DEV ANAND: Truly modernist as far as interpretation of social relationships is concerned
December 16, 2011 11:55:17 AM IST
Enkayaar, Glamsham Editorial
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In a fitting tribute to the monumental contribution that Dev Anand made to the world of Hindi cinema, his ashes were dispersed over Godavari river near Pune, a water body that has seen, as it folds, various social developments having cataclysmic bearing on the society. May be, Dev Anand also would have observed the same and therefore adopted them through scores of his films.
When Dev Anand is talked about immediate reference point is GUIDE, as it for the first time in all probability encourages a woman who has had a troubled marriage to step out of it and chart her destiny in her own way as she might have dreamt about it. In some quarters Dev Anand's role of Raju GUIDE was perceived as that of an adulterer, as society during those days could not think about a lady entering into an adulterous relationship, though it had been a norm of the society for quite a long time. However way back in 1949 when Dev Anand had acted in a film NAMOONA that talked about incest, he had conveyed the message that he would not think twice to enact in films that had the ability to question the norms of the society.
CHECK OUT: Dev Anand's son to immerse ashes in Godavari
For that matter even KALA BAZAAR also touched about the theme of love outside the societal acceptance. Waheeda Rehman was engaged to be married to Vijay Anand, and the lyrics in the song, 'Kaatne hai din hame kissi ke intezaar mein from Sanjh dhale dil ki lagi', underlined the dilemma that the actress was facing. As per the norms of the society she had to wait for her would be husband to return back as she had been engaged to her, but the character of Dev Anand was imploring upon her not to accept what the parents had ordained for her, but let her heart decide her course of destiny. Which other actor would have the guts to play such kind of a character, to woo a lady who already is engaged?
Dev Anand never bothered to play a morally upright character through his films, rather his character always oscillated in the morally ambiguous zone, and this element of practicality could have been the reason why he had such a long honey moon with his audience. Therefore his character in JAAL did not had a compunction to weave a miasma of JAAL to entice and entrap a Geeta Bali and make her fall in love with him, not for him the path of sacrifice.
That is the reason why Dev Anand would continue to be a darling of the fans for all times to come, as he had the conviction to perform roles that society considered to be an anathema and even then made a success out of it.
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