When we proposed to name Zig Zag Road in Bandra as Dev Anand Road, my 88-year-old aunt asked me, “Oh, because it is zigzag, you are planning to name it after Dev Anand?” I fell off the chair laughing with my over imaginative mind visualising Dev Anand, fondly called as Dev Saab, appreciating this reaction and nodding his head vigorously saying, “Good idea, good idea!” Though, honestly speaking, I am sure he doesn’t really care if there’s a road in his name or not. He was way above and beyond these mundane things. His mind used to be perennially occupied with thoughts for new films.
I had once asked him why does he keep making films when none of his films are doing well, why doesn’t he just bask in the glory of his classics… he had told me, “I can never stop making films or thinking about making new stuff… the I do, I will die! And remember… past is past… it’s gone… future is something that you can create… so that’s important… think about how you can create something different than you have already made… think about the future…”
His enthusiasm was unmatched, and his energies could put a youngster to shame. I still remember the time when he was producing and directing Censor. I was doing a feature on him for a magazine. He called me to his penthouse situated at one end of Zig Zag Road those meany years ago. We left for Sunny Sound Studio immediately where Jatin-Lalit were creating and rehearsing music for the film. When we went there, we got to know that the rehearsals were happening on the third floor.
We went to the lift, one look at the indicator and Dev Saab said, “It will take time. Let’s climb.” By the time we reached second floor via the steep staircase, I (30 something) was huffing and puffing but Dev Saab was taking two steps at a time in his stride lost in his thoughts and climbing steadily. We came down after 45 minutes, and on our way back in the car I found Dev Saab a little forlorn. I asked him the reason. “There was a time when we took four to five days to create a song… today, they make four to five songs in a day! No wonder the new songs don’t have the same quality.”
He went on to tell me about how he had called SD Burman late night after recording a song for Guide and told him that he was not happy with it because it sounded like a ghazal and that’s not what he and Goldie wanted for the situation. “He didn’t complain. He said give me two days… I will create something new. And he did! He gave me ‘Din Dhal Jaaye…’ He and Shailendra worked day and night…”
This also tells us how deeply Dev Anand, the actor-producer, was involved in every aspect of production of his films.
Music, particularly, was an integral part of his film making. He thought that songs is what made Hindi film industry different from Hollywood. He was offended whenever the term "Bollywood" was used for the Hindi film industry. He also strongly believed that the audience preferred to see him in a song and dance mood and therefore had refused quite a few films where he didn’t have a single romantic song – Zanjeer, for example.
Song, for Dev Saab, was not just an item number, but a way to take the story forward. In the initial days, as mentioned above, he used to spend days with the song writer and music director till he got the perfect song. He got his perfect mate in his brother, Vijay Anand, who had a knack of picturising songs in a unique way. Be it Dil ka bhanwar kare pukar… in Tere Ghar Ke Saamne or Hoton pe aisi baat… in Jewel Thief. Though Dev Anand sometimes bullied his way through and got a song done his way. Eg. Khoya khoya chaand… it was totally Dev Anand song. The picturisation had his imprint as did the music and the words.
SD Burman was Dev Anand’s ‘go to’ music director for Navketan films. They understood each other well. Burmanda was not offended when Dev Anand made him rework a tune or a background piece. Background music was equally important for him. Jewel Thief, Kaala Paani, Kala Bazaar, Guide… all had a background piece that was distinct.
"Music speaks, when the characters don't," was his theory.
It was not just his own productions, but Dev Anand was known to actively participate in music sessions of all the films he was acting in. His producers and directors were happy to have his inputs. Nasir Hussain, Raj Khosla, Guru Dutt were always keen to know Dev Anand’s comments on their films’ music – even when he was not acting in them.
He argued with OP Nayyar and Sahir Ludhiyanvi quite often on the choice of words and instruments for a song that was going to be picturised on him. When Sahir and Nayyar had a fall out, Dev Anand didn’t take sides. But when SD Burman and Sahir had a fall out he stuck to his favourite music director. He worked with Hasrat Jaipuri, Shailendra and Neeraj as song writers in the late 60s and 70s. Shailendra died during the making of Jewel Thief after penning the classic Rula ke gaya sapna mera… Dev Anand approached Majrooh Sultanpuri to write the other songs. Though Majrooh was not too happy to step into Shailendra’s shoes, he couldn’t say no to Dev Anand.
It was at the time of Hare Ram Hare Krishna that Dev Anand chose Burmanda’s son Pancham. Burmanda was busy, and Dev Anand wanted a ‘new’ sound for the new generation. Till Pancham was alive, be it his own production or a film by any other producer, Dev Anand chose RD Burman as the music director and Kishore Kumar as his voice till the singer was alive. All producers and directors respected his wish.
It is a known fact that Des Pardes was the last hit given by Dev Anand as producer-director-actor. But it was not always a smooth run for this charismatic actor. There were many flops along the way. Teen Deviyan, Maya, House No. 44, Baat Ek Raat Ki, Bambai Ka Babu were among the films that didn’t do too well at the box office but the songs were appreciated and made it to the then famous Binaca Geetmala’s top 20.
Teen Deviyan and Bambai Ka Babu later became cult classics. Teen Deviyan was given ‘A’ certificate much against the wishes of everyone. Dev Anand tried his best to convince the board using all in his power but didn’t succeed. As a result, the film tanked at the box office. The Hindi audience was not so appreciative of the chic Bengali beauty of Suchitra Sen and Bambai Ka Babu suffered due to it. Seeming romance of brother-sister too was not accepted by the then conservative viewer.
However, today both films are quoted to benchmarks of experiments and of course great music that was a trademark of all Dev Anand films. He got his perfect mate in his brother, Vijay Anand, who had a knack of picturising songs in a unique way. Be it Dil ka bhanwar kare pukar… in Tere Ghar Ke Saamne or Hoton pe aisi baat… in Jewel Thief. Though Dev Anand sometimes bullied his way through and got a song done his way. Eg. Khoya khoya chaand… it was totally Dev Anand song. The picturisation had his imprint as did the music and the words.
SD Burman was Dev Anand’s ‘go to’ music director for Navketan films. They understood each other well. Burmanda was not offended when Dev Anand made him rework a tune or a background piece. Background music was equally important for him. Jewel Thief, Kaala Paani, Kala Bazaar, Guide… all had a background piece that was distinct.
Another time I nearly fell off the chair laughing was when Shammi Kapoor reiterated the never ending energy levels of Dev Saab. I was sitting in Rajeev (Chimpu) Kapoor’s room one evening along with a few friends. Shammi Kapoor was playing the role of a judge in Dev Saab’s film Censor which was being shot at RK Studios. Around 7/7.30 in the evening, Shammi Kapoor walked into Chimpu’s room and plonked on one of the chairs and looked very tired. Chimpu asked him, “Kya hua Shammi Uncle?” His answer sent us all into splits.
Hema Malini Remembers Dev Anand On His Birth Anniversary: ‘I Would Never Feel Low Around Him’
“Arre… aaj Dev Saab ne sattar shots lagaye the… ek ke baad ek. Aur meri problem ye hai ke main unse ye bhi nahin kah sakta ki ab main buddha ho gaya hoon… kyun ki who mujhse nau saal bade hain!” ("Dev Saab had planned 70 shots today… continuously… and my problem is that I can't even tell him that I am getting old because he is nine years older than me!") No wonder Dev Anand was called Evergreen Star.