Has Dev Anand sullied his original image by churning out flop after flop as a director?
Ask Dev himself and he just refuses to say die. The man has no past, only a future. The women in his screen life are legion. They range from Suraiya to Kalpana Kartik, Kamini Kaushal to Nargis, Hemavati to Kamala Kotnis, Geeta Bali to Nimmi, Madhubala to Meena Kumari, Nalini Jaywant to Nutan, Usha Kiran to Nanda, Vyjayanthimala to Sadhana, Shakila to Sheila Ramani, Suchitra Sen to Waheeda Rehman, Mala Sinha to Raakhee, Asha Parekh to Sharmila Tagore, Hema Malini to Parveen Babi --- where do I stop?
Shabana (Ishk Ishk Ishk) Azmi is even on record as saying that her one youthful ambition was to work with Dev Anand. Inform Dev Anand that he turned 83 on September 26 and this still robustly optimistic romantic would tell you that creativity knows no age-bar.
After The Triumvirate, there came the remarkable hold of Rajendra Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, Dharmendra and Sunil Dutt at the turnstiles. But Dev Anand stayed the course in the face of all odds to remain the 'on' thing in the age of youth. In tune with the Zeitgeist Dev Anand still is. Or is he not? Say what you like, Dev Anand is going on 84. Many happy box-office returns!
Also Read: Dev's women
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