Dev Anand: Dev Anand’s special connection with Mehboob Studio and how dozens of shelved films affected his career – Exclusive
Imagine watching Dev Anand and Amitabh Bachchan together.Or Dev saab lighting up the screen with Kamal Haasan. Its a pity that such fabulous projects never saw the light of day. Dilip Thakur reveals about these movies and how they affected Dev Anand’s career in its final years.
Read on…
‘Dev Anand had a deep connection with Mehboob Studios’
I have watched Dev Anand films such as Anand Aur Anand, Main Tere Liye, Hum Naujawan and also attended their ‘Mahurats’ at Mehboob Studio. He had a close association with Mehboob Studio. When Des Pardes came out, it was the time of emergency and there were restrictions to go out of the country to shoot films. So, the art director TK Desai built the London streets and buildings at Mehboob Studio. It was widely discussed at the time.
After Dev Anand’s demise, his prayer meet was also held at Mehboob Studio. When I interviewed Sulochana Didi long ago about the legends she had worked with, she told me that Dev Anand would reach his Khira Nagar office in Santacruz at 9 am sharp. He would spend some 20-odd minutes there and then reach Mehboob Studio at exactly 10 am.
At that time, there would be landline telephones at Mehboob Studio, where people would get their calls. But once Dev Anand was on set, he never attended any calls. If the director was busy with something else on the set, Dev Anand would sit aside in a corner with a book and a Coca-Cola. And if he was directing the film, then he would have his designated director’s chair, which I saw during Hum Naujawan.
Dev Anand’s countless incomplete films
Anil Sharma was making a film called Godfather, which was going to be produced by his father KC Sharma. But the film got shelved.
Chetan Anand’s Kaafir starring Dev Anand and Priya Rajvansh where Dev Anand played a doctor and Priya Rajvansh played a Muslim girl also got shelved.
Vijay Anand was going to make a film called Ek Do Teen Chaar, which had its Mahurat at Mehboob Studio. The film was to star Dev Anand, Shashi Kapoor, Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Raakhee, Rishi Kapoor, Parveen Babi, Tina Munim and Amjad Khan. I have no idea why that film got shelved after the Mahurat. It was a Salim-Javed script to be directed by Vijay Anand. After that film got shelved, Vijay Anand started Rajput.
Purana Papi starring Dev Anand, Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini and Meenakshi Sheshadri also got shelved.
Dev Anand and Kamal Haasan were going to come together for a film to be directed by Prakash Varma who earlier wrote Lootmaar starring Dev saab. The film was called Do Deewane Pyar Ke and it also starred Smita Patil, Reena Roy and Ranjeeta. But that film also got shelved.
Gogi Anand’s film Hum Teen starring Dev Anand, Hema Malini, Yogeeta Bali, Mehmood and Raj Babbar also got shelved.
Naya Johnny by Surinder Suri starring, Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor, Hema Malini and Tina Munim was shelved, too.
Raj Khosla’s film called Tijori, which had its Mahurat at Filmistan didn’t get made either.
Mahesh Bhatt’s Ab Meri Baari starring Rishi Kapoor, Parveen Babi, Tina Munim, Ranjit, Dr. Shreeram Lagoo and Amjad Khan got cancelled after one schedule.
Sawan Kumar Tak was making Mr. Chand with Dev Anand, Rekha, Bindu, Yogeeta Bali, Ajit and Anil Dhawan which also got shelved.
Ek Tha Raja by Chetan Anand co-starring Hema Malini, Gogi Anand’s Tarzan co-starring Rekha, Shankar Mukherjee’s Pilot, director Kalidas’ Maharathi starring Dev Anand and Jeetendra also got shelved.
When Johny Mera Naam became a hit and followed a trend of action films starring Amitabh Bachchan. Dev Anand also had a pistol in his hand in films such as Lootmaar and Bullet. There was a fair bit of action in Ameer Gareeb, too. The problem was that after these films got shelved, Dev Anand got stuck in his own direction and all his equations were disturbed.
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