Dev Anand obituary -Popular Bollywood matinee idol, producer and film-maker

Dev Anand in Guide, 1965, directed by his brother, Vijay.

Dev Anand’s mind is deeper than the Indian ocean’

Dev Anand

Shaikh Ayaz, a gifted artist and journalist, shares his experience of meeting Dev Anand, and getting his painting signed by the legend.

With Dev Anand, there was this unspoken consensus, almost a surreal surety that death wouldn’t touch him.

His life, 88 years of immense artistic pride and deeply-felt commitment towards cinema, was a celebration of life in all its form.

He hated the sedentary life.

DevAnand

“I don’t like wasting time. When I don’t make films, I read, travel and think of new ideas. My mind is deeper than the Indian ocean,” he told me, about a few months ago, at his Khar office where he would receive friends, guests and visitors.

As usual, he was sitting behind that big, wooden desk (familiar to those who knew him), looking more like a newspaper editor than the legendary actor he was. His desk was cluttered and there were papers, scripts and books strewn across his room.

“Don’t go by this mess. My mind is sharp and agile and it’s becoming sharper as I am growing old,” he said.

Mind and intellect was everything to him. He was a solipsist; he talked mostly about himself. “I hate to be in somebody else’s shoes. I am Dev Anand and Dev Anand is original — he doesn’t do remakes, he doesn’t make a story that’s not his. How many actors you know who has played starring roles in film after film for over 60 years?”

He made no bones about the fact that he enjoyed the attention and that he chose this public life because he wanted to be loved and adored.

There was a point when I was dropping into his office every week, but never unannounced. He always answered his phone, because as he told me later, “I like to be in touch with people. I want to know who’s calling and why.”

Most of my conversations with him bordered on life and death and I would often remind him of Raju’s enlightenment scene in Guide. He viewed death as inevitable but looked at life as a gift that should be enjoyed for what it is. Once, I gave him a watercolour painting I had made of Guide and got another signed by him (pictured here).

He felt a particular sense of pride towards Guide (my favourite Dev Anand film; and every time I tried to confirm if it was his favourite, too, he would rattle off, “What about Ziddi, Baazi, Hum Dono, Taxi Driver, C.I.D, Kala Pani, Tere Ghar Ke Samne, Johny Mera Naam, Jewel Thief and Hare Rama Hare Krishna?”).

When he saw the painting, he counselled in that lyrical drawl, “Aiyyyazzz, you must follow your heart. If you want to make movies, make movies. If you want to be a newspaper editor, be a newspaper editor. But I can see that you want to paint. Just do that — paint and write and do these things that you want to do with all your heart.”

He told me that once M F Husain, too, made a quick sketch of him which is now a prized procession at his home. He took my painting and promised to get it framed. I was too small, still am, and here was this legend who respected my love, feelings and creativity and assured me that when I come next, this painting would be put up.

It was a poster of Guide and at the bottom, it was written: Guide: 1965-Forever. Now when I think about it, it would have more appropriate if it was: Dev Anand-Forever.

There Won’t Be Another Dev Anand

Dev Anand

Most of the movies Dev Anand is remembered for today ,had been made before I was born. Yet each one of them remains a personal favourite despite the fact that nearly all of them were in black and white, something not easy to digest for people of my generation and those who came after me. I don’t know when and how I fell in love with them. Looking back at them today, I can’t quite put my finger on why I loved the actor who passed away, rather casually, this week.

Was it his debonair looks–often compared to Hollywood’s Gregory Peck–and a silky mop of hair with an Elvis-like puff on the forehead? I don’t really know. But there was something magical about those black and white movies featuring Dev Anand although I never considered myself a fan.

Like many of my friends, I grew up adoring Amitabh Bachchan and later his own source of inspiration, the legendary Dilip Kumar although I came from a conservative family where movies and music were frowned upon. Yet there was nothing like a Dev Anand classic to lift your spirits, especially those soul-stirring melodies from his movies. He was the style icon of many generations.

So it was heart breaking to see the star who once commanded such cult status reduce himself to a caricature of his own self in the last few decades of his life, regularly churning out all those eminently forgettable flicks that few bothered to watch. Most of us including the Bollywood wallahs had come to put up with and indulge the ageless superstar. Nearly all of his contemporaries had long ago either hanged their boots, or simply vanished from both the silver screen and public memory.

Perhaps the pan Indian urban hero that he was, he did not quite know when to go gently into the night with dignity as his contemporary, Dilip Kumar, one of the Big Three –Raj Kapoor being the third part of the triumvirate–who ruled the Bombay cinema for decades, did. The man who couldn’t sit–or stand–still for a moment, literally, simply didn’t know when to stop running. He kept on going and doing what he loved most–making movies invariably with himself in the lead even as the world around him transformed with the audience’s tastes undergoing a sea change. He was 88 at the time of his death and he had just finished working on the last of his productions. At least two others were in the pipeline.

Yet there was something very touching and endearing about his desperate attempts to woo back his audience and somehow win its approval. He was like a school boy forever craving the appreciation of his elders and teachers. Even after six decades in the movie business, he clearly craved recognition and immortality. And we had somehow persuaded ourselves that he was going to be around forever. In a way, he will be. Dev Anand’s work and immense contribution to Indian cinema will live long after he’s gone and forgotten.

For me, he will remain the face of those immortal and heart warming songs by Mohammed Rafi. Watching those gushing tributes to Dev saheb, as everyone called him, on Indian television networks, I am struck by the extraordinary number of all-time chart busters his movies produced and most of them in the voice that I have loved and lived with all my life.

Rafi, the most prolific and enchanting voice of Indian cinema, had been the natural choice of numerous superstars. But when Rafi and Dev Anand came together they created sheer magic. I can’t tell you how often I have turned to the Rafi-Dev Anand combination to beat my perpetual blues.

Din dhal jaye; kya se kya hogaya; khoya khoya chand; dil ka bhanwar; sau saal pahle, abhi na jao chor kar and many, many more shine like diamonds in the dark. No one writes that kind of poetry anymore – it’s all Sheela ki jawani and Munni badnam hui now. And no one sings them like Rafi saheb did, pouring his heart and soul into them, not to mention the magic of masters like Naushad and SD Burman. That age and time will never return–neither will Dev Anand. Rest in Peace Dev saheb, there will be no one like you.

by Aijaz Zaka Syed

Dev Anand

Dharam Dev Anand (Hindi: धर्मदेव आनन्द, Punjabi: ਧਰਮਦੇਵ ਆਨੰਦ) (26 September 1923 – 04 December 2011), better known as Dev Anand (Hindi: देव आनन्द, Punjabi: ਦੇਵ ਆਨੰਦ), was anIndian Hindi Cinema actor, director and film producer. Dev was the second of three brothers who were active in Hindi Cinema. His brothers were Chetan Anand and Vijay Anand. Their sister, Sheel Kanta Kapur, is the mother of renowned Hindi and English film director Shekhar Kapur. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 2001 and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2002 for his contributions towards Indian cinema.

Dev was born Dharam Dev Anand on (26 September 1923- December 4,2011) in Shakargarh Tehsil of Gurdaspur district (now in Narowal District, Pakistan) in undivided Punjab, British Indiato well-to-do advocate Kishorimal Anand. Dev was the second of three brothers born to Kishorimal Anand. Dev’s younger sister is Sheela Kanta Kapur, who is mother of Shekhar Kapur. His older brother was Chetan Anand and younger one was Vijay Anand. Dev graduated in English literature from the Government College, Lahore, (now in Pakistan). It has been confirmed that Dev Anand has died due to a cardiac arrest in London on the 4th of December 2011 He was every Green Super Star Hero in Indian cinema.

Dev Anand, after graduating in English Literature from the Government College, Lahore, British India left his hometown and came to Bombay in the early 1940s. He began his career in the military censor office at Churchgate, Bombay, for a salary of 200. He joined his older brother Chetan as a member of the Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA).

He was soon offered a debut as an actor by Prabhat Talkies to star in their film Hum Ek Hain(1946). While shooting for the film in Pune, Dev struck a friendship with another fellow legendary actor Guru Dutt. They had decided between themselves that if one of the two becomes successful first in film industry then they would help the other to be successful. It was a mutual understanding between them that when Dev Anand produced a film, Guru Dutt would direct it and when Guru Dutt directed a film, Dev Anand would act in it.

In the late forties Dev Anand got a few offers to star opposite singer-actress Suraiya in woman oriented films, as the male lead. Dev Anand considered himself to be lucky to get a chance to star opposite such an established actress and accepted the offers. While shooting these films, he became romantically involved with Suraiya. The two of them were paired in seven films together - Vidya (1948), Jeet (1949), Shair(1949), Afsar (1950), Nili (1950), Do Sitare (1951) and Sanam (1951), which were all successful at the box office. In these films Suraiya was always first billed in credits to imply she was a bigger star than Dev Anand. She fell in love with him during the shooting of the song Kinare kinare chale jayen ge from the film Vidya, where unfortunately during shooting, a boat capsized and Dev Anand saved Suraiya from drowning. The entire affair was conducted in a clandestine manner with friends like Durga Khote and Kamini Kaushal going out of their way to engineer secret rendezvous. On the sets of the film Jeet, Dev Anand finally proposed to Suraiya and gave her a diamond ring worth Rs 3,000. Her maternal grandmother opposed the relationship as they were Muslim and Dev Anand Hindu, and so, Suraiya remained unmarried all her life. They stopped acting together after her grandmother opposed and Do Sitare was the last film of the pair to release. Although Dev had tasted success in the films he starred in with Suraiya, the producers and directors attributed the success of these films to the acting prowess and screen presence of Suraiya. Dev was looking for opportunity to play the main male lead in a film where his acting skills could be displayed as people were skeptic about Dev’s acting abilities.

Dev was offered his first big break by Ashok Kumar. He spotted Dev hanging around in the studios and picked him as the hero for theBombay Talkies production, Ziddi, costarring Kamini Kaushal (1948) which became an instant success. After Ziddi’s success Dev had decided that he would start producing films. So in 1949, Dev turned producer and launched his own company Navketan (which mean newness), which till 2011 has produced 31 films and continues to produce movies even today.

Dev chose Guru Dutt as director for the crime thriller, Baazi (1951). The film starring Dev Anand, Geeta Bali and Kalpana Kartik was a trendsetter regarded as the forerunner of the spate of urban crime films that followed in Bollywood in the 1950s. The film Baazi saw debut ofKalpana Kartik aka Mona Singh as the lead female actress and Guru Dutt as a director. The collaboration was a success at the box office and the pair Dev Anand – Kalpana Kartik were offered many films to star in together. They signed all the film offers and subsequently the movies Aandhiyan, 1954 Film, House No. 44 and Nau Do Gyarah went on to become big hits too. During the making of film Taxi Driver, the couple fell in love and Dev proposed marriage to his heroine Kalpana. In 1954, Taxi Driver was declared a hit and the two decided to marry in a quiet ceremony. The couple had a son, Suneil Anand in 1956. After her marriage Kalpana decided not to pursue her acting career further.

A rapid-fire style of dialogue delivery and a penchant for nodding while speaking became Dev’s style in films like House No. 44, Pocket Maar,Munimji, Funtoosh, C.I.D. and Paying Guest. In the fifties his films were based on mystery genre or light comedy love stories or were films with social relevance like Ek ke baad ek and Funtoosh. His style was lapped up by the audience and was widely imitated. He starred in a string of box office successes for the remainder of the 1950s opposite newcomer Waheeda Rehman in C.I.D. (1956), Solva Saal, Kala Pani,Kala Bazar and Baat Ek Raat Ki. Waheeda first became a star with C.I.D becoming a hit. In 1955 he also co-starred with Dilip Kumar inInsaniyat. With his acting in Kala Pani (1958), as the son who is willing to go to any lengths to clear his framed father’s name, he won his first Filmfare award for Best Actor for the film. He attempted films of tragic genre occasionally like Pocketmaar (1956), Kala Pani (1958),Bombai Ka Babu (1960) and Sharabi (1964) and tasted success in them. Dev also played a few characters with a negative shade, like inJaal(1952). Apart from his pair with Suraiya and Kalpana Kartik, his pair with Nutan and Waheeda Rehman was popular among the audiences in late 50’s and 60’s. His films Rahee and Aandhiyaan, were screened along with Raj Kapoor’s Awaara. From the early fifties till mid sixties, the trio of Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand ruled the roost.

In the sixties, Dev Anand acquired romantic image with films like Manzil and Tere Ghar Ke Samne with Nutan, Kinaare Kinaare with Meena Kumari, Maya with Mala Sinha, Asli-Naqli with Sadhana Shivdasani, Jab Pyar Kisise Hota Hai and Mahal with Asha Parekh and Teen Deviyaan opposite three heroines Kalpana, Simi Garewal and Nanda. In the film Teen Deviyaan, Dev Anand played a playboy.Raj Kapoorthough younger than Dev nand, started gaining weight and this affected his career and even Dilip Kumar’s films started flopping in the late sixties. But Dev Anand,being slim and fit, continued to look much younger even in the late sixties and seventies. He gave many popular films till 1990 as the leading man.

His first colour film, Guide with Waheeda Rehman was based on the novel of the same name by R. K. Narayan. Dev Anand himself was the impetus for making the film version of the book. He met and persuaded Narayan to give his assent to the project. Dev Anand tapped his friends in Hollywood to launch an Indo-US co-production that was shot in Hindi and English simultaneously and was released in 1965. Guide, directed by younger brother Vijay Anand, was an acclaimed movie. Dev played Raju, a voluble guide, who supports Rosy (Waheeda) in her bid for freedom. He is not above thoughtlessly exploiting her for personal gains. Combining style with substance, he gave an affecting performance as a man grappling with his emotions in his passage through love, shame and salvation.

He reunited with Vijay Anand for the movie Jewel Thief, based on thriller genre which featured Vaijayantimala, Tanuja, Anju Mahendru, Faryaland Helen. Their next collaboration, Johny Mera Naam (1970), again a thriller, where Dev was paired opposite Hema Malini was a big hit. It was Johnny Mera Naam which made Hema Malini a big star.

His directorial debut, the espionage drama Prem Pujaari, was a flop but has developed a cult following over the years. He tasted success with his 1971 directorial effort, Hare Rama Hare Krishna which talked about the prevalent hippie culture. His find Zeenat Aman, who played the mini-skirt sporting, pot-smoking Janice, became an overnight sensation. Dev also became known as a filmmaker of trenchantly topical themes. This same year, he starred with Mumtaz in Tere Mere Sapne, an adaptation of A. J. Cronin’s novel, The Citadel. The film was directed by Dev’s brother, Vijay and was also successful.

In the 1970s, Raj Kapoor started playing roles of father in films like Kal Aaj Aur Kal in 1971 and Dharam Karam in 1974 and films with Dilip Kumar as lead hero were failures at box office. Some of the hurriedly made films with Dev Anand as the leading man – three each opposite Hema Malini and Zeenat Aman and Yeh Gulistaan Hamara with Sharmila Tagore became flops and posed a threat to his career as leading man. But he delivered hits again and romanced young heroines Yogita Bali and Rakhee in Banarasi Babu (1973), Hema Malini in Chhupa Rustam(1973) and Amir Ghareeb(1974), Zeenat Aman in Heera Panna(1973), Warrant(1975) and Darling Darling(1977). In 1976, his brother directed a mystery flick named Bullet which though critically acclaimed was not successful at box office.

The presence of his ‘discoveries’ in the 70’s— the Zeenat and later, the Tina Munim in films and his good chemistry with beautiful young stars like Rakhee, Parveen Babi, Hema Malini, Zeenat Aman in various films boosted Dev’s image as the evergreen star even though he was well into his fifties.

Dev Anand has also been politically active. He led a group of film personalities who stood up against the Internal Emergency imposed by the then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi. He actively campaigned against her with his supporters in Indian parliamentary elections in 1977. He also formed a party called the National Party of India, which he later disbanded.

The 1978 hit Des Pardes, directed by Dev Anand was the debut was actress Tina Munim and this film’s success gave him the tag of evergreen hero. He was 55 but he shared very good chemistry with the 20 year old Tina Munim. Dev Anand was offered lead role in Man Pasand by director Basu Chatterjee. Dev Anand’s successful run at the box office continued in the 1980s with Man Pasand, Lootmaar(both opposite Tina Munim), Swami Dada(1982) being both critically acclaimed and box office hits.

Though Dev Anand’s demand as the lead hero had not decreased even in the 1980s, he decided that it was the right time to introduce his son Suneil Anand in films as the hero. He launched his son in the Kramer vs. Kramer inspired Anand Aur Anand (1984), which was produced and directed by Dev Anand himself and had music by R.D.Burman. He expected the film to do well but the film was a box office disaster andSuneil Anand decided to not act in films any more.

But the of films with Dev Anand as the lead hero Hum Naujawan (1985), Lashkar (1989) and Awwal Number(1990), where Dev Anand costarred with Aamir Khan were average grossers and appreciated by critics. He was already sixty year old in 1983 when he acted withPadmini Kolhapuri in Swami Dada but did not look old. In 1989, his directorial venture the critically acclaimed Sachché Ka Bolbala was released but it was a commercial failure.

Since the 1990s except for Awwal Number, rest of the eight films directed by him were box office failures. But Sau Crore (1991) and Censor(2000) were critically acclaimed.

Dev Anand has directed 19 films and produced 31 films of which 7 directorial ventures and 18 films respectively were commercially successful at the box office. He wrote the story for 13 of his films. Critics say his directorial ventures have always been ahead of its time. Dev Anand’s films are well known for their hit songs. He is known to have been an active participant in the music sessions of a number of his films. His association with music composers Shankar-Jaikishen, O. P. Nayyar, Kalyanji-Anandji, Sachin Dev Burman and his son Rahul Dev Burman, lyricists Hasrat Jaipuri, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Neeraj, Shailendra, Anand Bakshi, and playback singers Mohammad Rafi and Kishore Kumar produced some very popular songs. S.D Burman, R.D Burman, Rafi and Kishore Kumar were his special friends.

In September 2007, Dev’s own autobiography “Romancing with Life” was released at a birthday party with the Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. ^]In February 2011, his 1961 black and white film Hum Dono was digitised and colourised and released.

Dev Anand is credited with giving actors like Jackie Shroff in Swami Dada, Tabu in Hum Naujawan and Richa Sharma a break into the film industry and encouraging music composer Rajesh Roshan. Amit Khanna started his career with Navketan as executive producer in 1971 and had been secretary to Dev Anand in 70′s. He adds, “The uniqueness of Navketan today is that it’s the only film company in the world still run by the one who started it.”

Ahbi na jao chodkar, Dev saab…so says celebrities as they pay their tribute to Dev Anand

Dev Anand was 88 when he succumbed to a massive cardiac arrest in a London hospital. Ever since the news of his demise broke out, the refrain across his fans and well-wishers was a line from his song from “Hun Dono”, “Abhi na jao chodkar ke dil abhi bhara nahin”.

On his micro blogging site, Anupam Kherwrote: “Dev Saab was Kind, -Passionate, Courageous, Forthright, Charming, Encouraging, Contemporary, Always a leader and a Great Human. Will Miss him. So as a Tribute to Dev Saab let’s only humm his Songs today. Songs which became such an integral part of our lives. Ahbi na jao chodkar….” When Amitabh Bachchan first tweeted about Dev saab, he was still praying that the news wasn’t true. “Just reading news about Dev Saheb .. praying it is not true ! He was such a positive person .. never associated death with him… Had just met Dev Saheb at his premiere recently .. he was weak but full of spirit ..the news papers confirming his passing away ..sad. An era has come to an end .. Dev Anand leaves a void never perhaps to be filled again .. his never give up belief, his joy of life!”

Shabana Azmi, who also reminisced about director Manish Acharya who passed a year ago, wrote: “Dev Saheb robustly lived life on his own terms.he will be missed by millions but will live on thru his movies.I salute his spirit.”

Mahesh Bhatt saluted the memory of the star “left us with the glow of his smile”. “As the new dawn breaks over Mumbai I salute the memory of this star who has left left us with the glow of his smile,” he wrote.

It took a while for the news to sink in for Madhur Bhandarkar even as he wrote: “Shocked to the core, a painful loss, a personal grief, cant believe DEVSAAB is no more ! Still the news is not sinking in,had celebrated his birthday with him,Devsaab was full of energy and life then,just cant believe !”

Director Kunal Kohli, on his part, wrote: “RIP Dev Anand. His spirit, energy, love for life and cinema will live on through his films. Love you Dev Saab.”

Abhishek Bachchan was equally shocked. Wrote the actor, “Never believed I would ever wake up to this news. Very sad! Shocked to read of the passing of Dev Saab. Such a great man and actor. A symbol of positivity.” Actor Divya Dutta has vivid memories of her last meeting of the legend at the premiere of his movie. “T last I met devsaab was at his premiere,sitting nxt to him, n seeing his smiling face,full of zest energy n ethusiasm..memories! Main zindagi ka sath nibhata chala gayam..RIP devsaab! Knowing u wrkin wt u is cherished!my evergreen hero!will miss u sir!” she wrote.

Shah Rukh Khan said in his tweet, “Dev sahib’s sad demise makes me feel that the film industry is incomplete & has lost its magical energy. May Allah bless his soul.”

Arjun Rampal tweeted, “Woke up to the saddest news and an emptiness in the heart, Dev Saab the man who lived every moment to the fullest with greatest energy. RIP.”

Actor Neil Nitin Mukesh said: “Just got the sad news that Dev Anand sahab passed away. I’ve always been a huge fan of his. And grown up watching his dynamic films. RIP.” India’s music fraternity was equally shocked with the news. The legend who left behind countless film hits will be dearly missed, said Shreya Ghosal. “Dev saab’s films being talked abt on d news. What legacy of great films n music! He indeed was a man of excellence and passion for cinema,” the singer wrote.

Composer Ehsaan Noorani, on his part, said, “Another jewel begins his skyward journey …… Dev Saab alvidaa.” Sophie Choudry, on her part, wrote: “Can’t believe Dev saab is no more? A real institution,dreamer,believer & the grtest romantic because he LOVED life. A truly sad say. RIP sir.”

Poonam Pandey too paid her respect to the evergreen star by writing: “Life is like a poker game; it’s not what you’re given, it’s how you use it.- The Gr8 Gambler – “RIP Dev Anand”"

Shammi Kapoor

Shammi Kapoor (21 October 1931– 14 August 2011) was an Indian film actor and director. He was a prominent lead actor in Hindi cinemaduring the late 1950s and 1960s. He passed away on the morning of August 14th, 2011 at 5.15 AM.

He was given the name Shamsher Raj Kapoor at his birth in Mumbaito film and theatre actor Prithviraj Kapoor, Shammi was the second of the three sons born to Prithviraj (the other two being Raj Kapoor andShashi Kapoor), both of whom were, like their father, successfulBollywood actors. Though born in Mumbai, he spent a major portion of his childhood in Kolkata, where his father was involved with New Theatres Studios, acting in films. It was in Kolkata that he did his Montessory and Kindergarten. After coming back to Mumbai, he first went to St. Joseph’s Convent (Wadala) and then, to Don Bosco School. Shammi Kapoor finished his schooling from New Era School, atHughes Road.

Shammi Kapoor was hailed as one of the finest actors that Hindi cinema has ever produced. Extremely versatile as an actor, he was the leading star of Hindi cinema during the late 1950s as well as the 1960s. He debuted in Bollywood in 1953 with the film Jeevan Jyoti, and went on to deliver hits likeTumsa Nahin Dekha, Dil Deke Dekho, Junglee, Dil Tera Diwana, Professor, China Town, Rajkumar, Kashmir Ki Kali,Janwar, Teesri Manzil, An Evening in Paris, Bramhachari, and Andaz and Vidhaata. He received the Filmfare Best Actor Award in 1968 for his performance in Brahmachari and Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for Vidhaata in 1982.

Shammi Kapoor had a short stint at Ruia College, in Matunga, Mumbai, after which he joined his father’s theatrical company “Prithvi Theatres”. He entered the cinema world in 1948, as a junior artiste, at a salary of Rs. 150 per month, stayed with Prithvi Theatres for the next four years and collected his last paycheck, Rs. 300, in 1952. He made his debut in Bollywood in the year 1953, when the film Jeevan Jyoti was released. It was directed by Mr. Mahesh Kaul and Chand Usmani was Kapoor’s first heroine.

Kapoor started out with serious roles but with Filmistan’s Nasir Hussain directed Tumsa Nahin Dekha (1957) oppositeAmeeta and Dil Deke Dekho (1959) with Asha Parekh, he attained the image of a light-hearted, stylish playboy. Tall, athletic, lively, fair complexioned, green-eyed and with handsome features- Shammi was a heartthrob, and his good looks and physique complemented his image.

With Junglee (1961) his new image was cemented and his subsequent films were all in this genre. He particularly chose Mohammed Rafi as his playback voice. Though in his early career he had often played second fiddle to established heroines like Madhubala in films such as Rail Ka Dibba (1953), producers now loved pairing Shammi with new heroines, and three of them became huge stars in their own right: Asha Parekh, Saira Banu, and Sharmila Tagore.^[4] Of all his heroines, he said that Sharmila Tagore, Rajshree, and Asha Parekh were easy to work with.^[5] He and Asha Parekh were paired together in four films, the most successful being the murder mystery Teesri Manzil(1966).

In the first half of the 1960s, Kapoor was seen in successful films like Professor, Char Dil Char Rahen, Raat ke Raahi,Dil Tera Diwana, ‘Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya’, China Town, Kashmir Ki Kali, Bluff Master, Janwar and Rajkumar. Although nominated before, in 1968, he received the first Filmfare Best Actor award of his career for the film Bramhachari.

In the 1970s, Kapoor’s weight problem proved an obstacle in his path of success and ended his career as a romantic hero. One of his last hits, in which he played the lead role, was Andaz (1971). With time, he moved to character roles and acted in films like Zameer, Hero and Vidhaata. In 1974, he donned the hat of a director and made Manoranjan, a film based on Irma La Douce. Two years later, he made Bandalbaaz (1976). However, both the films failed to create magic at the box office. His last appearance, as a character actor, was in the delayed 2006 film, Sandwich. Recently he had decided to act with his great-nephew Ranbir Kapoor, the grandson of his brother Raj Kapoor, in Imitiaz Ali’s next movie.

Shammi Kapoor met Geeta Bali in 1955, during the shooting of the film ‘Rangeen Raaten’. He was the leading actor and she played a cameo. They fell in love, but since she was a year older to him and had acted with his elder brother and father, they were skeptical. Four months after they first met, they married at Banganga Temples, near Napean Sea Road of Mumbai. Hari Walia as the sole witness. They informed their parents only after their marriage.

Shammi and Geeta lived a life of bliss in the coming years. They had a son, Aditya Raj Kapoor, on 1 July 1956, at Shirodkar’s Hospital, Mumbai, a year after they were married. Five years later, in 1961, they had a daughter, Kanchan.

Tragedy struck in 1965, during the filming of Teesri Manzil. Geeta died of small pox, leaving Shammi with two small children.

It led to a failed romance with Mumtaz, his co-star from Brahmchari (1968).

In 1969, he married his second wife Neela Devi Gohil from the Royal Family of Bhavnagar in Gujarat. He was gaining weight rather significantly now and this ended his career as a romantic hero in the early 1970s. Andaz (1971) was one of his last hits.

Shammi turned into a successful supporting actor in the 70′s, playing Saira Banu’s father in Zameer (1974), when he had been her leading man a decade earlier in Junglee (1961) and Bluff Master (1964) and playing Amitabh Bachchan’s foster father in Parvarish. He also directed Manoranjan (1974) a copy of Irma La Douce and in which he played a supporting role himself and Bandalbaaz (1976), but neither were successful. In the 1980s and 1990s, he continued to play supporting roles in many films and won a Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for his performance in Vidhaata(1982). He eventually cut down on film appearances by the late 1990s and early 2000s and made his last appearance in the delayed 2006 release Sandwich.

Shammi Kapoor was the founder and chairman of Internet Users Community of India (IUCI). He had also played a major role in setting up internet organizations like the Ethical Hackers Association. Kapoor also maintained a website dedicated to the ‘Kapoor family’.

In 2006, he told interviewers that he underwent dialysis three times a week. Irrepressible even then, this punishing regimen has failed to depress him. Rather, he said that he was thankful to God for giving him so much.

He died around 5:15 am, August 14, 2011 at Mumbai Breach Candy hospital, where he was undergoing treatment. for chest infection. He died of renal failure.

Kapoor was admitted to Breach Candy Hospital on 7th August, 2011 suffering from chronic renal failure. His condition remained serious for next few days, kept under ventilator support.^[16] However, the actor passed away on 14 August, 2011, 05:15am IST at the age of 79 of chronic renal failure.

Nizam Din or Nizam Deen (Mirza Sultan Baig) – a legendry Radio artist and who acted in film Billo in 1952 died on July 4, 1991.

This great artist performed in  programs like “Jamhoor di awaz”, “Sohni Dharti”, “Dehati Program”  broadcasted from Radio Pakistan Lahore. Mirza Sultan Baig was a legendary artist who is unique in his Punjabi speaking

RADIO Pakistan has played a significant role to save Punjabi language and literature from extinction by broadcasting plays, folk songs and some programmes in it for the villagers. Some of the prominent writers who emerged through radio are Kartar Singh Duggal, Balwant Gargi and Amrita Preetam. Om Prakash appeared as a character with Chaudhry Nizam Din in the Dehati Programme and on the basis of that performance, he was welcomed by the Bombay film industry.

Mirza Sultan Baig and Abdul Latif (popular characters of Nizam Din and Chaudhri Sahib of Punjabi programme broadcast live every evening) were popular characters of Radio Pakistan Lahore.
These were the talented people who made Radio Pakistan what it was. Then there were those who lent their voices to Radio Pakistan. Our announcers and presenters included such men as Mustafa Ali Hamdani, Akhlaq Ahmed Delhavi, Aziz ur Rehman, Nasreen Mahmood, Khalida were great people.

Radio Pakistan Lahore’s legendry artist Nizam Din (Mirza Sultan Baig) from “Jamhoor di awaz” played a role in Punjabi film “Billo” (1951). The real name of this film was “Meerasi” which was changed after the protest from musicians.

These were the talented people who made Radio Pakistan what it was. Then there were those who lent their voices to Radio Pakistan. Our announcers and presenters included such men as Mustafa Ali Hamdani, Akhlaq Ahmed Delhavi, Aziz ur Rehman, Nasreen Mahmood, Khalida Arjumand, Yasmin Imtiaz Ali (later Yasmin Tahir after she married Naeem Tahir), Mohini Hameed, Abdul Latif Musafir, and Mirza Sultan Beg, universally known as Nizam Din.

Akhlaq Ahmed Delhavi was known for his wit. Apart from making announcements, he would answer listeners’ letters and compere poetry readings. I can still hear Azizur Rehman’s clean and resonant voice informing listeners, “Hum Radio Pakistan Lahore se bol rahay hain’ – we are speaking from Radio Pakistan, Lahore.

Mustafa Ali Hamadani was the most senior announcer at Lahore radio with a voice and a style all his own. To him belongs the credit of making the first announcement from Radio Pakistan, Lahore, on the night Pakistan came into being (an honour Zahur Azar has claimed as his). He was also a poet and equally at home in Urdu and Persian. And forever unforgettable will remain the witty exchanges in the Lahore station’s farming programme between Mirza Sultan Beg “Nizam Din” and Abdul Latif Musafir. From amongst women announcers, Nasreen Mahmood was the senior most. Even today her voice has the same ring it had all those years ago. Khalida Arjumand began with the children’s programme, but soon moved to drama and features. She was later assigned the responsibility of making most of the station’s announcements. From 1990 on she became the regular presenter of the programme Punjabi Darbar, which had wide listening in Indian East Punjab because of the purity and richness of the language spoken.

When I think of producers at the old radio station – before it shifted to its new location on Empress Road – I recall with nostalgia men such as Abdul Shakoor Bedil, Tasadduq Ali, Rashid Habibi, Riaz Mahmood, Raja Farooq Ali Khan and Shad Amritsari. The movie music director Khayyam was Bedil’s younger brother. Bedil had an excellent ear for music. His recordings of mystic poetry are one of Radio Pakistan’s assets.

Time moves on. It does not look back. It obliterates the past and like a river it only flows forward. It is only man whom God had gifted with the ability to look back and look forward, learning from past mistakes – at least sometimes. There are some who remain lost in the mists of the past. I am not one of them. I have retrieved my past from the womb of time and I move into the future, holding on to my past. On a visit to the Lahore radio station some years ago, as I entered the corridor where the commercial service is housed, I remembered Ayub Rumani, who remained associated with the music section. He was an authority on music and treated with great respect even by professional classical musicians.

Near the end of his life, the poet Nasir Kazmi had come to Radio Pakistan as a staff artist. He wrote a number of memorable programmes under the title Aiwaan-e-Ghazal. I am not sure if any of those recordings have survived. Sufi Ghulam Mustafa Tabussum would interpret on the air every day a single chosen verse of Iqbal. During the summer, on some evenings, Farida Khanum would bring with her a tray-full of fragrant motia and distribute it among the artists. When Sain Akhtar Hussain sang Mirza Sahiban, you could hear his voice even outside the studio where he was performing.

Burial and Funeral of Moin Akhtar

Moin Akhtar’s Death and Life — Urdu Newspapers Cuttings Part 3

Moin Akhtar’s Death and Life — Urdu Newspapers Cuttings Part 2

Moin Akhtar’s Death and Life — Urdu Newspapers Cuttings