Kul Bhushan writes on the film, Guide, and on one of his favourite stars with a spiritual dimension.
The cinema was packed full. After the first song in the film, the audience started clapping, and then went on clapping after every song – and clapped heartily when it ended. The excited cine fans had watched their cherished film, Guide, with the eternal hero, Dev Anand, a film that was first released in 1965!
Yes, even after 58 years, the charisma and the glamour of the two stars, Dev Anand and Waheeda Rehman, has not diminished. About half the audience was white-haired, who were capturing their youth again, but the other half was young and were just discovering the charismatic, romantic, indeed passionate star. Dev’s eclectic energy and dynamism comes across more powerfully than any words can explain.
The film festival cum gala, Dev Anand @100 – Forever Young, was a celebration to mark the hundredth birthday of Dev Anand by screening his top hits in major Indian cities. The Film Heritage Foundation (FHF) restored Dev Anand’s popular movies such as Hum Dono, Tere Ghar Ke Samne, CID, and Guide to honour his birthday on 26 September.
Each one of these films is a firm favourite but the bi-lingual Guide remains the hallmark of Dev’s élan and genius. Based on the 1958 novel, The Guide, by R. K. Narayan, it relates the story of Raju, a tourist guide who becomes a manager for a singing and dancing star, ends up in prison and finally – by pure accident – becomes a holy man, a spiritual guide. The repartee in the screenplay before the climax when the ego, personified by the tourist guide, questions consciousness, in the form of the holy man, remains unmatched in any Indian film.
Happy-go-lucky Raju meets Rosie, the subdued wife of an archeologist, Marco, who bullies her while she hankers to be free and go back to her suppressed yearning to dance. After a heated argument, she leaves with Raju to start a new life and becomes an accomplished dancer. The dance sequences, the costumes and the music provide an enchanting experience while the crisp dialogues bind in rapt attention. It all adds up to sublime entertainment.
The film ventures into new vistas as the leading couple never marry but live in a relationship. Remember, the film was released in the ’60s! Thus, the distributors were quite wary of releasing it as this was not socially acceptable at the time. Also because it ends on a sad note.
However, producer Dev persisted. It was not a big hit when it came out but later caught momentum and became a blockbuster. The film swept away 7 Filmfare awards (Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress) the equivalent of the Oscars in the USA.
Dev was later awarded Best Actor for his role in Kala Pani. His other accolades were a Dada Saheb Phalke award and a Screen Lifetime award. In 2001 the Indian government honoured him with the Paddma Bhushan award, India’s third highest honour.
Director Vijay Anand, Dev’s brother, had made some changes to the location from South India to Udaipur, amended the script/screenplay to highlight the compulsions and longings of the characters and, above all, the spiritual dimension which sinks in long after the film is over.
Thus, its theme and message remain valid after so many decades. No wonder the clapping in the theatres during the current re-release…
Dev has shown his class in more than a hundred films, where Guide tops the top hits like Jewel Thief, Johnny Mera Naam, Hare Rama Hare Krishna, Hum Dono, Kala Bazaar, Tere Mere Sapne, CID, Kala Paani… and the list goes on and on.
At the launch of his biography, Romancing with Life in 2007 at a five-star hotel in New Delhi, I had the privilege of meeting him in person and presenting him with a book by Osho. His instant response was, “Yes, I know Osho, my brother Vijay was his disciple.” Of course, I knew Vijay well during the early days in Pune, though he later distanced himself from Osho.
Working till his last day, Dev passed away in 2011, but he lives on in his films and in our hearts. He has scored a century but his is still ‘in’.
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