DEV ANAND - JEWEL THIEF

Dev Anand was born Dharamdev Pishorimal Anand (26 September 1923 – 3 December 2011), He was an Indian film actor, writer, director, and producer known for his work in Hindi cinema, through a career that spanned over six decades. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most successful actors in the Indian film industry. Dev was the third of four sons born to Anand. One of Dev's younger sisters is Sheel Kanta Kapur, who is the mother of film director Shekhar Kapur. His older brothers were Manmohan Anand (Advocate, Peshawar Dist. Court) and Chetan Anand and the younger one was Vijay Anand.

In the sixties, Dev Anand acquired a romantic image with films such as Manzil and Tere Ghar Ke Samne with Nutan, Kinare Kinare with Meena Kumari, Maya with Mala Sinha, Asli-Naqli with Sadhana Shivdasani, Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai, Mahal with Asha Parekh and Teen Deviyaan opposite three heroines Kalpana, Simi Garewal and Nanda. In the film Teen Deviyaan, Dev Anand played a playboy. One of his notable films of the early sixties was Hum Dono (1961) which he produced and acted in.

His first color film, Guide with Waheeda Rehman was based on the novel of the same name by R. K. Narayan. Dev Anand launches an Indo-US co-production, Film was shot in Hindi and English simultaneously and was released in 1965. Combining style with substance, he gave an affecting performance as a man grappling with his emotions in his passage through love, shame, and salvation.

The film was directed by his brother Vijay Anand also known as Goldie.

He reunited with Vijay Anand for the movie Jewel Thief, based on the thriller genre which featured Vyjayanthimala, Tanuja, Anju Mahendru, Faryal, and Helen, and was very successful. Their next collaboration, Johny Mera Naam (1970), again a thriller, in which Dev was paired opposite Hema Malini was a big hit.

He tasted success with his 1971 directorial effort, Hare Rama Hare Krishna, shot primarily in Nepal around Swyambhunath, and Bhaktapur, which talks about the prevalent hippie culture. His find Zeenat Aman, 

Dev Anand has directed 19 films and produced 35 films.

Anand was banned from wearing black-colored coats by the Bombay High Court since according to reports, he looked 'so handsome' in those that his female fans would climb tall buildings and eventually commit suicide just to have a glance of the actor. After such frequent incidents, he was handed a ban on a black coat.

Dev Anand died in his room at The Washington Mayfair Hotel in London at the age of 88 on 3 December 2011 (4 December 2011 I.S.T.) of a cardiac arrest. His death came just months after the release of his last film Chargesheet. Anand was reportedly in London for a medical checkup at the time of his death. On 10 December, his funeral service was held at a small chapel in London after which his casket was taken to the Putney Vale Crematorium in southwest London. His ashes were returned to India for immersion burial in the Godavari River.

True Classic Gem of Indian Film Industry.