Dev Anand's 95th birth anniversary: Facts About The Evergreen Star

Dharam Devdutt Pishorimal Anand, commonly known as Dev Anand, made major contributions to Indian cinema. Regarded as an influential actor, he was a  writer, director and a producer. He acted in about 116 films, out of which, 114 were Hindi films and two were English. He was born on this day, September 26, in the year 1923 in the Shakargarh tehsil of the Gurdaspur district in Punjab (present-day Narowal district of Pakistan).

On Dev Anand's 93rd birth anniversary, here are some interesting facts about him:

#He did his schooling till matriculation from Sacred Heart School, Dalhousie, (then in Punjab) and went to college Dharamsala before going to Lahore, to study. Later, Dev completed BA degree in English Literature from the Government College, Lahore in British India.

#During his struggling days in Mumbai, Dev Anand worked as a clerk in an accountancy firm for a meagre salary of Rs 85 to make ends meet. He also worked at the Military Censor Office and earned Rs 160 before becoming an actor.

#Dev Anand aspired to become an actor after watching Ashok Kumar's performance in films like Achhut Kanya and Kismat. He was given his first big break by Ashok Kumar, who spotted him hanging around the studios and picked him as a hero for Ziddi (1948) co-starring Kamini Kaushal.

#His career spanned more than 65 years with him acting in 114 Hindi films, of which, 104 have him play the main solo lead hero. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 2001 and with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2002 for his contribution to Indian cinema.

#In the late 1940s, Anand was offered a few roles starring as the male lead opposite singer-actress Suraiya in woman-oriented films. Suraiya fell in love with him during the shooting of the song 'Kinare kinare chale jayen ge' from the film Vidya -- while shooting the scene, the boat they were in capsised and Anand saved Suraiya from drowning. On the sets of the film Jeet, Anand finally proposed to Suraiya and gave her a diamond ring worth Rs 3,000.

#Dev Anand was also politically active. He led a group of film personalities who stood up against the Internal Emergency imposed by the then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi. He actively campaigned against her with his supporters in Indian parliamentary elections in 1977. He also formed a party called the 'National Party of India', which he later disbanded.

#Dev Anand has directed 19 films and produced 35 films, of which, 7 directorial ventures and 18 films respectively were commercially successful at the box office. He wrote the story for 13 of his films.

#Dev Anand died in his room at The Washington Mayfair Hotel in London at the age of 88 on December 3, 2011 (December 4, 2011 by Indian Standard Time) of a cardiac arrest. He was reportedly in London for a medical check up at the time of his death.

Dev Anand