Dev Anand: A musical interview (Part 1)

I was shocked when I read about Dev Anand�s death. He may have been the superstar of my parents� generation, but he certainly looked like he would outlive me! If I�d ever thought about it, I�d have said that he�d go on making movies forever. Over the years, he�s spent so much time in my living room, bringing so much fun and entertainment with him, that it is impossible not to feel a bit sad that he is no more. I am only "a bit" sad because the Dev Anand I knew is forever young, handsome, and always there in his lovely films. (I refuse to even admit the existence of his post-1960s career!)

Of course, his sad demise reminded me that it was high time I paid him a visit in the 1960s. While I was there, I took the opportunity to quiz him about his great romances with women and wine.

Me: How did you get started on the path of romance? I can understand the love of women, but where does the wine fit in?

Dev A: It all started when I did these two films with Nargis. They were abysmal failures. No matter how tunefully Nargis asked the audience to stay, by intermission, the theatre was empty.

Theher o jaane wale�Birha Ki Raat (1950)

Nargis finally left me for Raj Kapoor and I drowned my sorrows in sharaab�

Saawan ke mahine mein - Sharaabi (1964)

Kabhi khud pe kabhi haalaat pe � Hum Dono (1960)

Me: B-b-but weren�t you in love with Suraiya back then?

Dev A: That does not mean I could take being ditched for Raj Kapoor! Besides, if Prince Salim/Jehangir could have more than one true love, why couldn�t I? And I�d barely recovered from this when Madhubala broke my heart afresh. There I was, pledging my love to her, as tunefully as Mohammed Rafi. Can you guess what she did? She told me I wasn�t good looking enough for her!!! Then she went off and married Kishore Kumar!

Dil hai aapka huzoor � Jaali Note (1960)

Then there was Waheeda. We got along fine at first�

Tum to dil ke taar�Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja (1961)

But then she asked me to go away, and not trouble her!

Jaao na sataao�Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja (1961)

Me: Is that when you began dating wine?

Dev A: I tried to drown myself in my music, but I could not forget the lovely eyes that would never reciprocate my love�

Yaad aa gayi woh nasheeli nigahen�Manzil (1962)

So I turned to wine. But that romance was also doomed. My glass would run dry very often, and I always had to sing for more. Sigh!

Chheda mere dil ne�Asli Naqli (1962)

It looks like filmmaking wasn't the only common denominator between Dev Saab and his friend Guru Dutt! While Dev Saab�s moroseness was prompting me to shift to happier topics, I was loath to let go without one final question:

Me: What was the true cause of your break-up with Suraiya?

Dev A: Yeh dil na hota bechara, kadam na hote awaara, to khoobsoorat koi apna humsafar hota (if it weren�t for this poor heart, these straying feet, I would�ve had a beauty at my side)�

Yeh dil na hota bechara�Jewel Thief (1967)

That was refreshingly honest! And he went on to be candid about a lot of other things too, as you will see in the second part of this interview�