In 2011, I curated a Dev Anand season for Channel 4 TV, U.K., and wanted the films to be introduced by Dev saab . In December 2010, almost a year to the day before he passed away in London, we filmed him at his temporary office in Khar. At 88, he was busy with the release of his latest film Chargesheet . Dev saab seemed oblivious to the changing demands of Hindi cinema, and it was clear that nothing would come in the way of his enthusiasm to make his next dream into screen reality. Dev saab ’s cheery temperament comes through this interview, as does his elegant and chivalrous personality. His style of expressing himself with exuberant flourishes was very telling of a man with boundless optimism and an unrivalled love for cinema. In fact, I have never met anyone who matched Dev Anand’s passion for filmmaking.’
How did you form Navketan Films?
In 1947, India became Independent and India and Pakistan were divided. Two years later, in 1949, Navketan was formed. We started with a picture called Afsar and from that time on, it has been non-stop till now. About 80% of the people in the Hindi motion picture industry, whether technicians, stars, music directors, lyricists, or character actors, before they established themselves elsewhere, they have nearly all been associated with Navketan in some way or the other. It’s an institution that was born with my brother Chetan and me. I did it for him. I was becoming a big star in the late 1940s, and he needed a company to make films. So when he left Navketan, I brought in Goldie and when Goldie left, I carried on alone. No book on Indian cinema is complete without mention of Navketan.
In 1961, you made Hum Dono and that was the third time you worked with your brother Vijay Anand (Goldie), after Nau Do Gyarah and Kaala Bazaar .
Goldie and I formed a terrific team as director and star. A lot of Navketan fans wanted our banner to come out with strong pictures, so after Goldie made Kaala Bazaar [1960], I said: “Let’s do something different!”
Somebody came up with the idea of a double role and I think Hum Dono gave me a great double role—I played Captain Anand and Major Verma, the “haw-haw” type of Major. In 1962, there were still remnants of the British Empire in India and the Indian army was modelled on the British Army. So I gave the character of the Major the same mannerisms, the same laugh, the same central parting in his hair and the same whiskers as the army officer that I knew at the Pune army camp. I used to go there and have a drink with him. These physical features gave the slight difference on screen between Anand and Verma. It was fun doing that film and when I look back and see Hum Dono , I think the Major was well done. Yeah. Very well done.
Could you tell me about the director Amarjeet, and how he came to direct Hum Dono ?
I must speak the truth about this. Amarjeet was a publicity man for Navketan and was a very good and loyal man. He asked me to give him a film to direct. He was not a creative worker, but out of sheer loyalty towards him, we gave him the film, though Goldie was behind the camera nearly all the time. Goldie was also responsible for writing the screenplay and dialogue along with the writer Nirmal Sircar, whose idea this was. It was our grace that we credited Amarjeet as director.
Hum Dono was accepted in a very big way. It was the official entry at the 1962 Berlin Film Festival. Nanda, Goldie, Amarjeet and I went to Berlin and spent some great moments there. That trip brought me close to Pearl Buck. We met Jimmy Stewart in Berlin.
Sahir Ludhianvi’s songs, including my personal favourite, ‘Abhi na jaao chhod kar,’ invariably show up on every list of best-loved songs. The composer Jaidev, who wrote the film’s music, is undoubtedly an unsung hero of Hindi film music. It’s wonderful that you gave him this film.
There were reasons behind this. S.D. Burman was a part of Navketan. We used to call him ‘Dada’. We looked up to him and he was always part of the decision making process whenever we planned a film. We would sit and discuss the compositions together. He was a great music director and gave some very fine hits for Navketan.
Ali Akbar Khan, the world famous sarod player, had composed music for our film Aandhiyan and Jaidev was his assistant. When Khan Saab moved on, Jaidev became S.D. Burman’s assistant. He was a good composer too, and had a nice classical style. One day he said: “Dev saab , mujhe bhi break do [Why not give me a break as composer?].” So we asked Dada if he would mind if we gave Hum Dono to his assistant, and Dada said: “No, go ahead.” So Jaidev took over and gave very good music, and Sahir Ludhianvi wrote some beautiful lyrics. People still remember the songs, including ‘ Main zindagi ka saath nibhaata chala gaya .’ It’s philosophy really. Sahir Ludhianvi and Jaidev worked together so well and their association with Navketan will never be forgotten.
What is the back-story to the memorable ‘Abhi na jao chhod kar’?
Sahir Ludhianvi was an excellent poet of Urdu literature, and there was another great Urdu poet who went to Pakistan, and he was Hafeez Jalandhari. He became the poet laureate in Pakistan after Partition. He wrote a poem called ‘Abhi to main jawaan hun’. It was a very famous poem and I liked it. So I told Sahir: “On these lines, rhyming with these words ‘Abhi to main jawan hun,’ write something.” And he wrote: ‘Abhi na jao chhod kar ke dil abhi bhara nahi.’ So we gave him the rhyme scheme, and the pattern of the lyrics, but the thought was completely Sahir’s.
You can hear the structure of the song and the metre are the same. There’s a wonderful clip on YouTube with Malika Pukhraj and her daughter Tahira Syed singing the original song/poem, ‘Abhi to main jawan hun.’ Hum Dono had this very strong anti-war message, especially expressed in the song ‘Allah tero naam’. Do you feel that films should have a message?
I think so. No film should be meaningless. Hum Dono was an anti-war picture. Major Verma had lost his leg in the war and he returns from the front, longing to be at home with his wife. We wanted to hammer in the futility of war. So we described the situation to Jaidev and Sahir wrote: ‘Allah tero naam’. It became such a hit and was a fantastic song. Wherever Lata Mangeshkar sang on the stage, she always included ‘Allah tero naam’ in her concerts. People always requested her to sing it.
The second of a short series of interviews with veteran filmmakers, actors and technicians that were recorded by writer-filmmaker Nasreen Munni Kabir for Channel 4/ BBC TV.
