On a Sunday the country is not bound to forget soon, the legend Dev Anand passed away silently in his sleep. He died due to a cardiac arrest at a hospital in London. He was 88. As only a diamond can cut a diamond, so only can a legend describe another. Express caught up with actor Kamal Haasan, one of India’s gifted filmmakers, to know more about the bond he shared with Dev Anand and the colossal loss the field of Indian cinema has suffered with his passing away.
“I started watching Hindi films quite late as the political situation (anti-Hindi agitation) in our state was such. But when I began watching Hindi films, I became a fan of two people—Amitabh Bachchan and Dev Anand. I was impressed by Dev Anand sir’s films including Jewel Thief and Tere Mere Sapne.”
He adds, “Dev Anand sir was so active all through his life, it would be difficult to say he was old. I would say he has passed away in his youth. Had he been around for another year, he would have given us another film. Dev Anandji has proved that the only retirement for a good artiste is death. He had a never-say-die spirit and was responsible for creating a new style in the film industry. He was also a good producer...Dev Anandji was a person who quietly achieved so much. He delivered hit after hit in the sixties without any hullabaloo.”
Both Padma award winners, Dev and Kamal, have had several straight-from-the-heart conversations; the Ulaganayagan fondly recalls one in particular. “He wanted to do a film with me on cricket. It never happened because I lost interest in cricket... He invited me to dinner to discuss the script, and insisted on narrating the script standing, while making me sit. It was an overpowering presence he possessed and that’s one memory I will cherish.”
Kamal also revealed the best compliment he got from Dev. “He wanted me to act in a film he was to produce and direct. That was even before Ek Duje Ke Liye (Kamal’s 1981 blockbuster) had even become a hit. I consider that the biggest compliment.”
The legend might have passed away but Kamal believes Dev saab lives on in the scores of people who have learnt from him. “I am someone who believes that such legends live through us. My dad still lives in the discipline he inculcated in us... That way, they still live.” Will he ever remake a Dev Anand film? “No, I am an admirer. Not a mimic,” says Kamal.