A tribute to Dev Anand, the CHANGEMAKER

?It is the birth centenary of Dev Anand, an actor, director, writer, producer, and political activist, hats he wore with ease! ?More importantly, he was an amazing human being who was very grounded and easy to talk to. ?A name to reckon with in the film industry. A name that is synonymous with the 3 pillars of the Hindi film industry along with Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar. A time when the heroes were softly masculine and tender with the women. There was no toxic masculinity. Times when the hero was charming, with a song on his lips to woo the girl he loved. The lyrics were poetry and the music divine. Dev Anand had to survive coming in as an outsider and had his own style of acting, dialogue delivery, and theme selections.

Articulate, Charismatic, and Lover of his craft, Dev Anand left a great impact on his fans. He always was the debonair lover boy with an infectious optimism reflecting what he was in real life too. Navketan Productions was synonymous with great music ?His songs are fresh to date and beautifully justified by primarily Mohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar and other singers too..

Main zindagi ka saath nibhaata chala gaya Har fikr ko dhuein mein uRaata chala gaya

Lines that described him and his philosophy of life very well.

The actor was born Dharamdev Pishorimal Anand on September 26, 1923. He came to the Hindi Film Industry a little before independence & literally flourished as Independent India grew. He co-founded Navketan Productions with his brother Chetan Anand who was a popular director. He never feared experimenting and so played both hero and an anti-hero with the same elan. Going through his entire filmography it is very clear that he thrived for 3 decades in an industry that did not take risks, by being someone who was constantly experimenting. If a formula clicked, he made sure, his fans would never see him do the same formula again. That is how we have a rich legacy of films like Taxi Driver, CID, Munimji, C.I.D. Paying Guest (1957), Kala Paani, Kala Bazar, Guide, Hum Dono, Hare Rama Hare Krishna, Jewel Thief …. And we can just go on.

He serenaded his heroines softly & and melodiously. Every heroine he worked with loved working with him and recalls time spent on the sets with smiles. As a son who looked after his mother till her last days, his respect for people and women was visible. He had strong women characters in his films too. In fact, he had the courage to play a feminist in ‘Guide” his cult classic. A movie with flawed characters played so well by both Waheeda Rehman and Dev Saab directed with class by Vijay Anand all three winning the Filmfare Awards in their respective categories.

Here are some of the leadership qualities I love about Dev Anand.

Confident: Though he did not come from a film background, his confidence took him places. He shares in many interviews that he knew he was handsome and could join showbiz. He went ahead with that self-belief and the rest is history. It is believed that girls were falling to the ground just watching him at Darjeeling.

Honest: Most of the interviewers have been starstruck while interviewing Dev Saab. His answers have been constantly the same. He always calls himself an open book and none of the stories around him are constructed. He says there is nothing to hide and is candid about films that did well to those that did not. ?He has always been open to sharing his side of the love story with Suraiya.

Action-oriented: A true Karma Yogi he believed in doing only the action with complete commitment and not worrying about the outcome. The attitude of Detached attachment to the tasks we undertake as per the Bhagavad Gita establishes our understanding of Karma Yoga. He was all about writing and putting it on celluloid. The outcome he realized was on audience taste. He had a spiritual side to him that was reflected in movies like ‘Guide’.

Novel: He was a trendsetter. Be it in the way he dressed, to how he stayed updated with current topics. With his approach to films, locations, stories, and music, he was a trendsetter that many followed. With “Baazi” he started becoming a style icon carrying the caps and scarfs in style! His ability to scout for locations was interesting. He was the first to shoot in Sikkim. His relations with the royal family in Nepal were very good and he had permission to shoot Hare Rama Hare Krishna in Nepal.

Gamechanger: Dev Saab loved the craft. He lived films till the very end. Ahead of his game, he started Navketan to produce films he wanted. His writing was brilliant. The character roles too were well thought of. Apart from his heroines even the second heroines were not mere props but well etched out too. They were not objectified in any way. He was bold to experiment with the grey shades of the hero. The way films like Jewel Thief and Johnny Mera Naam were written and directed were brilliant.

Energetic: The word Energy is synonymous with Dev Saab. He was nimble-footed and built this ability to stay fit. He believed in the power of good health so that he could keep his energy up. He was mindful of what he said and how he worked.

Moving On: Hits or misses he said both were important He believed heartbreaks made one a better human being. Moving on is important he believed as “Life is worth living.” An eternal optimist he loved life.

Approachable: There was no filter to meet him. He would answer phone calls himself. His choice to be approachable made him find new faces and people trusted his authenticity. He took his work seriously but never allowed success to alter his attitude.

Knack to stay updated: He was a voracious reader and reflected it with his films. He knew to be a long-standing player you cannot rest on laurels. Moving ahead and keeping himself updated with politics and trending topics was what kept him up to date. His movies always had a message.

Evergreen: He took good care of himself. Actor Sachin shares how he learnt "Self Love" from Dev Saab. That kept him energetic till the end. He was never about validation but about challenging himself. While his contemporaries moved to character roles, he remained a romantic lead. He had joyful characters and enjoyed films and filmmaking.

Romantic: ?Dev Saab clearly loved Life! The Romantic in him made music such a memorable part of his films a priority. His definition of romance is one when you fall in love with anything you do… could be even the book you are currently reading. “Romancing with Life” is his honest writing on his life, mainly a return gift from him to his fans at 84.

In every sense of the term Dev Saab was a CHANGEMAKER.

Would love to know some of your favorite songs of Dev Saab!

Love these philosophical lines of his popular song “Wahan kaun hain tera”

kehte hain gyaani, duniyaa hai faani paani pe likhi likhaayi hai sabki dekhi, hai sabki jaani haath kisike na aayi kuchh tera naa mera, musafir jaayega kahaan dam lele ghadi bhar, ye chhaiyyaan, payega kahaan wahaan kaun hai tera

The meaning…

Learned people say, this world is a mirage everything is written on the water it is seen by all, it is experienced by all (but) nobody can get/control it nothing is yours, nothing is mine so where will you go, o traveler better take a breather here, you may not get this cool shade again There is no one your own, o traveler!

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