand's touch of neo-realism seen in some of his early works, Kala Bazaar (1960) and Tere Ghar Ke Saamne (1963), both with Dev Anand), spirit of film noir (inspired by Scorsese's Taxi Driver) and humanism (adapted, maybe, from Frank Capra's It Happened One Night) are reflected in Nau Do Gyarah (1957, Dev Anand), Teesri Manzil (1966, with Shammi Kapoor in the lead) and Jewel Thief (1967, played by Dev Anand). His grip over visuals pushed and complemented the narrative. Another strength lay in his song picturisation.

His fling with the Rajneesh cult probably gave him little of what he was looking for. There is no recollection of any significant contribution from him after the 1974 Kora Kagaz, which was a Bengali remake, where his acting was minimalist yet impressive.

Vijay Anand bounced back a couple of years ago, when he became the Chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification. But he had to resign soon when the Government refused to agree to his suggestion that movies featuring adult fare be allowed to be screened in select cinemas.

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