He came to Bombay from Gurdaspur to become a hero in 1943.

Fifty-seven years later, Dev Anand redefines optimism, boundless energy and sheer goodness of spirit.

Dev Anand's production house, Navketan, is nearing its 50th year. He has acted in over 110 films, starting with Hum Ek Hain, starring Kamla Kotnis, the latest being Censor, being given the finishing touches by actor-director.

Dev Anand is the only filmmaker to have nurtured diverse careers -- from giving breaks to newcomers Zeenat Aman, Tina Munim, Jackie Shroff, Sabrina, Natasha, Tabu, Neeru, Mink, etc, to kicking off careers of directors like Raj Khosla, Guru Dutt, Vijay Anand. And those of lyricists and composers like Sahir Ludhianvi and R D Burman, among others.

These are only the known names. There are innumerable others unknown to the public who also started their professional life with him.

To Dev Anand also goes the credit of starting a new genre of films -- always topical, always experimenting with new thoughts and subjects as far back as 1972 (Hare Rama Hare Krishna.)

Dev Anand was also the only star who had the nerve to play the antihero as far back as 1952 (Jaal) after being dubbed the chocolate-faced star.

When he started making his own films, he didn't walk the beaten track. He preferred to deal with futuristic subjects -- producing, directing, scripting and editing his own films.

He took up the directorial baton in 1970 with Prem Pujari. Though he'd scripted Teen Deviyan earlier.

That he was dubbed a better actor than director doesn't seem to have affected him. So much was his love for films that he voluntarily gave up acting in outside assignments just so he could concentrate on all aspects of filmmaking.

Surprising? Not really.

When you recall that Dev Anand started as the ordinary man-next-door in the Dilip/ Raj/ Dev triumvirate, against Raj Kapoor's Chaplin and Dilip Kumar's tragic persona.

Then he moved on to become one of the most stylish actors on the Indian screen. It is rumoured that his earlier Gregory Peck style was modelled on lady love Suraiya's fancy for the Hollywood star.

But post-Suraiya, Dev Anand evolved a style so completely individual that it has become a source book for innumerable actors.

The widower in Ferry.The black marketeer in Kala Bazaar,the handsome conman in Bombai Ka Babu. The disguised Munimji. The large-hearted Taxi Driver. The teacher in Manpasand...

There is no one image you can hold on to.

If people have exploited or hurt him, he shrugs it off, saying, "It's part of life."

A loner for the most part, he hates sycophancy, loves intelligent conversation, well-dressed and smartly-turned-out people. Says Asha Bhosle, whose own love for clothes is well known: "I learnt it from Dev Saab."

He reflects: "I've received a lot of awards. In fact, I've just returned from San Francisco and New York, where I was given the Lifetime Achievement Award by Hillary Clinton.

"But for me, my fans are my award. The fact that they want to meet me, see me, touch me -- that's my award. Not some trophy which will lie on a shelf."

And this… this is our small tribute to Dev Anand, on his birthday!

Text: Lata Khubchandani

The Dev Anand slide show!


DONT MISS!

'Nothing stops me from doing what I want' - Dev Anand

'He is an institution' - Suneil Anand

'I adore him!' - Jackie Shroff

'He is one of the true gentlemen left in our trade' - Yash Johar

'His energy is amazing!' - Jatin Lalit

'He has given breaks to so many people' - Amit Khanna

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Talk about the Dev-il

'A trend-setter must be cold-blooded, selfish and cruel -- he will go down in history as a saint'

'My mind is always working'

In search of stardom

Blasphemous!