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Dil thief
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PERSONALITY He came, he spoke, he conquered many hearts at a musical show in the city. Chitra Swaminathanon the evergreen Dev Anand
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Photos: R. Shivaji Rao
colourful as ever Dev Anand
If you thought he was a once-upon-a-time superstar; a yesteryear heartthrob, ask the crowd that mobbed Dev Anand at the Kamarajar Arangam on Saturday evening. He was the guest of honour at the Gaata Rahe Mera Dil (Dev Anand special) musical show orga
nized by the Divine Mother Society.
Halfway through the programme when the 84-year-old Dev saab entered along with his son Suneil Anand, the audience rose from its seats to catch a glimpse of the evergreen hero and welcomed him with a loud cheer and a huge round of applause. The charming star waved to all and had barely sat down when people rushed towards him. They shoved and jostled to talk to him, hold his hands, touch his feet, capture him on their camera cell phones, asked for a photo-op with him (they requested the lensmen around) and to get his autograph. Like a true ace, unruffled, he obliged them all.
The show had come to a standstill, literally.
People’s actor
When asked during a brief interview post-show, how he felt about such a fan-following even now: “Cloud ten,” chuckled Raju guide (the character he played in the super hit “Guide”). “How can I not be excited to be with my flock? It doesn’t bother me to be surrounded by people. After all for the past 65 years I have been working to see them happy,” he said, in the same sing-song voice that reminds you of his dialogues. A closer look and you realise that nothing much has changed for the Gregory Peck of Bollywood - the intense eyes, the suave look (jacket, scarves et al), the mischievous smile, the subtle sense of humour and above all, a zest for life.
“I keep away from the word ‘depression’. I have been moving with my mind, my creativity, my heart… making movies and looking forward to such wonderful, loving moments.”
What about not being in front of the camera for so long? “I am always on people’s mind. I was keen to make films. There was no taboo playing a father or a grandfather. But they need to be strong roles. Even before I established myself as a hero, I turned a producer (he launched the Navketan banner in 1948) and eventually a director. Hit or flop, it’s satisfying to do what you believe in and enjoy.”
His take on the film industry today. “It’s marvellous. It’s growing everyday. It’s heartening to see some really good films being made and talented young actors coming in. Where’s the need to complain. Accept change. It keeps you positively charged,” said the affable actor.
Used to seeing starry tantrums and snobbish behaviour, it was a relief to see the man who’s been-there-and-done-it-all sit calmly and listen to popular numbers from his films being sung at the show. Talking about Dev Anand’s simplicity, the organiser of the fundraiser recounted on stage how he was stunned when the actor himself came on line when he called up his office. ‘’Yes, I am Dev Anand,’ he said and my fondness and respect for him grew a hundred fold.” Acknowledging the appreciation and standing ovation, film industry’s favourite lover boy said, “I went back in time with the songs. “Us waqt kya soch raha tha, kya kar raha tha, sab kuch yaad aa raha tha (what was I doing then, what was I thinking, I was remembering it all).”
Dev Anand’s films have a timeless appeal largely because of their haunting melodies. “Live life with a song in your heart. I still do so. Music unites and transcends barriers. We sing when we are happy and also when we are sad. This show will always have a special feeling for me because it’s for a noble cause and it’s titled after the song ‘Gaata Rahe Mera Dil’ from my most outstanding film ‘Guide’ that was shot in Kodaikanal.”
Known for his association with the legendary Sivaji Ganesan (Dev Anand’s film “Amardeep” was a remake of the Sivaji-starrer “Amaradeepam”), the actor paid tributes to “culture-rich” Chennai. He said, “I knew Sivaji and S.S. Vasan well. I love the people here. It’s the people, be it the man on the street, the man in the castle, the ruler or the ruled, that I draw inspiration from for my works. That’s what makes reel closer to real!”
Sing along
Imagine the joy of revisiting the golden era of Hindi film music in the company of the man who immortalised many of the numbers with his unique ada (remember the shaking of the head and the hands). The talented team of “Gaata
Rahe Mera Dil” shows — Surojit Guha (the Manna Dey and Hemant Kumar voice), Anil Bajpai (the Rafi clone), Vinod Seshadri (Kishore Kumar), Sailaja (Lata Mangeshkar), Anita (Geeta Dutt) and Nayan Shah (Mukesh) — were as delighted as the audience with Dev saab’s presence. Ably supported by the orchestra team from Kerala, the songs they rendered were definitely a collector’s pride. Sample these “Ye raat ye chandni”, “Abhi na jao chod kar”, “Tujhe jeevan ki dor se”, “Kabhi na kabhi”, “Jeevan ke safar mein rahi” and “Yeh dil na hota bechara”. Compere Prem Kumar kept the audience in splits with his miyan-biwi jokes. But the sore points of the show were the fluctuating sound levels and the shabby stage.
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