REMEMBERING DEVANAND
AT 101
' ISHQ ZAMENE
MEIN JO KARTE
HEIN
ISHQ MEIN
JITE MARTE HEIN
AASHIQ WO
NAHI BAN SAKTE JO
DARTE HEIN’
(
Song lines from Dev’s film –‘Ishq Ishq Ishq’ )
Devanand was
among the greatest cine-stars of Hindi cinema who left his millions of
admirers in 2011 . He would have been 101 on 26 September 2024. My mind has retained the images of Devanand , both Colour and
Black& White since my budding youth
at Allahabad. 'Hum-Dono', at ‘Niranjan’ at Matinee, 'House no 44' , morning
show at ‘Vishambhar’ , 'Nau do Gyaraha' morning show in Kanpur, 'Fantoosh' at
Jhankar the mini theatre, 'Johny Mera Naam' at ‘Pushparaj’ are some films/cinema
halls I recollect instantly .
His life is
deftly documented in his own words in the Autobiography-- 'Romancing with
life'. Graduated from Lahore in English Literature he wanted to do M.A. But his
father's financial condition did not allow him to proceed further . Struck by
the stardom of Ashok Kumar he boarded the Frontier Mail to Bombay where his
elder brother Chetan was already stationed. His first hit was 'Ziddi',
and soon he launched his own production house 'Navketan' in 1949. 
He falls in
love with the biggest singing star of that era--- Suraiya. They both want to
marry but Suraiya’s Grandmother comes in between . He weeps uncontrollably on
the shoulders of his elder brother. Then never looks back. Marries his co-star
Kalpana Kartik. In between he is linked
to two other leading Ladies. Zahida;
whom he never mentions in his book played parallel role in 'Prem Pujari',
and was his leading lady in 'Gambler'. He confesses to be in love with
Zeenat Aman and is on the threshold of a major decision when she moves over to Raj Kapoor's camp and grabs the leading role
in 'Satyam Shivam Sundaram'. Dev
is shattered and leaves for America to hide his sorrow, wears large dark goggles to cover his emotions. Zeenat Aman was
Western in her attire and thinking so was Dev, they acted together in many
movies-'Hare Ram Hare Krishna', 'Heera Panna',' Ishq Ishq Ishq'' 'Warrant',
'Darling Darling','Prem Shastra'etc.
He then launched Tina Munim in 'Des Pardes',
which was a Hit. Thereafter he made some mediocre films such as 'Swami Dada',
'Lootmaar', but 'Anand aur Anand' the launching pad for his son was well made.
Soon there was creative degeneration , he seemed to have lost the plot, but the
energy and hope in him kept him going. Despite many disastrous ventures he was
mentally sharp and active , this could be discerned from his 'Autobiography' and from the various interviews in which his
agile mental faculty is on display.
In an Interview
he had stated that his banner had not even given beautiful Cinema but many memorable
songs; indeed he was right. Songs of many banners and specially Raj Kapoor’s
have been unforgettable , but the quality and popularity of ‘Navketan’ stands
apart and is unmatched. This was possible under the maestro called Sachin Dev
Burman( later his son R D Burman ) whose presence is central to the banner of ‘Navketan’. Teaming up with
stalwarts such as Sahir Ludhianvi ( Fantoosh, Taxi Driver, Baazi), Majrooh
Sultanpuri ( Kala Pani, Jewel Thief, Nau Do Gyareha), Shailendra ( Kala Baazar,
Guide) Hasrat Jaipuri( Tere Ghar Ke Saamne), Neeraj( Prem Pujari), Anand
Bakshi( Heera Panna, Hare Ram Hare Krishna, Ishq Ishq Ishq) he gave us those
immortal songs. Perhaps ; pluralism was the essence of the varied manifestations and success !
Among his films 'Guide' and 'Hum-Dono' are in the
category of classics. 'Baazi' 'Jewel Thief ', 'Kala Baazar','Tere Mere Sapne'
and 'Johny Mera Naam' were brilliant. As director three of his films stand out-
'Prem Pujari', 'Hare Ram Hare Krishna' and 'Des Pardes'.
As it emerges from his demeanour that he was an
extremely modern person, this came out in his films which have a distinct
'sub-text' too. 'Fantoosh'- how life insurance can be misused, 'Taxi-Driver'-
unemployment in urban India and exploring the underbelly of Bombay, 'Guide' -
resurrection to greatness from defame, 'Hum-Dono'- how war affects
relationships, 'Prem Pujari'- pacifism, 'Tere Mere Sapne'-
degeneration in the noble medical profession, 'Kala Baazar'-- how love
reforms, 'Des Pardes'- illegal immigration.
Dev and Suraiya in 1949 hit film 'Jeet'
Discussion on
Dev veers always to his intense love
affair with Suraiya , the reigning queen of the forties . The reasons of their
separation are known far and wide , despite the long passage of time which could not dilute or diminish its
impact and it surfaces periodically in discussions and print . This shows the
collective sense of expectation and loss which their fans feel still. Religion
played a dominant role in their
breakup ; selfish and financial greed of
her family and certain film makers also affected their fallout. The fact that
Suraiya never married accentuates the tragedy
and keeps their story alive. Their separation though heartrending was
very dignified which they maintained as long as they were alive. The decision
of Suraiya to stay single added sorrow , poise
and longevity to their love story . This was perhaps her expression to
tell Dev that she was sorry and always in love with him and to tell her mother
and grand mother of their failings .
One often imagines them together as ‘forever couple’ walking into the
sunset , hand in hand. How would the cinema of ‘Navketan Banner’ be had they
married ? After all Suraiya was the heroine in ‘Afsar’ the first film of
the banner! She would have likely been in all those films which had Kalpana
Kartik . Even , singing her own songs- ‘ Aaj ki raat piya dil na todo man
ki baat piya maan lo’ ( Baazi ,1951), ‘Jayen to Jayen kahan ,
samjhega kaun yahan dard bhare dil ki
zubaan’ ( Taxi Driver, 1954) , ‘ Faili hui hai sapnon ki rahen
aaja chalden kahin door’ ( House no 44 ,1953), ‘ Ankhon mein kya
ji rupehla badal’ ( Nau Do
Gyaraha ,1957). Thus would have added ,
new depth and dimension with her vivacious and box office presence.
If one examines
the filmography of Devanand it is not
difficult to assess that his two brothers played a formidable role in his
growth and development . Chetan Anand
directed Dev in the initial four films of the banner which was established in
1949. ‘Afsar’ based on the famous play of the Russian writer Gogol ‘ Inspector General’ and starring Devand
/Suraiya did not meet success. Their second film ‘Aandhiyan’ was critically acclaimed and was a moderate
success . However he gave him a super hit film in ‘Taxi Driver’ in 1954
, which established Devanand as an actor and a star after the success of ‘Baazi’ directed
by Guru Dutt for Navketan which has story and screenplay by Balraj Sahni .
These films also made Dev emerge as an Urban actor , who would hence be cast
only in city centric urban settings. After another success in ‘Funtoosh’ in 1956 , Chetan and Dev set out on
individual paths and Vijay Anand who was assisting Chetan so far and had
written the story of ‘Taxi Driver’ with Uma Anand took over the baton . Chetan and Dev were to again reunite for two
films on the 50th year of ‘Navketan’- ‘Janeman’ and ‘Sahib
Bahadur’ remakes of ‘Taxi Driver’ and ‘Afsar’.
Though young to
Dev by 11 years whom he addressed as ‘Papa’ , Vijay Anand gave him a new image
and style ; the one which his fans revere. This new Dev arrived with ‘Nau Do
Gyerah’ in 1957. Though glimpses of what was to come were emerging in ‘Jaal’
( Directed by Gurudutt), ‘Paying Guest’ and ‘Munimji’ ( both
directed by Subodh Mukherjee and written by Nasir Hussain ). All three films
were Hits with memorable music by Sachin Dev Burman. Vijay Anand provided a
platform for Dev where he had a free reign suiting to his energy and
personality . He also proved his mettle from the very first film .
He was like a son to Chetan and had learnt the nuts and bolts of filmmaking
watching him and peering down his brother’s shoulders while he was writing
scripts , suggesting a word here and a phrase there. Dev had agreed to Vijay directing reluctantly
, and the film was a success . Among the
many qualities which Vijay exhibited in the years to come was ‘song picturization’ which was his hall
mark . Each song of ‘Nau do Gyarah’ was scripted by Vijay and moves the film
ahead commencing with ‘ Hum hain
Rahi pyar ke hum se kuch na boliye’ . Both brothers complemented each
other and the best of their films are with each other. Dev soon realised the ‘genius’ in his younger
brother , which reflected in his own
confidence as seen in the various songs
under Vijay’s watch – ‘ Khoya khoya chand khula aasman , aankhon mein
sari raat jayegi’ of ‘Kala Bazaar’ is the representative song of Dev’s
charisma and aura wherein he breaks free of all inhibitions and comes on his
own. The song of ‘Tere ghar ke saamne’
with Nutan filmed in ‘Kutub Minar’ ( dil ka Bhanwar kare pukar pyar ka raag
suno)is yet another example of the
novelty in song placement . The ‘Love song’ of Devanand and indeed among the
most romantic songs of Hindi Cinema ‘Abhi
na jao chod kar ked il abhi bhara naheen’ of ‘Hum Donon’ was actually directed by Vijay
Anand though credited to Amarjeet , the screenplay of the film was flawless and
an example.
The highpoint
of the creative bonding between brothers made ‘Guide’ a classic. The Hindi
version of the novel ‘The Guide’ was directed by Vijay Anand after the failure
of the English version and when Chetan Anand who was to direct the Hindi
version initially, backed out . Vijay
redrafted the screenplay and produced a
Hit film on a risky subject with songs which are hummed till date.
Dev learnt a lot from
Vijay when he formally took to direction with ‘Prem Pujari’ which
could be determined from his music and
song picturisation – ‘ Shokiyon mein ghola jaye , thoda sa shabab’ /
‘Phoolon ke rang se dil ki kalam se tuzh ko leche roz pati) ( Prem
Pujari / ‘Kanchi re Kanchi re preet meri sanchi, na ja re ja dil tod ke’/
‘dum maro dam , mit jayen gam’ (
Hare Ram Hare Krishna)
At this juncture it is pertinent to discuss the oft
comparison with Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar. Well! Raj was essentially a great
Director who made many successful films with mass appeal. Dilip will always be
remembered as a thespian, whenever the Art of acting will be discussed his name
will be foremost. Dev gave us films with wide modern themes and he remained a
true 'Star' who had a strong urban appeal. Women loved him and men envied. His
films barring a few were not ‘block busters’ but took a strong 'initial
opening' because of his following among youth.
The contribution of the ‘Anand’ family to Indian
Cinema was immense . What made them ‘distinct’ was their ‘formal’ education ; all three were well educated
which reflected on the subjects of their films . Together with his brothers ,
the elder Chetan and the younger Vijay their body of work is larger than that
of 'Kapoors' and it will not be an exaggeration to state that their
contribution is matching with that of the 'First' family ( Kapoors). 'Neecha
Nagar' ( 1946) won the ‘Grand Prix’ at the first Cannes film festival. 'Haqiquat'
( 1964) will remain as the best War film of Indian Cinema. 'Heer Ranjha'( 1970)
was the only film in poetic form and was a hit. ‘Jewel Thief’ ( 1967) /Johny
Mera Naam’ ( 1970) shall be remembered as the cult thrillers of all time and 'Guide' as said earlier will remain
an all time classic, among top 5 films of Hindi cinema. Their songs by SD
Burma, R D Burman and Madan Mohan shall be placed always on the highest
pedestal, sung and hummed by generations who would have never heard of the Fab
Three!
All these shall
stand the test of time.
Dev, Chetan and Vijay
