LONDON, Dec 4 � 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 here early today, leaving behind a legacy of classics like Guide and Hum Dono, reports PTI.
A sprightly 88-year-old Dev Anand came here a fortnight ago for rest and medical check-up and died after a massive cardiac arrest in his hotel room at 10 pm with his son Suneil by his side. He was not keeping well for the last few days.
While one version had it that he died in his sleep, another was that he complained of chest pain around 0315IST and paramedics rushed to his room but he was declared dead at 3.30 am.
His body has been taken by the Her Majesty�s Cronoer Service to a government morgue. The body will be released tomorrow. There will be no postmortem.
The actor�s sister Sheel Kanta Kapur, who lives in Surrey, has arrived in London.
Dev Anand will be cremated on Tuesday or Wednesday here, his aide Mohan told PTI, adding the actor never wanted a funeral procession.
His wife Kalpana Kartik, daughter Devina and granddaughter will be flying to London.
Dev Anand�s trademark puff of hair and his sloping walk in films like CID and Jewel Thief, created a huge fan following, making him a living legend.
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 is the mother of director Shekhar Kapur.
Dev Anand 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, an an adaptation of R K Narayan�s novel, 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 Guide.
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.
For his outstanding contribution to Indian cinema, Dev Anand was honoured with the prestigious �Padma Bhushan� in 2001 and �Dada Saheb Phalke Award� in 2002.
CM mourns death: Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi mourned the death of legendary actor Dev Anand, saying his death is an irreparable loss to the film industry.
In his message, the Chief Minister said: �Dev Anand was a versatile film artiste as well as a producer and director who enriched the Hindi cinema with his outstanding contributions. He enthralled the scores of film aficionados with his acting which was full of life and energy. He was an epitome of youthful vigour as age could not catch up with him. Though he is no more, the evergreen actor will remain evergreen in the hearts of his fans and continue to inspire them.�
The Chief Minister expressed his heartfelt condolences to the members of the bereaved family and prayed for eternal peace of the departed soul.
