When heroes are alive, they are remembered often. Once they die, they are often forgotten. Here are some thoughts on the death anniversary of Bollywood's evergreen hero Dev Anand. What readily comes to mind is that he had a healthy interest in politics too. Way back in 1962, a young Dev Anand had cheekily asked Jawaharlal Nehru,"Is it true sir that your devastating smile stole the heart of Lady Mountbatten?”
Dev Anand had responded to his “call of conscience” that upset Sanjay Gandhi during the Emergency when he was asked to say few words in appreciation of the Youth Congress and Sanjay. Subsequently, the actor’s films were banned from being screened on television and any reference his name was debarred by All India Radio.
When the 1977 general election was announced, Dev Anand was asked by Ram Jethmalani to join the Janata Party against Indira Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi. ‘Des Pardes’ was yet to be finished and Dev Anand’s was hesitant to risk drawing the wrath of the outgoing regime had it returned to power. The actor kept strolling in the garden behind his residence till dawn but when he woke up next morning, he agreed to share the stage with Morarji Desai and Jayaprakash Narayan to make a short speech against Indira Gandhi.
However, the Janata Party experiment quickly disillusioned him. When Morarji Desai left office and Charan Singh succumbed to pave the way for the 1980 general election, Dev Anand decided to lead the country. “If MGR could spell magic in Tamil Nadu, why not me in the whole country?” A rally was held at Mumbai’s historic Shivraji Park and Dev Anand believed that a packed house prompted Indira to send a feeler to him to join hands with her. The actor snubbed her again -- “Joining hands with an autocrat was absolutely out of question.”
At this point of time, Dev Anand was dreaming big. Ideas kept surging. A giant forward leap was required to link the ancient civilisation with modern India. What if all villages are transformed into neat small towns flashing with electricity and gushing merrily with water facilities… What if English is taught to all and farmers, labourers, coolies and aristocrats move around in cars, waving at each other in a spirit of bonhomie.
“It was the utopic vision of visionary, and I wanted to make it happen if I joined politics,” wrote the octogenarian in his autobiography, Romancing With Life, that was released by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2007, who incidentally shared his birthday, September 26, with the actor. Congress President and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi was prominent at the function, which saw the actor hailing her and Singh for "their capacity to take the country skywards so that it becomes an envy of the world."
The National Party of India with Dev Anand as its president closed shop within months in 1980 when first Nani Palkhivala, then Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit declined to contest Lok Sabha. Palkhivala, noted jurist and economist who had attended Dev Anand’s Shivaji Park meet, reportedly sent a message that while he was open to the idea of getting into the Rajya Sabha, he was reluctant to contest Lok Sabha elections. “The inertia already visible amongst the early enthusiasts dampened my spirits….. and that the end of National Party. It was a great idea that was nipped in the bud.”
Dev Anand then decided to canvass support for Atal Bihari Vajpayee. When Vajpayee became Prime Minister in 1998 and subsequently decided to take a bus trip to Lahore in February 1999, Dev Anand was invited to join in. “As I looked at him from behind, he seemed alone in the greatest moment of his destiny, with such a monumental responsibility thrust on his shoulders. I terribly, terribly wished to share his burden in whatever humble capacity I could,” recalled the actor. As if Vajpayee read his thoughts, he was invited to sit next to the Prime Minister. “I gripped his hand and pressed it saying, “We are all with you. Do whatever you dreamt about doing, with a conscience that represents our country’s conscience.”
Politics was paramount in Dev Anand's mind when in 2005, he finished making Mr Prime Minister that had an underlying tone of patriotism. The ‘politician’ who once headed the National Party of India sought to teach politicians some lessons ranging from counter-terrorism, coalition politics to society's many ills. He wrote the script, directed and produced i, but his attempt to appear 40 and dominate in every frame failed miserably.
Dev Anand died in his room at The Washington Mayfair Hotel in London at the age of 88 on 3 December 2011.
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