By IANS

Rafi Sahab and Dev Anand

Fans of Dev Anand woke up to a rude Sunday morning shock as the news of the legendary actor’s passing away in London unfolded here. His long-time driver has been unable to stop his tears.

The legend died of heart attack Saturday in London. He was 88.

A close aide of the deceased actor, Chandra Shekhar, (himself 89), said he was ‘shaken’ when he heard the news from a friend, the first thing this morning.

“I only wish that this time the news should be wrong… Dev saab had given his soul to the industry and now his life… I personally feel that he could not accept the fate of his latest movie,” Shekhar told IANS.

Union Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said the Indian film industry has suffered a great loss in Dev Anand’s sad and sudden demise.

Prem Dube, Dev Anand’s driver for the last 22 years, said he had not able to stop his tears since morning.

“I have been praying why God did not take me away instead of Dev Anand? He had given his entire life the industry and they needed him… He was himself a God,” Dube said.

Dev Anand in Taxi Driver

Others expressed sadness at the demise of Hindi film industry’s one of the most celebrated actors whose passion for cinema continued till his last breath.

Dev Anand in Guide

“I was aghast… We all know he was very old and ailing, but his tremendous energy for life gave us a morale-booster… It is yet to sink in that he’s no more,” a former bank executive R.R. Pandya (76) of Vile Parle, a die-hard fan of Dev Anand, told IANS.

“I remember, several decades ago, I was posted to a small town Limdi of Surendranagar in Gujarat. At that time, the entire town and scores of surrounding villages were gushing with enthusiasm as Dev Anand and Waheeda Rehman had come there for a spell of shooting for his masterpiece, ‘Guide,’ the scenes pertaining to the time when he became an ascetic,” Pandya reminisced.

D. G. Sharma, a retired businessman said that way back 50 years ago, he had sneaked his young fiancee to watch the then latest super hit release, “Hum Dono” and both enjoyed the secret outing very much.

“Probably, it laid the strong foundations for our long and happy married life and we again went for a repeat experience when the same movie was released in colour,” said Sharma in a voice choking with emotions.

He added that the legendary late singer Mohammed Rafi, had given a unique, special voice for all Dev Anand’s songs, just like he did for the late Shammi Kapoor or Dilip Kumar.

Amitabh Bachchan releases Dev Anand's Autobiography Romancing With Life

The actor will always be remembered for his all time classics like “Bazi“, “Paying Guest“, “Guide“, “Jewel Thief” and “Hare Rama Hare Krishna“.

Dev saab was very fond of classical music: Lata

Bollywood’s Nightingale Lata Mangeshkar remembers Dev Anand as a man who was very fond of classical music, had a zest for life and never looked back or regretted anything.

“He was a very lively person. He was an amazing person. He continued working despite his age and the changing conditions in the film industry. Sometimes he used call me and used to share his work. He never looked back. He had no regrets. He used to say, ‘I never give up. I work because it keeps a person going.’ This spirit in his personality was amazing,” Lata, told new channel Times Now, adding that he remained constantly in touch with her.

“Dev saab was fond of classical music. In fact, all three brothers (Chetan Anand, Dev Anand and Vijay Anand) were very fond of classical music. They used to organise programmes. He used to invite us at his place for the performances. He used to hear classical music with great passion,” she added.

Dev Anand lived and died on his own terms: Shekhar Kapur

Acclaimed filmmaker Shekhar Kapur says his uncle, late Bollywood legend Dev Anand, lived life on his own terms.

“Dev Anand lived n died at his own terms. He was working one minute. Sat down and smiled. And was gone the next. So much 2 learn,” tweeted Kapur, who who has made up with his indefatigable uncle Dev Anand after eight years.

Filmography of evergreen star Dev Anand

The evergreen Dev Anand charmed audiences with various roles and was one of the few stars who appeared with a range of actresses.

Here is the list of some of his major films and the actresses he worked with them in:

* 1980 “Man Pasand” (Tina Munim)
* 1980 “Lootmaar” (Tina Munim)
* 1973 “Banarasi Babu” (Rakhee Gulzar and Yogeeta Bali)
* 1973 “Heera Panna” (Rakhee Gulzar and Zeenat Aman)
* 1971 “Hare Raama Hare Krishna” (Mumtaz and Zeenat Aman)
* 1971 “Tere Mere Sapne” (Mumtaz)
* 1971 “Gambler” (Zaheeda)
* 1970 “Johny Mera Naam” (Hema Malini)
* 1970 “Prem Pujari” (Waheeda Rehman)
* 1969 “Mahal” (Asha Parekh)
* 1967 “Jewel Thief” (Vyjayanthimala and Tanuja)
* 1965 “Guide” (Waheeda Rehman)
* 1965 “Teen Devian” (Nanda, Kalpana and Simi Garewal)
* 1963 “Tere Ghar Ke Samne” (Nutan)
* 1962 “Hum Dono” (Sadhna and Nanda)
* 1962 “Asli-Naqli” (Sadhna)
* 1961 “Jab Pyar Kisise Hota Hai” (Asha Parekh)
* 1961 “Maya” (Mala Sinha)
* 1960 “Bombai Ka Babu” (Suchitra Sen)
* 1960 “Kala Bazar” (Waheeda Rehman and Nanda )
* 1960 “Manzil” (Nutan)
* 1958 “Kalapani” (Madhubala and Nalini Jayawant)
* 1958 “Solva Saal” (Waheeda Rehman)
* 1957 “Nau Do Gyarah” (Kalpana Kartik)
* 1957 “Paying Guest” (Nutan)
* 1956 “C.I.D.” (Shakeela)
* 1956 “Funtoosh” (Shiela Ramani)
* 1955 “Munimji” (Nalini Jaywant)
* 1954 “Taxi Driver” (Kalpana Kartik)
* 1953 “Patita” (Usha Kiran)
* 1952 “Jaal” (Geeta Bali)
* 1951 “Baazi” (Geeta Bali and Kalpana Kartik)
* 1948 “Vidya” (Suraiya)
* 1948 “Ziddi” (Kamini Kaushal)
* 1946 “Hum Ek Hain”

This blog was published on Sunday, December 4th, 2011 at 12:31 pm and Last modified on Sunday, December 4th, 2011 at 6:04 pm and is filed under Meri Awaaz Suno, Web. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.