Suraiya to Kalpana: Dev Anand's journey from romance to romantic hero

For a complete list of Dev Anand songs click  here at In.com Dev Anand didn’t get noticed in his first seven films because his looks or his acting skills weren’t that of a star’s in that traditional sense. The heroine that he was paired with in those first seven ‘unnoticed’ films, however, Suraiya, was. The film that first put Dev Anand on the map was Vidya (1948). This film began an extraordinary 30-year stretch during which Dev Anand would build an enviable woman following, that ignored, his growing older. Until then, while he hadn’t made his mark as an actor yet, he was certainly making a reputation for himself as a lover-boy, thanks to his affair with Suraiya. That Suraiya was a Muslim and Dev Anand a Hindu forced the affair to be a clandestine one, replete with secret meetings arranged by close friends. The relationship ended because of the pressure on Suraiya to break up with Dev Anand. [caption id=“attachment_148259” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“By the 60s, women filmgoers saw a new Dev Anand, one they would make movie-goers swoon over for the next few decades. Image courtesy CNN IBN”]  [/caption] Perhaps, the break-up was good for Dev Anand. He played second fiddle in all Suraiya-starring films, as Suraiya’s name in the credits sold the films, leaving Dev Anand’s acting talent a question mark. In 1949, Dev Anand launched his own production house, Navketan, which immediately meant that he could cast himself as he saw fit, playing second fiddle to none. The first film from Navketan, Baazi, saw him paired with Kalpana Kartik, a pairing that would be seen in a number of subsequent films, till they fell in love and got married. The marriage ended Kartik’s career and Dev Anand moved to other actresses. By the 60s, women filmgoers saw a new Dev Anand, one they would make movie-goers swoon over for the next few decades. He was paired with the leading actresses of the era; with Nutan, with Meena Kumari, Mala Sinha, Sadhana Shivdasani, Asha Parekh, Simi Garewal and Nanda. It was his role as a playboy in Teen Deviyaan that defined the new Dev Anand, the romantic Dev Anand. He co-starred in the path-breaking Hare Rama Hare Krishna with Zeenat Aman in the film that would be his first directorial success, following the success with a hit film with the other superstar of the era, Mumtaz, in Tere Mere Sapne.