Sunday, December 4, 2011

Abhi naa jaavo chodkar...

I received a message on my cell this morning when I was taking my breakfast at around 8.10 AM. It was from Rajiv, my good friend from Kanpur and the message read - "Dear Dev sahab, Abhi naa jayo chor kar ke dil abhi bhara nahin. We grew up seeing you romancing with life, charming everyone around you - Rajiv". That's right Rajiv, Dev sahab charmed everyone around irrespective of age, with his unparallelled romancing with life. When Dev sahab romanced with those beautiful words with Sadhana in 'Hum Dono', I saw the movie during my I year B,Sc. in 1962 for a second time bunking classes, if my 50 year old memory is not cheating on me!

Dev Anand was my most favorite actor. I used to see Tamil movies too in those days and 'Gemini' Ganeshan (that great Hindi star Rekha's father), who was 'titled' as 'Kaadal Mannan'  by his Tamil fans, meaning romance king, was also my favorite. But Dev Anand was something unforgettable all life for his new and newer gestures of romance in each of the films he acted. His gently hitting on the nose of Sadhana with his fist during that song 'Abhi naa jaavo...' is still green in my memory. I might have missed just one or two of his films, maybe I have seen all, I don't really know. But it is a fact that I did not care for anything in order to see whenever a new Dev Anand movie was released. I was born and brought up in a small town near Mangalore in South India and during those days Hindi movies were a bit late to arrive in Mangalore. Hindi movies were a poor competitor to Tamil in the 'Tent' Cinema in my little town. We could rarely see a Hind movie during my high school days. Only films like 'Mother India' and  'Madhumati' (Dilip Kumar-Vyjayanthi Mala starer). But the Golden period of Hindi Cinema started in early sixties. Oh, that scintillating tunes with meaningful lyrics composed with great soothing music using real instruments (No electronic organs please!) And that is one of the reasons I consider my college days in Mangalore the best period of my life, with Dev Anand almost a role model!..... from Kala Bazaar, Tere Gharke Samane, Guide of the International fame to Gambler and Hare Rama, Hare Krishna, one cannot discard any of the Dev Anand starer, be it with Waheeda Rehman, Sadhana, Nanda, Saira Banu or Zeenath Amaan.

In the beginning, there was a feeble accusation that Dev Anand was trying to copy Gregory Peck of the west. There certainly could be some similarities in mannerisms of the two, but soon Dev sahab firmly established his unique identity by the wide range of versatility in his acting style. Not only the acting with a variety of heroins, but his romancing with real life itself is great for his experimentation with new ideas.

The legend has vanished for ever, but the memories will never fade simply because the charm spreads over at least three generations! May the great soul rest in eternal peace.



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2 comments:

  1. Nice tribute!

    -- Atma Ram

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  2. Dear Sir,
    My name is Ankit nad i want to make wine at home. Please reply, i want help.
    Regards. luthra.mech@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete