Dil ka Bhanwar kare pukar

Romancing with my thoughts, moving forward forever, always looking to the future. Dev Anand has defined his credo pithily indeed. In this fascinating trip down memory lane, this traverses a life that may be called an enduring saga of style and exuberance. It has been said of his contemporary, Dilip Kumar that he has more charm in his little finger than anybody else in the film industry, and about whom Dev Anand himself says that he has been the most important and charismatic actor of our times; While Dilip Kumar and subsequent towering geniuses have retained that aura, that mystery, around them, that eternal appeal around them all these years, Dev Anand has been like that special ray of sunshine which has exemplified a life enriched every minute by an attitude that has helped him retain his distinct individuality. He has never let the grass grow under his feet. His much awaited, autobiography released some months back, brings out several aspects of his life, many of which may have been known to his ever constant fan club, but through this rather well written book gives us glimpses and some fresh insights into the man. He always revealed only as much as he wants to.

He has been a very public person who at the sometime zealously guarded his personal life from unnecessary intrusions. Perhaps the greatest star Bombay has seen, as also the one who has transcended limited histrionic ability by his sheer aplomb and gusto. The vagaries of the box office, and in his case they have been in recent years been very adverse, seem never to affect him; but he is human, after all, and he says that he was disappointed when after a long wait, he was honored not with a Pa-dma Vibhushan as he had been told and was given a Padma Bhushan instead; but for a man who has been such a darling, such formal honor are merely symbolic. As Nasiruddin Shah in a recent piece says, all those who have ever worked with him swear by him. Nobody, just nobody, has anything harsh to say about the great man.

” Barbadiyon ka soz manana fizool tha/Barbadiyon ka jashn manata chala gaya” just about the quintessential Dev. “

I came to be associated with his wonderful attitude towards life, which rings true of everyone who thinks life is worth living.” The excellently produced biography finds Dev Anand slowly undulating himself, over 400-odd pages, supplemented by a helpful filography and a gift; of some of the recent songs from his unending repertoire. Dharam Dev Anand worked in a plethora of non-descript jobs before the bright lights of city life beckoned him. He has never looked back and here, in his own Boswell, the man is grace personified. He has been generous, human; and candid when he has wanted to be, gives due respect to Mona (Kalpna Kartik) writes a very shy account of how Suraiya became the fancy of his life for a while. He has been extremely fair to both Chetan and Goldie, apart from Balraj Sahni, Guru Dutt, Kishore Kumar, the Burmans, Sahir Ludhianvi and several others who have helped him transcend unprecedented heights.

“Phaili hui hain sanon ki baahein, aaja chalde kahin hum” can be one way to recall this tumultuous journey in which he has flirted with fame, wowed the young and the not-so-young alike and never, if ever, thrown any tantrums normally associated with the big and the famous. Replete with anecdotes which show the softer side of the man, how he wept uncontrollably when Kishore Guru Dutt, Chetan, Goldie... they all left him. The blurb announces this as an “unputdownable” book; this may seem to be an oft-repeated cliché, but for those who love the man, it is an absolute must. One of the Big Three after the studio system collapsed and the star system came into vogue, Dev, much like Dilip and Raj, has a view on a variety of subjects and has had the gumption to say ‘No” whenever he has wanted. He recalls his (and Kishore’s) tribulations during the Emergency. Since success at all costs has not been the defining philosophy of his life, he4 has experimented right through.

Always the one with an eye to capture current events on celluloid, Dev has been enthusiasm unleashed. The results of his exertions may not always have been very edifying, but the spirit remains unconquered. He reveals that one of the projects he is excited about is to make a film on his music in collaboration with Ravi Shankar. That reminds us of the man’s celebrated tryst with music: From Marne ki duayen kyun mangoon’ in Ziddi which marked his long association with Kishore Kumar;

Thandi hawaaen, lehrake aayenand Tum na jaane kis jahan mein kho gaye (Saza);Woh dekhen to unki inaayat,na dekhen to rona kya(Funtoosh), in which he was paired with the gorgeous Sheela Ramani;Jeevan ke safar mein raahi and ghaayal hiraniyan maen
bab-ban doloon”;jaayen to jaayen kahan (Taxi Driver);Koi chaandi ke dil
waala (Maya) and Hum Bekhudi mein tumko pukare chale gaye”; “Accha ji maen
haari chalo maan jaao na”;Dil ka bhanwar kare pukar;Shaam hote hi tum
chhup gaye ho kahan/Akela hoon maen, is duniya mein;Dekho rootha na karo,
baat nazron ki sunon;(Tere Ghar ke Saamne) Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai;
Tere mere sapne ab ek rang haen;Whaan kaun hai teraa; Piya tose nainan
laage re( Guide) Aise to na dekho;Kahin Behayal hokar yoonhi coo liya kisi
ne; Likha hai teri aankhon mein kiska afsana (teen Deviyan); Chhod do
aanchal zamana kya kahega; Haae haae yeh nigaahen, O’ Nigahe Mastana and
Mana janab ne pukara nahin (Paying Guest) and the relatively recent, Maen
akela apni dhun mein magan zindagi ka maza liye jaa raha tha... to cap it
all, “Jahhan mein aisa kaun hai, ke jisko gham mila nahin.” There was a
philospohical touch in the male version: Kaun jeeta hai kisi aur ki khatir
ae dost,sabko apni hi kisi baat pe rona aaya...

To locate Dev’s contribution in the eight decades of the talkie, one must be prepared to make generous allowances. As generous as the man himself. Where others like Guru Dutt and to an extent, Raj Kappor were seeped in their social and ideological milieu, Dev prefered to play the unconventional role; No thespian, or thinking, actor like Dilip Kumar,Dev Anand has been style personified, his mannerisms, his gesticulations speaking a language of their own; Guide was his most definitive contribution to the world of films. But it has been his persona, handsome and ever so charming, that has endured this incredible man. More like Gregory Peck that he has been rather than Dilip has been like Paul Muni or Montgomery Clift or Raj Kapoor was the loveable tramp championing the cause of the underdog. Unlike Peck, he seldom allowed script writers and directors to determine his cinematic visage.

Always the man of the moment, he has been unlike Vijay Anand or Guru Dutt who combined craft with socially relevant thematic content. He has not been governed by self exploration, or an attempt to use the medium as a philosophical vehicle. But for all that- nobody, just nobody- can ever forget this great romantic.

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