Dev Anand, Bollywood's evergreen star, who swayed generations of fans as debonair hero and later as a filmmaker in a Bollywood career spanning 65 years, died in his sleep on Sunday, leaving behind a legacy of classics like Guide and Hum Dono.
A sprightly 88-year-old Dev Anand came to London a few days ago for a medical check-up and died after a massive cardiac arrest in his hotel room at 10 pm (3:30 am IST Sunday) with his son Sunil by his side.
The legendary actor was rushed to a nearby hospital but he was pronounced brought dead. He was not keeping well for the last few days.
Dev Anand will be creamated on Tuesday or Wednesday in London, his aide Mohan said. His daughter and granddaughter will be flying to London.
His trademark puff of hair and his sloping walk in films like CID and Jewel Thief, created a huge fan following, making him a legend in his own lifetime.
Dev Anand, whose idol was Hollywood star Gregory Peck, gave countless hits like Guide, Paying Guest, Baazi, Jewel Thief, CID, Johny Mera Naam, Amir Garib, Warrant, Hare Rama Hare Krishna and Des Pardes.
When his contemporaries like Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar stopped being the leading men in movies, the versatile actor continued to woo young heroines in movies like Johnny Mera Naam, Des Pardes, Hare Rama Hare Krishna among others till 1983.
Dev Anand made his debut as an actor in 1946 in Hum Ek Hain. By the time his Ziddi was released in 1947 he was a superstar and never looked back. He made his directorial debut with Prem Pujari.
Born Dharamdev Pishorimal Anand in Gurdaspur of undivided Punjab to a well-to-do advocate Pishorimal Anand on September 26, 1923, he graduated in English literature from the Government Law College in Lahore.
His brothers were eminent film personalities Chetan Anand and Vijay Anand. His sister Sheel Kanta Kapur is the mother of renowned director Shekhar Kapur.
He began his career in the military censor office at Churchgate, Bombay, on a salary of Rs 150 and joined his older brother Chetan as a member of the Indian People's Theatre Association.
A votary of good Indo-Pak relations, Dev Anand was part of the historic Lahore Bus journey with the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Dev Anand established his film production company 'Navketan International Films' in 1949 and produced more than 35 movies.
He co-produced the English Version of Guide with the Nobel Laureate Pearl S Buck. He won two Filmfare Awards in 1958 for his performance in the film Kala Paani and in 1966 for his performance in "Guide", an adaptation of RK Narayan's novel by the same name.
Guide went on to win Filmfare Awards in five other categories including "Best Film" and "Best Director" and was sent as India's entry for the Oscars in the foreign film category that year.
His films spoke of his modern sensibilities and desire to portray tomorrow's headlines today. The Bollywood legend always said that his films were expression of his world view and hence dealt with socially-relevant subjects.
Of late, he was involved in the all-American film Project Song Of Life - a musical love story which was to be shot in the US. He was to play the central character in the film which was to have a predominantly American star cast.
