Dev Anand is one of the greatest stars the Hindi Film Industry has seen. Handsome and debonair, he was the epitome of the suave, urban gentleman. India's answer to Gregory Peck., he was born on September 26, 1923 in Punjab and did a couple of odd jobs before he shifted his focus to acting.
Ziddi (1948) at Bombay Talkies was Dev Anand's first success. The following year he turned producer and launched his own banner, Navketan. Navketan's first offering was Afsar (1950) starring Dev and lady love Suraiya and was directed by elder brother Chetan. The film however flopped at the box office.
1951 saw the release of Baazi, Guru Dutt's directorial debut. The film, written by actor Balraj Sahni, was an absolute trendsetter in those times. The film took Dev Anand to a dramatic star status. It was also the beginning of seeing Dev play mostly hard-bitten characters living in the urban underbelly.
Some of his other immensely popular films include 'Taxi Driver', 'Kala Bazaar', 'Kala Pani', 'Pocketmaar', 'Solva Saal', 'Teen Deviyan', 'Jewel Thief' and 'Sharabi'.
His brother, director Vijay Anand made a couple of movies like 'Johnny Mera Naam', 'Guide' and 'Tere Ghar Ke Saamne' which just added to the impressive list of films for Dev Anand.
His best efforts in this field were Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1971) and Desh Pardes (1978). The former, set amongst Hare Krishna cultists (presented as dope-smoking hippies) was by far the best film he ever directed. The film launched the career of Zeenat Aman who made a tremendous impact as his sister in the middle of the cultists.
Other heroines he has launched include Tina Munim (now Ambani), Natasha Sinha and Ekta. He also tried to launch his son Suneil with Anand Aur Anand (1984) but was unsuccessful. Dev Anand continues to make films today and though his last few films haven't been successful he just keeps going with amazing energy.
