The battle to breach the last border—the Oscar Awards continues for living legend Dev Anand with his latest directorial masterpiece–Mister Prime Minister. While the rest of the Indian movie industry continues submerging itself in a lala land of song, dance and romance Dev sahab, at the young age of 82, keeps on directing one realistic movie after another—whether it be the hard-hitting Censor (which laid bare the inner workings of the Censor Board), Love At Times Square (a love story set amidst the collapse of the Twin Towers) and his latest offering Mister Prime Minister ( a story of memory loss, earthquakes, political horsetrading, rap songs and navel-baring Al Qaeda operatives).
Dev Anand is universally acknowledged to be the greatest Hindi movie director alive today. Did I mention he is 82 years old? Yes I think I did. I must be getting senile.
Feisty as a 25 year old, his movies are still a huge hit with young and old alike.
What’s unique about Dev Anand is that he is the true embodiment of the Renaissance man—a modern day Da Vinci who can do everything. Do you remember Awwal Number—the “ahead of its time” movie from which movies like “the Rock” shamefully copied its plot from? For those of you too old to remember, Awwal Number was the movie which made Aamir Khan’s career. It was a story of a terrorist plot hatched by a disgruntled cricket player (Aditya Pancholi playing the role of Sourav Ganguly, the pissed-off superstar) being foiled by Dev Anand, who is, hold your breath—the coach of the team, the captain of the team and the commissioner of police all rolled into one.
One man, one post? Humbug.
Blending cricket, music, international intrigue, flying balloons and skirts Awwal Number remains a high water mark for Indian movies.
Then came one of his masterpieces circa 2001. Dev Sahab ran into trouble with the Censors during the production of “Main Solaah Baras Ki” (This “main” in the title, I found out, does not refer to Dev Anand because of the use of the feminine “ki”) —small-minded men and women who could never appreciate Dev Sahab’s dazzling camera work and out-there-stories. Rather than giving interviews and press releases, Dev Anand did what a true artist would do—he slapped them back using his creativity, exposing what really goes on inside the closed doors of censor meetings.
Using the famous “movie-inside-a-movie” approach and as mentioned by another reviewer the “Rashomon” technique of intertwined plots, Censor marks the high noon of Anand’s creative genius.
The story of Censor is about a celluloid masterpiece Aanewala Kaal directed by who else but Dev Anand (Vikramjit) which falls foul of the censor committee for its bold theme and gratuitous cleavage shots. In a casting coup that gives us a glimpse into Dev Anand’s supreme sense of irony—the Censor board consists of Mamata Kulkarni (yes you heard me right), the sozzled Jackie Shroff, Amrish Puri and Madam Rekha. Each of the censors have reasons for blocking the masterpiece—as an example, one of the committee members makes a lewd pass at Vikramjit which he being honest and upright (morally that is) naturally rebuffs.
Looking at it from the said censor’s point of view, imagine being rejected by an 80-year old. Naturally she takes it to heart and decides to kill Dev Anand’s baby ie the movie. [Sidenote: A lot of people have suggested that this “seduction by a member of the Censor Committee thing” is actually inspired by a real life incident faced by Dev Anand when he was 79. Related bit of trivia: Asha Parekh was the chairman of the censor board from 1998–2001.]
Meanwhile Miss Maggie (Archana Puran Singh), an Academy committee member, sees Vikramjit’s movie, smuggles it out of the country where it becomes a rage and snags two Oscar nominations. Needless to say, it wins all of them and even the Oscar of all Oscars (ie the greatest movie EVER) and Dev sahab gives a moving speech to the world which changes hearts all around. A proud moment for all Indians indeed—even though it takes place on film.
After “Censor” Dev Anand announced plans to make a movie on the shooting of the entire Nepali royal family by the crazed prince. That plan was shelved officially because Devji didnt want to do another Nepal movie (after Hare Ram Hare Krishna) but whispers went around that the crazed prince had brandished a gun at Dev Anand once he learnt that he had decided to do a movie on him. Instead Dev Anand made “Love At Times Square”—a romantic triangular love story set in the Big Apple ala Breakfast at Tiffany’s which had Dev Anand playing an Indian billionaire who donates money to Mayor Gulliani to rebuild a ravaged New York City. Woody Allen meets Keshu Ramsay—-as one famous critic called it.
Then came the supreme controversy. Dev Anand’s decision to do a biopic on Ravi Shankar and Anoushka and Norah Jones was met with stiff resistance from the Shankars. Again it was whispered that the sisters didn’t want Dev Anand to play Ravi Shankar but it was fairly obvious that they did not want their story of out-of-wedlock impregnation of other people’s wives being revealed to the world.
But the international hype was huge. Nicole Kidman and Salma Hayek auditioned for the roles of the two sisters but Dev Anand rejected them on the grounds they were “too old”. Irony. However when Anoushka called Dev Anand a “jerk“, he had taken all that he could take and pulled the plug on the movie. After all as he pointed out, it was he who was flattering the Shankars by publicizing their story. Bloody ingrates.
Dev Anand had by that time moved onto greener pastures. He had become besotted by another idea–born out of his disgust with the political system. Mister Prime Minister was born. Essaying the role of the newspaperman in Bhuj (Johnny Master) and the billionaire tycoon (Prem Batra), Dev Anand gives the performance of a lifetime—busting an Al Qaeda operative masquerading as a “village shoeshine chamiya” , kissing a girl old enough to be his granddaughter…err make that granddaughter’s daughter (goodbye Imran Hashmi), rapping away like 50 cents to the lyrics of “Missterrr Prime Ministerrrrr ha ha ha“(A must-hear), shaking his head like an out-of-control spring doll and true to form, keeping the camera on exposed navels and cleavages—just like any 82 year old who wears a black wig would do.
[Trivia sidenote: The name of the lucky girl who Dev Sahab kisses (she is his wife in the movie) is a PhD from Harvard (or so she claims) and was discovered by Dev Anand when he saw her in a Bendadryl commercial. Note to actresses who want to land a Dev Anand movie–get modeling assignments for medical products, Dev Anand will surely notice you then]
However bastard Bengalis never forgot how Dev Anand outed the Sourav Ganguly character in Awwal Number. When Mr Prime Minister was released, only one viewer turned up to see the movie first day first show. Just one.
And no, it was not Dev Anand. Because he was attending the world premier of the movie. Not in New York. Not in LA. Not in Paris. But in an ice-cream parlour in Ahmedabad.
Is he finished at 82? Will he hang up his hat? No sir. Dev Anand, who has said that his aim is to win the Oscars, gives a final shout out.
The matinee idol said he does not believe in blowing his own trumper, it is for the viewers to judge.
”If you like it, give a clap and smile. And, if you don’t, I’ll come back and produce another film on some contemporary theme”.
So go and watch “Mister Prime Minister” and give a clap and a smile. Else we shall all be responsible for the consequences.
Not convinced yet?
Fact 1: A few days ago, Abu Salem, international terrorist and known murderer, confessed to everything and started bawling like a baby supposedly “out of repentance”.
Fact 2: “Mister Prime Minister” was released just a few days before Fact 1 happened.
Coincidence? Or effect-cause?
I shall leave that for you to judge.
The Greatbong Blog & Podcast 
yet another excellent post! do you have any idea about what is source of his fundings for these movies? or has he amassed enough money? on unrelated note, shouldn’t thred be some kind of world record for single audience on first day first show of commercial movie (oscar, for example)! and who was the un/fortunate fellow?
ummm…i was one of the 80 odd people in the hall in the second week of mr prime minister…and i have NEVER laughed so much in my life …from the first frame to the last…i was choking on the soggy samosa and the yucky cofee and laughing…
what a film
its an experience much like a first kiss…it is so embarassingly funny and you cannot really describe it…
and i am one of the half crazed dev anand fans…used to write to him and stuff…had only seen guide and films before…had yet to discover masterpeices like gangster,awwal number, main solah baras ki, censor and now this GEM…
don’t go by the review…just see the film for one scene where the local goons led by shahbaz khan put him on an electric chair to kill him but dev saab regains his memory instead and tells goons i am the third richest man in the world and i will give you several thousand pounds…so the goons lend him their cell phone to make an international call to his italian wife and dev saab and his wife are united and the goons get their cheques later…
he lives on moongphali…cheenebaadam for u bongs and nestel slim milk because he is really poor…and there is a clevage showing tara sharma (masti, page 3 and now SITAM…a film arnab would love) cobbler who keeps her money and cell phone in her blouse but is actua;lly an al queda terrorist who gets reformed when dev anand invites her for tea out of happiness also does an item song for him…
now u know why george and tony will never forgive osama …what if he also wants to show gratitude like tara sharma…for all u know his cleavage is not even that enticing
and the btw the name is misleading…he never becomes the PM…he just bribes the minister attends another item song gives them lectures and decides a rap song at gateway of india will remove corruption faster…
but jokes apart call me a fool…his sincerity is kind of touching
abt his getting money he must be getting some money from his rcording studio and i am sure the rekhas jackie shroff(he was his doscovery!!!!) hema malini boman etc must be doing teh film for free for the sweet old man that he is …
I think Dev Anand died a long time ago. I don’t know who this movie producer guy is. Looks a lot like Dev Anand, though.
shut up gawker…he is not DEAD…he is still alive and kicking
gr8 post…. Another one u can also be tortured with is ‘Family’…one of the first movies where i wanted to get out much before the interval.
How on earth did they actually find producers and people to act in this?
And to think there was a time when Dev Anand’s movies or rather their songs really made me sentimental
Among all the amazing movies… hw did u end up seeing this amazing Mr Prime Mister..
Another gem!
Two instances of sheer Greatbong genius – the bit about Asha Parekh and the correlation to Abu Salem…
Greatbong,
As usual, a great post. Nicole Kidman… my GOD!
AshishG,
Answering your question… the poor fellow was a movie reviewer for the bengali daily anandabazar patrika. He went there back to back two days, but since he was the only viewer, the show did not run. On the third day he went to another theatre (inox, Forum) and there also, it was the same story. You can find the very funny article on the moviw review page of 7th Jan anandabazar. Some dedicated worker… this journo… I must say… 3 attempts to watch this movie 😀
humsafar.
Awwal Number! That’s the one where the heroine had a mole on the thigh.. right?
And Dev sahab asks her to show it.. for the purpose of identification of course.
Sheer genius!
“keeping the camera on exposed navels and cleavages—just like any 82 year old who wears a black wig would doâ€. Hey all you people don’t start on a mature guy – what do you know – I am sure all of you guys will be doing the same when you reach 82!!!
“shaking his head like an out-of-control spring doll†– have some compassion please – this is associated with 82 – uncontrolled nervous system coupled with uncontrolled bladder!!! When these symptoms are associated with a 2 year old – you think that to be cute – you double standard.
P.S. I am in a silly mood – but I am afraid so many anons will start supporting me – they will do anything (even support me)to criticize you on flimsy ground. So watch out!!
jus coz dev anand is a genius and is a way different revolutionary director in Hindi cinema, you guys are jealous to the core! Aamir ripped off the Lagaan’s concept because it is loosely based on Awwal Number (Cricket, anyone?). Also, Dev Anand is a sex choclate and the brand ambassador of Viagra so he has his billions of pounds which he uses to produce masterpieces but they are too high for the cheap minded indian audiences which would only like movies like DDLJ & K2H2. I mean cmon Dev Saab is changing all that.
@ Great Bong, for ur song link, please change it to this one, coz here, u can download the entire track 🙂 Have fun! I’ve heard it a dozen of times.
http://www.m4mp3s.com/albumh.php?id=298
Btw, please buy original albums of Mr. prime minister. I think Bappi Da has done a way better job than the same-old Rahman this time.
@Ashishg: I wonder that myself. He must have been immensely rich at one time to keep on financing one turkey after another.
@Silbil: Waah ! Beautifull….And the soggy samosa effect…I wish I could have been there with you soaking up the atmosphere.
You must remember this,
A kiss is just a kiss
A sigh is just a sigh
The fundamental things of life
As time goes by.
The posters of SITAM seem amazing.
@Gawker: Die? No man. As Silbil says, he is more alive than any of us here.
@Tina: Yes the tragedy of it all. Here is one of the founding fathers of Hindi cinema–along with Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor totally running to ground his brand image. He really deserves far better. However he has only himself to blame for his predicament.
@Ananda: :-)…thanks
@Humsafar: Now that’s journalism. Sheer courage. Move over embedded journalists. Anandabazar is coming through.
@Vivek: Biometrics. Indeed.
@yourfan: a)I accept that I did that at 22 and possibly shall do it till I am 82 (at which point even a blank white wall may appear like cleavage). But at least I shall try to do it as unobtrusively as possible as I get older 🙂
b) The out-of-control spring doll head movement is one of Dev-ji’s “sexy” mannerisms which started doing when he was in prime age—-evidently it is inspired by Gregory Peck. Of course now when he does it, you may mistake it for the nerve twitchings of an old man but that is *not* the case for Dev sahab.
And thanks for providing ammo for my anon friends.
@Exinator: If you want people to buy the OST then you should not put up links to downloads. I accept—AR Rehman has got nothing on Bhappi-da. I mean that Peeeeeeeeeeeee Nutsssssssss was just awesome rapping.
Arnab: Excellent post.. I always thought Dev Anand was deserving subject material conspicuous by his absence from RTDM. In the last post I wrote on my now defunct blog I talked about the story line of a Dev Anand movie.. I am curious if anyone has seen or remembers the name of that one..
“Woody Allen meets Keshu Ramsay”
— PRICELESS!!!
Man – you have a way with words. Just a few days ago I was discussing this movie with a friend – I so so so want to see it! I think I will download it from hamarabollywood.com – I know this is destined to become an instant classic in dev bhakths, and I dont want to be left back hehehehe!!
I so want Dev and Mithun to do a movie together; priceless jodi they both can form hehe!!
Great post greatbong – Dev saab got the best out of you lol!!!
I cant wait for chingari now!!
Suyog
A Dev Anand directed Mithun Da movie is every Hindi movie fan’s wet dream.
Dev Saab, you rock dude.
Comparing Dev to Da Vinic is a tall order. But that might have been just another one of your sarcasms eh?
Not that i remember much of this ‘maestro’ other than his ‘drunk’ gait in most films, but were you were intent on criticizing him with yet another circuitous endeavour? When you wnat to speak ill of someone, just go ahead and do it directly. I can understand not wanting to offend anyone( not really), but we are all entitled to our opinions.
If you indeed were intent on bantering Dev Anand in as roundabout a way as possible, please come over and lend me some support here. I wrote a post crticizing most Bollywood superstars, and so far it hasn’t gone very well with readers.
If not, oh well……
Bhalo, tobe tomaar level er hoye ni thik. waiting for the next one greatbong…
Arnab,your post reeks of age-ism. Now that I’m nearer 82 myself, I protest against this in the strongest terms. Or perhaps I should produce a film on age-ism that will change your mind and inspire you to do an item number in a mini-skirt?
As for Gawker, it’s a vile rumour that Dev-Sahab is dead and what we see is just a double. He is alive and well and working on his 94th film,where he plays twins who simultaneously depose the heads of state of Pakistan and India …
J.A.P.
@silbil: You deserve a pat-on-your back for watching the movie. ‘bows with respect’
@GB: Do you genuinly have the interest/passion to watch [parallel] cinema or is it just for wiritng these excellent posts?
I’m not sure whether Mithunda would be pleased with this change of ‘preferences’, though it helps to have a widened support base for the Indibloggies nominations. The flip side ofcourse is being prone to calls not only from Mithunda and Pranabda, but Devda and PMda henceforth 🙂
@Vivek Kumar: The film which you are talking about is “Sacche Ka Bol Bala”, another Dev Anand movie starring Jackie and Meenakshi Seshadri. It was Meenakshi Seshadri’s thigh and it was a rose not a mole!!
BTW, the villian in the movie was Prem Chopra and he was called, believe it or not – BATA !! The film had other gems like an umbrella gun and Jackie as a bar crooner. Wow….
Please do not forget other Dev Anand gems like “Pyar Ka Tarana” aka Kærlighedens melodi (Denmark)
… aka The Melody of Love (International: English title) (courtesy IMDB), “Return of Jewel Thief” and “Sau Crore”.
Whatever you might say about him, he has a never say die (pun unintended) attitude and he makes films from his heart.
Loved the lyrics of the cult song from Awwal Number
“Maidan Hai Bhara, Wicket Hai Khara, Khel shuru hoga pone gyarah….Yeh hai Cricket”
Translated as – The stadium is filled, the wickets are standing, the game will begin at quarter to eleven…This is Cricket”
Three Cheers to Dev Saab….Hip Hip Hooray.
Greatbong, you surpassed yourself this time! Thoroughly enjoyable reading! 🙂
one thing i have still not figured out…tell me if some one else has noticed it too…
he has this thing about people running and mouthing the dialogues…every film has it…starting from hare rama krishna…even the launch vehicle for his son suneil ‘anand aur anand’ to this mr prime minister…
but guys if u haven’t seen censor u have not seen anything…it even had ayesha jhulka and tara deshpande…actually you name it and the star was there…
i remember one scene where that light eyed heroine just gets out of the bed in her bare essentials and just walks out to the balcony because she has a bad dream…lovely that scene was…
my brother in law wonders if he has any embarassment telling the cameraperson while directiong main solah baras ki type of a film” main yahan se wahan tak bhagoonga aur yeh sab ladkiyan mere peeche peeche bhagengi’
anyhow censor and mr prime minister pale in the comparison of clerk….CLERK no one can touch…no one!!!
wow!was falling off my chair laughing and my patient thought i was far from sympathetic to his bowel movements. really ,how do u pick ur flicks ?u surely make my day !
hahaha..ROFL…Great Post Arnab…Wonder why Dev Sahab was misssing from Arnab’s galley till now..
And abt Clerk, well it calls for a separate post altogether..The whole Heart Attack wala scene is hillarious ..Dont know what Manoj Kumar and Ashok Kumar were thinking during the making of the film..
But really admire Dev Anand’s ideas..He has the ideas but dosent have the talent to implement them now..Previously he had his brother with him but then still, his films will be always a source of laughter for all of us..
My God!! I should be selected to present the lifetime acheivement award to Dev Anand.
hi greatbong,
this is my 1st comment on ur blog.. although i have been following it for quite sometime now..
ur post has reminded me of what dev anand said in an interview sometime back.. when someone asked him, “why do all your films fail at the box office?”,
he replied, “my films are 20 years ahead of their time.. 20 years down the line, people will love my films..”..
hmm.. anyone loving the films dev anand made in the 1980s now??
great post, as always!
been meaning to ask you this for long- do you really watch these movies? n why? of course, I got one answer in the clap and smile bit, but surely that’s not the only reason? 🙂
and to think i believed bongs cant make head or tail of hindi !
There is some high level conspiracy , surely someone is paying him bigtime to make such thrash. Why is the question.
Another good post bangabandhu , your sense of humor is amazing.
Hi Arnab,
Hope Dev Saab reads ur Post. He should have stopped making movies after ” HareRam HareKrishna”.
BTW, you missed commenting on “Hum Naujawan”..the film is better known for the molesting scene filmed on Tabbu(in as a junior role)
Dev Saab should start making Television Serials now..atleast they would be more entertaining than “K” serials let loose from Ekta Kapoor. Besides Dev Saab would not have to bother about innane things as Viewers.
Hi Greatbong
I remember seeing a very old black and white Dev Anand movie called CID (1956). I thought that movie was pretty good. It seems to me to that Dev Anand should have retired many years ago.
okay now why should he retire…not thati am a champion of bad cinema or senile men but he is not killing anyone he is just doinbg what he knows best…he is not using the tax payer’s money to churn out boring NFDC types films…
he is not making pretentious films like 15 park avenue where whether u like the film or not you have to gush about it breathlessly…okay those who loved it…good for you… i can do without english rapidex class rehersals which rahul shabana and definitely kanwaljeet have joined…take out konkana and the film is a humongous disaster…
coming back to where i started let the old man make films…we all tend to get a lil age-ist i think…
there was yet another blog which was about how gross the film was because an 82 year old man was kissing…is there a law yet that men above 80 should not do certain normal things yet?
“I have enjoyed all my films, whether they ran or not. All are equally dear to me.” – Dev Anand.
That’s the spirit, old boy. Seriously, we all need to pledge support to this great human being by wholeheartedly supporting his next venture, named (hold your breath) “Beauty Queen”.
Oh, and if you haven’t already, do check out the review of “Mr. PM” on my blog.
why just beuaty queen…u mean he will not make ‘raj mahal ka hatyakaand now?
@JAP: I agree with your view: “Arnab, your post reeks of age-ism. ———, I protest against this in the strongest termsâ€. In one of his posts (though I don’t remember where) GB made a comment about visual uncouthness with regard to physical intimacy of golden years people. Going by the usual norm of young hourglass type women and John Abraham type male, the physical intimacy of golden years people might not be pleasing to watch but that hardly matters for the people engaged in the act.
@silbil: Thanks for writing “…is there a law yet that men above 80 should not do certain normal things?†I agree with you. I don’t like any ism including age-ism.
@yourfan2: Usually we agree on all the points and counter points. But have not heard from you on this very issue. But my sixth sense says that we will disagree on this point – that is you will support GB.
@GB: Now you will be wondering whether I am supporting JAP, silbil on this issue because I am approaching 82 or I don’t fit into the usual norm for women – keep speculating.
@Detractors of GB commonly known as Anons: please note that I am disagreeing with GB!!!
just like any 82 year old who wears a black wig would do.
nooooooo……tell me it ain’t true. It’s not a wig…it’s real.
I like Dev Anand’s new movies. They make me laugh.
Much more than recent “comedies” like Garam masaala.
Bring it on. Dev anand for PM, Bappi Da for Information and Broadcasting minister, and Mithun da for Home AND defense minister. Now that would be a killer combination. With Saurav Ganguly as official spokesman for the government 🙂
@Sunil 🙂
@Arnab By definition, posts by you are excellent (tai will not repeat from now on!!). I never liked Dev Anand.
@Debashish: What a bizarre scene —I have no idea where that one is from. Had I seen I would have remembered.
@Suyog and Anil: Dev Anand cant direct Mithun. Because he will insist on putting himself in every scene—a fact that Prabhuji maynot like. Two lions in one den—Ashambav. Like a wet dream it shall remain that—a dream.
@Pipsqueak: Criticizing Dev Anand? Hell no :-)…..you dont want me to be accused of being “age-insensitive”. Actually wait, I already have been accused of that.
@Voice Within: Aaah well cant please everyone everytime. But thanks for the comment nonetheless.
@JAP and yourfan: Ageism? What kind of ism is that? The only ism I like is “Jism”. I dont gurdge Dev-ji’s pawing at sexy girls old enough to be his granddaughters—after all given half a chance and quarter the money he has I would be trying to do the same at his age also. I just wish he made more sensible movies which concentrated on plot, structure and other small things associated with movie-making rather than have a one point agenda of throwing himself in each and every scene.
@Hutumpacha and Charu: The reason why I like to watch these movies, besides the obvious one that I have some issues, is that I get a huge kick from unintentional comedy. Watching a Dev Anand movie (his recent one) is like seeing a trainwreck—no plot, no acting except one man, well past his prime, trying to act like a teenager in every scene. Its over the top, its hammy and I love my movies that way.
@Abhishek: Yes truly. A never-say-die attitude. Of course I do admire his sheer passion for moviemaking (no matter how horrible the end product is)—he has immense self-belief (with a whiff of delusion no doubt considering the fact that he thinks he is going to win the Oscar) and I applaud him for that.
@Shruti: Thank you
@Silbil: Clerk–one of my to-sees.
@Anon1: How do I pick my flicks? They pick themselves 🙂
@hp: The kadam-kadam-baraye-ja cures Ashok Kumar’s heartattack and he starts marching. Oh yes saw it on Kehene Main Kya Harj Hain—didnt realize it was from Clerk.
@Anon2: I think he meant 200 years ahead above time. When Dev sahab shall still be playing the sprightly teenager.
@Anon3: Yes so now you know. Learn something every day right?
@Anon4: Its sponsored by the Opus Dei in the hope that people shall embrace Christ after sitting through a few of these movies.
@Amit: Molesting scene with Tabbu? No I havent seen the movie. Saw Hawa though.
@Michael: The Dev Anand from CID days was almost a totally different person—he used to be a screen God in the 50s and 60s but then again he “used to be”
@Nachowski: Yes I did read your post on yes PM right now…nice pictures. Waiting for Beauty queen—I think I can guess the plot from the title itself.
@Silbil: Abs. I think 80 year old men should do whatever they can finance themselves to do. Morality is nothing but crap deviced by people who are jealous. And as you pointed out, he doesnt take taxpayer’s money—he makes filth with his own money. No problems. And why he wont make Raj mahal main hatyakand or whatever—I told you the reason in the post.
@yourfan: Perish the thought. I am not against old people at all—-all I said was that I dont like to see old people doing intimate acts. That doesnt mean they shouldnt do it—it just means I dont want to see it. In other words, Devji has the freedom to boink a 25 year old girl and I have the freedom to close my eyes and say ewwww.
Incidentally, I find romance between aged people to be very nice and cute like grandma giving grandpa a Valentine’s card while wrapping a shawl around him….but Devji putting his tongue down a youngling’s throat is something completely different. Again full marks to him for doing so and I would do the same thing at 82 if I had the chance. However a 30 I would prefer not to have to see someone else doing it.
@Sunil: Great idea. Okay this might get me flak—but I kinda liked Garam Masala (esp Akshay Kumar’s antics) as well as Shaadi No 1—totally brainless but fun.
@SD: :-)….Dev Anand always had this massive Gregory Peck hangover.
Super post.. but even funnier (and informative) are the comments that followed.
Good one silbil….
please please u must see Clerk at ur earliest !
ur asha parekh connection was fantabulous .and for the umpteenth time u r really good.count me as yourfan no watever ! wish i had voted for u but was new to this world.
apparently he had a gregory peck hangover to make surraiya happy who had a crush on G.P
and i also read an article that he had that is dev saab had an accident and because of a severe foot injury he couldn’t walk straight and when he was growing up he tried to make that a style to avoid embarassment…and later when he did become an actor it just stayed with him…
though…his eralier films Vidya, Ferry and even till baazi he walked normally so i am not too sure of the theory…
apparently the song in CID …le ke pehla pehla pyaar had to be reshot 21 times because the director just wanted dev saab to walk striaght without any antics and as soon as music started his body strarying moving and he also thinks that wasd a difficult song because of that…
okay i guess its all right if if any of u have a problem with senile old men kissing and doing funny stuff like that…
point to be noted which goes on to prove that at teh age of 82 also u can be tharki…
1. in mr prime minister, when tara sharma and some otehr al queida terrorist were kissing after tara sharma asking in that grating on the ears voice…chalo karein hollywood style kiss? they showed the lamp not the milan of the two lips hee heee but when dev saab is kissing( and it wasn’t a smooch…just a boring kiss) the italian woman it is shown…
2. in sacche ka bolbala there is a scene menakshi sheshadri is assualted ir something …basicallys he comes all ravaged and clothes torn to dev anand’s office and dev anand is in front and hema malini at the back…when menakshi is cribbing to DA she shows proof by opening her clothees even more for closer inspection but as soon as hema malini conmes forward meenakshi is reminded of her state and covers herself up…and who direcyed the film mr horny forever himself…
we all remember him getting all drooly in johny mera naam when he was hiding behind a curtain in husn ke laakh rang…
MEN WILL BE MEN BOYS WILL BE BOYS…28 and 82 it doesn’t matter..
sure, unintentional comdey is the best. have you watched ‘jeene nahi doonga’ the blood-chilling tale of the peerless rakha and shakha? if you have not, you simply must.
Hey greatbong !!!
Another great work. I’ve watched the masterpiece “Awwal Number” and as far as I remember Dev Sahab was playing the role of the Chief National Selector and The Commissioner of bombay Police in the movie. Also, he was the elder brother of the villain, i.e, Aditya Pancholi. He wasn’t the coach and/or captain. In the end, to stop a terrorist attack on Brabourne Stadium,Bombay while an Ind v/s Aus match was on, he had to sacrifice his little bro.
Anyways, another wonderful post. Keep the good work going. Kudos 🙂
@ Anonymous who wrote at 11:12 PM : “please please u must see Clerk at ur earliest !
ur asha parekh connection was fantabulous .and for the umpteenth time u r really good.count me as yourfan no watever !†I am glad to inform u that u will officially be yourfan4 since Bonatellis in one of his comments wished to name himself yourfan3. So next time u send a comment please don’t write as anonymous – write as yourfan4. Waiting to hear from u.
@Bonatellis: What happened to ur wish for yourfan3? Please use it asBonatellis-yourfan3 if u don’t want to give up Bonatellis all together. Hope u don’t mind my suggestion – I just feel comfortable in other like minded people’s company. Waiting to hear from u too.
“all I said was that I dont like to see old people doing intimate acts. That doesnt mean they shouldnt do it—it just means I dont want to see it.†Yes, you are free to like or dislike something but it is not right to be judgmental – of course I am not accusing you to be judgmental. Thanks for the clarification.
“Incidentally, I find romance between aged people to be very nice and cute like grandma giving grandpa a Valentine’s card while wrapping a shawl around him….â€. This notion of ‘romance’ is almost like the ‘perfect gentleman’ of a suiting ad!! Have you ever thought that the reason why the grandma is wrapping a shawl around the grandpa is that he will otherwise cough all night and the grandma won’t be able to sleep comfortably? How about this thought?
“Again full marks to him for doing so and I would do the same thing at 82 if I had the chanceâ€. Should I pray for you so that you get the ‘chance’ when you are 82 or should I side with your wife? Anyway I like your candidness. I fully agree with silbil when she writes MEN WILL BE MEN BOYS WILL BE BOYS…28 and 82 it doesn’t matter..
:-)….Dev Anand is an old perv. But I love him.
Mr Prime Minister is the best movie made in mankind..
And now that you’re such an ardent fan of Dev Anand, you might be interested in
http://www.dogmatrix.com/modules/myReviews/detailfile.php?lid=197
Enjoy!! 🙂
Excellent post. And anyone wondering where he gets funding for his movies from….I have it all worked out. What he does is, saves up his pension for a few years and makes a mega-flop and then repeats the whole process again and again!
well must say you have ah uge fan following though i found your last post a bit boring you know
Mr Great Bong –
This is Shahkaal – the Rashomon reviewer from IMDB. Dev Saab would have been proud of your review – you are an Awwal Number individual who should not be Censored by any Gangsters but honored by Mr Prime Minister and Loved in Times Square by many a Beauty Queen!
Regards,
Shahkaal
Bong,
Dev Anand movies are better than the stuff Karan Johar splashes out. It at least has some plot. Not some pretentious stuff. I agree with Dev, when he says his movies are ahead of time. I saw Manpasand recently, and I liked it, it was made 24 years back and had flopped.
He deserves an OSCAR
JF
Dev Anand did direct Mithun in “Swami Dada” aroung 81-82, just before Mithun hit the top league. Mithun’s role had shades of grey and yes he did sing and dance – a funky composition along the lines of “Dum Maro Dum” with Rati Agnihotri trying to do a Zeenat Aman. And yes compared to his later fares, you can comfortably sit through “Swami Dada”.
The one thing i understood from reading ur post is that u r never a gr8 bong…..just a stupid bong …….thats why u keep praising the kinda crap movies from the old hag ….which probably even he doesn’t bother to see…..adding to ur stupidity is the fact that u want him to get an OSCAR when he doesn’t deserve a filmfare even …….my advice to Dev Anand if he reads this blog ( I bet he does bcoz i believe this is the only blog actually praising him) ud u spare bollywood and make bhojpuri or bengali movies instead?
@Argon: Dude, please allow me to correct you…. Greatbong is tongue in cheek, that is what makes him so funny and brilliant. And great, to boot. BTW, I love Dev Saab myself, and as GB puts it, he used to be a screen god in the 50s and 60s, and then turned into a caricature of himself. Now he’s just plain old hilarious. In fact, I’m laughing and feeling a little bt ashamed of myself for doing so. In fact, underlying the ridiculousness, I feel really sorry for the old man. He should write his memoirs, he’s had brilliant moments, which are like national treasures….
dev sahab,
please mujhe ek mail meri id par bhejiye.
meri dili tamanna hai ki ek bar aapse mil loon taki apna jeevan ko dhanya samjhoon.
rotfl..
One of the so call TRIMURTI is DEV ANAND, the other 2 is Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar.
Any Radio Station will not play songs of one artist only as it might get monotonous so they will pplay of other artists. For this reason, one can always hear the songs of DEV ANAND’s movies all the time as he has background of varieties of singers like Kishore, Rafi, Mukesh in old movies, Hemant, Manna Dey, Mahend Kapoor, Chitalkar Ramchandra, etc. while Raj was mostly stuck with Mukesh’s background songs, Dilip, Rajend & Shammi with Rafi, Rajesh with Kishore and Manoj with Mukesh & Mahend.
Do people who is good at criticising him realized that he gave a break of so many so called producers, Directors, musicians, actors, etc from his NAV KETAN camp. Here are few of them – Guru Dutt, Raj Khosla, Yash Johar (Karan’s father), Jaidev (music of HUM DONO), Amar Jeet ( Director of Hum Dono), Madan Mohan & RD (assitant of SD BUrman in Nav Ketan’s movies), Padmini Kolhapuri ( little girl in ISHK ISHK ISHK), Aftab (little Amir Khan in Awal Number), Jackie Sharoff (Swami Dada), Tabbu (remeber song : you are my darling in NAU JAWAAN), Zeenat and nepali handsome actor in (Hare Rama…), Abhijeet (sang for Suneil Anand in ANAND AUR ANAND) and so many character artists.
You look at the new movies with even top actress in bed scenes have more vulger scenes, or rape scenes than any of DEV’s movies. How about Raj Kapoor who made his heroines to dress in sexy clothes — Zeenat in Satyam Shiwam Sundaram, Padmini in Jish Desh Men…. but no one talks about that and pysrespect to comment.
Do anyone hear that he doesn’t pay to his stars as some other people do. He is good paymaste even though his movies are not successsful as before but he has a ready market to sell his DVDs and CD,s because ther are still lots of die hard fans than any star.
Even the old stars don’t mind playing in his own productions. Here are the names of some top stars: Shammi Kapoor, Randhir Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Hema Malini, Asha Parekh, Ajit, etc.
Msot of his fans are dead, old with families and that’s why he doesn’t have followers like new stars and that may be the reasons of flops, but his movies do deal with some subjects such as what happening with CENSORS, favouritisn in CRICKET (Awal Number), politics i (Mr PM), etc etc.
I asked new genrations to see some old movies of him, Raj, Dilip, Guru Dutt, Shammi, Rajend, then U will realized the wonderful performance, lip synchorilized singing of OLD GOLD never dying songs and music, good stories, etc tan new films.
The old man kissing….how about Amitabh in SHABD ?
He is LEGEND in true sense and will be remembered for long time and many generations. Best Wishes to him.
Jab Haathi ki sawaari nikalti hai,to kuttey bhonka hi kartey hain
When elephants walk dogs bark,
These people r unable to digest his success.
In few years these guys will be nowhere,Dev saab will still be there.
ha..ha…ha…. :))
if my memory serves me right in awwal number,dev sahab was the chairman of the selection committe or the chairman of the cricket board,but definetely not the skipper? wat say gb?
I think each and every movie of Dev Saab is unique, because he has attempted to handle new subjects. I admit he lacks skills in executing them. But the man makes movies for himself. Why shouldn’t he? Dev Saab has the resources which includes funds from some of his fans. And whatever it is, there’ll be always distributors and exhibitors for his films.
Being from the industry let me tell you that Navketan and Anand Studios have a huge reputation and credibility, that Dev Saab can continue making 10 films without credit issues
Asha Parekh hitting on Dev’s ugly old ass would never happen, not even in Dev’s wildest dreams! he he.
Whatever different people may say, Dev Anand was one of the most handsome and popular actors of Bollywood He had tremendous popularity and millions of fans. He was one actor who always tried to look same both in films and real life. He had a healthy lifestyle. For millions of film goers in the 50’s through 70’s he was THE Romantic Hero personified, and they consisted of conservative and discerning audience.
But life has to carry on, and people have to die and so did he and millions of his fans in the course of time. Had Devsaab been 20 years younger, things would have been different in Bollywood. With his looks and style, he would have achieved much more in today’s internet and digital age. He will always remain a legend of Bollywood.
Just one observation
Dev sab is not a captain of the team, he is the head of selection commity