Dev Anand: A musical interview (Part 2)

Updated (links): 17 June 2022

Interviewing Dev Saab is not an easy task! Once part 1 of the interview was done, I was certain that part 2 would only take me a couple of hours. I hadn’t, of course, taken into account one thing – every time I tried asking him a question, he’d just belt out one of his intoxicatingly romantic numbers, and I would be umm… distracted.

Sach kehta hun bohut haseen ho – Jaali Note (1960)

It took a herculean effort in exercising my will power to continue our chat on a normal plane. That is why this part has taken so long to come to you…

Dev Anand: A musical interview (Part 1)

Updated (links): 18 June 2022

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.

Of monsoons and things filmi…

Have you been wondering whether this blog can be listed as abandoned property? Wonder no more. OiG is still very much alive and well. I’ve just been busy trying to move clouds and have had no time for film-watching or blog visits.

 

It’s a tie

I haven’t been in much of a film-watching mood, what with all the TV series I needed to catch up on. But today, watching Maha Badmash, one thing caught my interest and made me want to watch more films, if only for academic research. No, it was NOT Vinod Khanna’s famous swimming trunks (and the figure that went with it). It was his stupendous bow tie that intrigued me. Clearly, for a Bollywood hero, a tie is not just a tie but a statement of machismo and size does seem to matter in these things! Here, take a look at it. Can you honestly say that this piece of cloth would not draw your attention?

Kala Bazar (1960) - white-hearted people in a black market...

This is a film that I see once every few years. In between watches, I do remember that it’s a great film and I love it, but on re-watch, I’m always surprised at how good it actually is! It has so much goodness going on (Dev+Waheeda = yummy!) that I tend to forget some of it’s not-to-be-missed scenes – like the premiere of Mother India and how relevant it is to the plot.

Baat Ek Raat Ki (1960) – a misstery thriller

Movies sometimes have the strangest surprises in store for you. Just when you think you know everything about a film, you realise that it fell through the cracks in your memory and disappeared forever! That is exactly what happened to me with this film. I have certainly seen it before, but couldn’t remember it at all! That is pretty useful while re-watching a mystery thriller, but very puzzling when it stars Dev Anand, Waheeda Rehman and the unforgettable Hemant Kumar number Na tum humen jaano. The mystery was solved once I reached THE END. The film is entertaining enough, but not particularly memorable.

Amar Deep (1958) – of anti-smoking campaigns and tangled love affairs

Long before cancer studies woke up governments to the harmful effects of tobacco, there was one person who, singlehandedly and tirelessly, crusaded against smoking. This wise person is none other than my favorite comedian, Johnny Walker. What? You dont believe me?!! All ye doubters, check out Amar Deep for proof of this great man’s war against smoking.

Kinare Kinare (1963)

Dev Anand and Meena Kumari? Really?!! Even after seeing this video on youtube, I couldnt really believe those two were in a film together. A quick search on imdb, however, revealed not one but FOUR movies where they are credited together! Clearly, they werent a hit pair as I hadnt heard of any of their films (this one included) before. Well, I was determined to hunt this one down and happily, I did! As it turns out, its worth watching more for historical reasons (Chetan Anand, Dev Anand and Meena Kumari in the same film!) than any real entertainment value.

Poll: Abhi to main jawaan hoon – choose Bollywood’s “Evergreen” Actor #1

With most of North America embroiled in election fever (Canada had a general election last week and the US presidential poll isnt far off), its time for democracy to make its appearance on Old is Gold. Today readers, we are going to select the “Evergreen” Baadshah of Bollywood!

 

We’re all familiar with the phenomenon of popular stars who continue to act “boyish” inspite of expanding midriffs, receding hairlines and increasing age. Mallika Pukhraj’s famous ghazal Abhi to main jawaan hoon (I am still young) is their motto and they’re sticking with it! Strangely, this phenomenon is confined to male stars and in over 100 years of Indian Cinema, its never spread to the feminine half of the industry! Actors from every decade of Indian cinema have been guilty of refusing to grow old (in their cinematic age) but the late 80s and early 90s are special in that they are overflowing with examples of stubbornly “youthful” superstars!

 

To help you decide who you’d like to crown the Peter Pan of Bollywood, I’ve made a list of the contenders:

Bombai Ka Babu (1960)

This is an old favorite of mine that I feel compelled to revisit every so often. The movie was directed by Raj Khosla of CID (1956), Woh Kaun Thi (1964) and Mera Saaya (1966) fame, and according to IMDB this was his 5th straight direction of a Dev Anand starrer. The movie stars, besides Dev Anand in his Gregory Peck style hair-puff days, a lovely Suchitra Sen, the usual assortment of character actors and wonderful music by S. D. Burman.

The movie tells the story of Babu (Dev Anand), a small time crook in Bombay who accidentally kills fellow crook Balli (Jagdish Raj). Horrified by what he's done, Babu flees and doesnt stop running till he reaches Jogendranagar, a small town in the Himalayan foot hills.