India's Gregory Peck- Dev Anand

Dev Anand is cherished as one of the greatest showmen of Bollywood. He was a leading hero for decades. With his brother Vijay Anand, Dev Anand produced or directed many of Bollywood's true classics such as Guide, Tere Mere Sapne, and Johny Mere Naam.

The influence of Hollywood on Bollywood goes beyond the mere industry name. As cinema evolved in the West, several upcoming directors in India looked to the West for techniques and inspiration. While it was the Beatles, ABBA, Bee Gees and the Carpenters among music enthusiasts, it was Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn, Sophia Lauren, Ingrid Bergman and the likes, among the Hollywood fans.

Dev Anand has been popularly hailed as the Indian equivalent of Gary Cooper and Gregory Peck. One only needs to watch Dev Anand's loping gait, the stiff backed casual movements to see fleeting imitations of Cooper and Peck. Dev Anand’s mannerisms in Guide are no different from Gregory Peck’s in Casablanca!

Dev Anand remarks on his style- “ … my success as an actor could not sustain for decades. There were no acting institutes when I started. My speech, my delivery, my pauses — that’s me, not a put-on. And most of my films were written around ‘Dev Anand’ — a city-bred boy with a modern outlook. So I just had to be myself, unless the character demanded something outside of my own personality.”

Whether or not Dev cultivated Peck’s mannerisms, their female fans from yester-years would vouch that they both shared some common features. Both had chiseled good looks and played characters projecting decency and truthfulness. Peck was among those who shaped the ‘star system’ in terms of roles and scripts being written for an actor and Dev Anand was easily the first Hindi star to have similar honors.

Evergreen Soundtracks from Dev Anand's films
Some of the finest numbers in Hindi cinema feature Dev Anand - Rafi’s Chale Gaye (Kala Pani), Tere Mere Sapne Ab Ek Rang Hain, Din Dhal Jaye Raat Na Jaay and Kya Se Kya Hogaya Bewafa Tere Pyar Main (Guide), Aise To Na Dekho (Teen Devian), Yeh Aankhen Uff Yum Ma (Jab Pyar Kisise Hota Hai), Phoolonki Rang Se (Prem Pujari), Hemant Kumar’s Hai Apna Dil To Awara and Na Tum Hamein Jano (Baat Ek Raat Ki)…the list can only be indicative. Abhi Na Jao Chodke, the Rafi number with Sadhna and Dev Anand in Hum Dono is said to mark the finest opening scene in Hindi cinema. More info ...