The eternal romantic
ZIYA US SALAM
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Even at 83, actor Dev Anand's hands are full.
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Photo: V. Sudershan
NOW A WRITER TOO Dev Anand says his banner, Navketan Films, has made more movies than any other Hindi banner.
The ageless wonder of Hindi cinema is ready to step into the spotlight again. Not that he ever went too far away. Thirty years of flops have not deterred him. Failure has just been an event for Dev Anand, never the person. Many years ago, this product of the Government College in, what was then our, Lahore, came to try his luck in tinsel town.
Now, he has penned down the journey. A journey that is as much "cinematic" as it is "personal, national, universal, even political", insists Anand, who came to Bombay in 1943. And has just put together his experience of life in the form of an autobiography that shall hit the stands on his next birthday.
"From 1943 to the present, is one helluva span for any individual. I have written down everything, every word is mine. But got somebody to key it in. The book is about my evolution as a human being, as a citizen of this country, as a citizen of the world. There is a lot to say. I want to release it with my own hands on my birthday, and dedicate it to my own people, my own country."
For this international publication, Anand has used photographs from his personal collection too. "It is an account of 60 years of my working life, and 83 years of my life. It is not an account of the films alone. The book talks of pre-Independence India. It talks of the political struggle. I came here just after the Quit India Movement. There is bound to be a look at the freedom struggle."
But why Anand, the eternal romantic, dabbling with politics?
"No, it is just a phase of my life I cannot ignore. Otherwise, it is a very romantic book. I have been honest to the point that my honesty does not hurt anybody. Honesty without responsibility is cruelty. I hope I don't hurt any of the ladies with the book. I am an optimist. After all, man is born off a ray of light." One of the ladies, finding mention is Suraiya, with whom he did more than a handful of films, and whom he once saved from drowning. Anand is candid: "I felt sad when she left us all. I had once sought her. I did not go to her funeral. I did not want to be reminded of the past."
For a few fleeting moments, he appears sad. Then the incorrigible optimist in him raises its head again. "Romance is God's greatest gift to mankind. I have written my book for romantic people. The day you stop feeling romantic means you are dead. When you feel romantic means you are alive. Youth is beautiful. I feel like a youth even today. Why `even' today? I am young."
A few words of love and longing, and the wizened man of many a summer decides to share a few nuggets about life.
He ought to know. After all, his banner, Navketan Films, he informs, has made more films than any other Hindi film banner. And with all his penchant for glib talk, he has experienced the highs and lows of life with a smile on his face.
"I am a daredevil. I tempt fate. People ask me how do I make films after so many flops. I tell them, I have a divine connection. When I came to Bombay I had 30 rupees and nothing else in my pocket. Today, I have a name. I am Dev Anand. I have enough money. I can buy anything. I am not dependent on anybody for my films. I close my eyes, say a silent prayer, and the money starts coming in. I have a connection with the divine."
Through with the divine talk, the acharya in Anand comes to the fore again.
"You got to read my book. It is about life. After all, life is about fluctuations. Life is like Sahir Ludhianvi's song, Main zindagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya... When I was younger people used to say I look like Gregory Peck. I fell for Suraiya and she took a liking for me because Peck was her favourite too. I told her, `He looks like me, I don't look like him!' I met him once on a holiday in Rome when he was shooting. I was like a fan."
So, the book is going to be the culled wisdom of all the years Dev Pishorimal Anand has walked on this earth?
"Indeed. It is not a chronology of my films but the people I have worked, loved and lived with. Many people ask me, `if I have mentioned them in the book'. I say, wait. I cannot disappoint them but there is scope only for so much. I cannot retain every mundane thing. But I have grown all the time. You are different in the 20s, 30s, 40s. I have enjoyed every second of my existence. I read all the papers. I know all the critics."
From "Chargesheet" to Croatia
However, the book, does not mean that he is through with films, his latest disastrous outing "Mr Prime Minister" notwithstanding. "I released it at a wrong time, but despite what people say or feel, I can say only I could have made `Prime Minister' at that time."
That is in the future. Coming up next is a Hindi film, a quickie called "Chargesheet" which he intends to wrap up by April. Then there is an English film, set is Croatia, the shooting for which will start in April, when the cold recedes, the snow melts. And then there will be the familiar Dev Anand warmth.
"I started as a stupid actor but was quick on the uptake. I kept learning all the time. Nobody is ever perfect. I have been lucky to get a big span of life. I start all over again with these films. And the book is my salute to the people who have made me what I am — Dev Anand."
Some pride, some accomplishment, some smiles. There is never less than a sunny moment with him. Wait for the book.
As for films... well, here is keeping our fingers crossed!
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