Last Man Standing

The demise of the evergreen star of Indian Cinema Dev Anand signifies the end of the nostalgic era of the early 50’s which mesmerized the Cinema goers with pristine music, exquisite and mind-blowing lyrics and un-hyped acting. The masses identified the characters on screen with themselves as they found everything so natural, down to earth and which synchronized their humble dreams unifying them with the celluloid print focused on the giant screens by a noisy projector beaming black and white images. Dev Anand along with Raj Kapoor were the trend setters which saw heroes who solely merited their presence on account of their handsome good looks. Prior to this people accepted disheveled, bearded or any ordinary looking guys and a good story coupled with good music alone guaranteed sure shot box- office success. Dev Anand was the last man standing as all the rest of his colleagues /co- stars of the magical era of the 50’s and 60’s had predeceased him. The puffed up hairstyle was plagiarized from the legendary Hollywood icon- Gregory Peck who as admitted by Dev Anand was his idol. Geogory Peck and Clint Eastwood were famous for their Cigarette smoking cum talklng acts which only a handful few could enact with such dignified charm and grace. Dev Anand too has enacted the MUST SEE scene in Hum Dono with aplomb with the cigarette dancing up and down in his mouth while chatting with his colleague in his customary style. The close resemblance between the actors(Peck & Dev Anand) has an interesting story which happened in the late 1960’s.Someone close to Gregory Peck told him of the amazing resemblance which raised curiosity and rustled his egoistic feathers and prompted the need to have a peek at the so called Indian film star. He didn’t waste an opportunity to Visit India when called upon to give the filmfare awards in the 1960’s. An amazing photo was clicked (this snap had appeared n the now defunct magazine- The illustrated weekly India) which showed Peck with a wry smile admiring Dev Anand from a distance. Dev Anand was simply gushing at the prospect of meeting his idol but perhaps the Hollywood idol himself was at his wits end calculating who was the better looker. Waheeda Rehman his co star in Guide had rightly pointed out that the magic touch waned rapidly in the 1980’s and some whimsical and eccentric films stumbled out of the once famed Navketan Studios. Yet the magic weaved earlier in films like Hum Dono, Solvaa Saal,Prem Pujari,Tere Ghar ke Saamne,Johnny Mera naam, Jewel Thief and Guide was good enough to keep his die- hard fans by his side despite the shortcomings as a Director in the later stages. True to his ever youthful image he didn’t wish to die with Cotton sticking in his nose and wished to have a funeral in some distant country where his true fans wouldn’t have a glimpse of see his lifeless body. His wish granted , even in death he remains an enigma difficult to decipher yet difficult to ignore. As the flames consume his MORTAL remains the SMOKE emanating from the funeral pyre would probably hum the IMMORTAL lyric: Har Fikr ko Dhueee mein Udddaaaaaa thaa Chalaaa Gaya !!!!