Main zindagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya. Har Fikr ko dhuen mein udata chala gaya”( I continued my companionship with life blowing away all cares into smoke ) goes the song…!
But not any more.
Life, and the man emoting the song parted ways on the 4th of December 2011!
The death of Dev Anand is something that I still cannot believe! He was not called the “evergreen hero” for nothing!
I don’t know when I developed this passion for Dev Saab’s films. I used to find him quite funny initially – what with his shaking head and lop sided smile..! I was actually quite annoyed when I saw the way “Guide” was made. I was inclined to agree with R. K. Narayan when he said that it was his “Misguided guide”! And then one day I saw “Tere Mere Sapne” – an adaptation of an A. J Cronin Novel and I must say that I developed an interest in this actor and his films.
As I grew older I found myself appreciating music from films a lot and that was when I got hooked to Dev Saab’s films. I love his black and white movies more than his colour films.
Some of my favourites “ Dil ka bhanwar kare pukar” which has Nutan and him on a tower ( Qutb minar?) romancing along the winding steps. I love his style when Madhubala tries to console him in the song “Accha ji main hari chalo maan jao na” . Or when he is drunk and singing about building a house – “ek ghar banaoonga tere ghar ke samne”
While Rafi was the voice behind many of the songs above, in the later films it was Kishore . But of the two singers I think it was Rafi’s voice that suited Dev Anand’s persona the best. I love the way Rafi slurs at the end of some of the lines when he sings for Dev Saab!
Dev Anand was called India’s Gregory Peck ( another favourite of mine) but I would like to think that each one of these men was different and attractive in his own unique way. It would be unfair to compare one to the other…!
The interesting thing about Dev Saab was that he was forever young…! There was a joke that someone told me after watching his interview on NDTV a few months ago – “Dev will make another movie next with a girl young enough to be his grand daughter” He introduced many new girls into the movie business – most notable one among them being Zeenat Aman. Unlike Raj Kapoor I must say that his camera treated his heroines with respect – we did not have him exposing them unnecessarily!
I like the range of subjects that his films handled. Actually coming back to “Guide” I feel today that it probably took guts to make a film like that – about a relationship between a married woman and the hero. The song “Katon se kheech ke aanchal- tod ke bandhan bandhe payal” today sounds to me like a song about a woman’s liberation!
A man who even at eighty eight was alert and alive.. death is not something that is going to wipe him out from history so easily. His songs and his mannerisms live on – not to mention his style.
Rest in Peace Dev Saab… ! Enjoy your re union with the men whose voices contributed to your fame – Rafi and Kishore .
We will miss you!!! “ke dil abhi bhara nahin”
Meera,
ReplyDeleteA balanced tribute. He had inimitable style. May God bless his soul with eternal peace.
Take care
You have listed all my Dev songs, Meera! I posted the song, Main zindagi ka saath...in face book as a tribute to Dev. I love the song of his with Madhubala...I might start repeating all the songs. One of my favourite film is 'Tere mere sapne'...all the songs in that movie are good. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteA beautiful tribute to the Evergreen Hero!
RIP Dev...Amazing an actor could hold up decades in this mad mad Bollywood. Loved his acting in 'Guide'. The song 'katon se' is true- way ahead of its time:) Will sure miss him:(
ReplyDeleteA good tribute to a great actor
ReplyDeletelovely tribute to an actor ..
ReplyDeletei loved the songs , they all had so much meaning then
Bikram's
I liked many of his B/W films like Baat ek raat ki, Teen deviyan, Tere Ghar ke Samne, and a few of his colour films especially Tere mere sapne, jewelthief and Guide. In Des Pardes, I felt uncomfortable watching him, he was with Tina Munim who must have been 35 years younger to him. After that it got worse everytime he made a new film and over the past 2 decades, he seemed like a caricature of himself.
ReplyDelete@ Sunil Deepak exactly my thoughts! I think he became a "caricature" of himself towards the later half of his career. Tina, Rathi etc. @ Bikram, yes those songs had a lot of meaning those days. @ Sandhya great minds think alike (:-)
ReplyDeleteCloud nine and Partha.. glad that you like Dev too !
I did a tribute on him too. Loved his songs and older movies and his never-say-die spirit.
ReplyDeleteThough I am not of his generation, I used to watch the films of the great Dev Sahab even sitting in late nights in front of the TV, just to have the pleasure of seeing him singing and dancing to lyrics, those were sang mostly by Kishore da, with a curious shake of the head (which later Rajesh Khanna came to adopt), and that variety of hats, and his majestic way of acting..
ReplyDeleteWe will miss you Dev Sahib..
Though I am not of his generation, I used to watch the films of the great Dev Sahab even sitting in late nights in front of the TV, just to have the pleasure of seeing him singing and dancing to lyrics, those were sang mostly by Kishore da, with a curious shake of the head (which later Rajesh Khanna came to adopt), and that variety of hats, and his majestic way of acting..
ReplyDeleteWe will miss you Dev Sahib..
Namaste....
ReplyDeleteMay his soul rest in peace....
Hope you are well and enjoying life.
take care
rhapsody
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