M K Jha : Lately the films directed by you have been flops…
Dev Anand : To my mind they are all hits, monetarily, they have not earned big money but that does not mean they are bad pictures. I never sat on my stardom. I never thought that I was great. I was from my first film, I was always analysing and improving. I always tell myself there is always some one better than you are, right behind you there is another generation coming both in film industry and politics, there is going to be somebody there to beat you any time.
M K Jha : Other than Navketan’s films, which are your favourite ones?
Dev Anand : Many, Maya, Asli Naqli. Paying Guest, Gambler, Johny Mera Naam oh, this was shot in your state, Bihar. There were ruins…
M K Jha : Rajgir… ruins of Nalanda.
Dev Anand: Yes, Hema (Hema Malini) was my heroine, she was relatively a newcomer and from there (Rajgir, Patna) we drove to the Nepal border shot two songs in between. I don’t how Bihar looks like today, but the people were nice. They loved me.
M K Jha : At this stage of life, is there any dream left unfulfilled?
Dev Anand : A lot of things, I think I have fulfilled nothing. It’s a fact, Main Zindagi Ka Saath Nibhata Chala Gaya…
PS: I met Dev sahib (he used to love being called Dev sahib) in Feb 1999 in Lahore. I was there from Aaj Tak to cover the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s historic bus ride to Lahore. Dev Anand was one of the members of the delegation, but oh my god, what a huge crowd of female fans had gathered at the reception of the Serena Hotel in Lahore (where he was staying). Dev sahib kept signing their autograph books, clicking pictures, by that time it was 1am. Finally, I met him, he recognised me and said – Iss hotel mein kuch khaane ko milega…, I told him the chef is waiting for your order.
I was planning to do a quick interview with him in the hotel lobby, but we both got a call – we were to have lunch with Nawaz Sharif, the then Prime Minister of Pakistan and we both went together for lunch to the Governor’s House of Lahore.
(Mrityunjoy Kumar Jha is a broadcast journalist with over 25 years of experience. He worked for Newstrack and AajTak (TV Today) and IBN7 (TV18 Group). He has two passions News and Hindi music. He can be reached on twitter @mrityunjoykjha)
(This article is from The Quint’s archives and was first published on 26 September 2017. It is now being republished to mark Dev Anand’s birth anniversary. )
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