Golden Era of Bollywood: Vijay Anand- A Committed Filmmaker

He was a trusted filmmaker who regaled cine goers with films that were as flawless and priceless as Guide, Tere Mere Sapne, Taxi Driver, Jewel Thief, Teesri Manzil and Johnny Mera Naam, to name a few.The youngest brother of stalwarts Chetan Anand and Dev Anand, was indeed an ace filmmaker, much ahead of his times.
Born on  22 January 1934 made his directorial debut with Nau Do Gyarah, which he shot in 40 days.In fact he wrote a screenplay, he hesitatingly showed it to Chetan Anand. The latter, being out of work, accepted it and shot Nau Do Gyarah in 40 days — with ghar ka hero (Dev Anand), ghar kiheroine' (Kalpana Kartik who was to marry Dev Anand), cameraman and music director S.D. Burman. Both Chetan and Dev Anand got a boost from the film, but Goldie, the writer, a small voice in the family, was sidetracked.
His next script was Taxi Driver,he gave it to Dev anand  on the condition that he (Goldie) would direct it. A reluctant Dev relented. Goldie left his studies (he was doing MA) and plunged into Taxi Driver. The film was a silver jubilee hit! Goldie never looked back. He then directed Kala Bazaar (1960) and Tere Ghar Ke Saamne (1963) for Navketan Productions.
It was the masterpiece Guide (1965) wherein lies Vijay Anand's claim to immortality. Interestingly, Vijay Anand had tried his best to dissuade Dev Anand from making the film. Dev was obsessed with the idea of turning R.K. Narayan's novel into a Hindi-English bilingual in collaboration with Pearl S. Buck. Vijay Anand was horrified when he read the script.He agreed to direct the hindi version only writing his own script.He went off to Khandala and after 18 days returned with a new script. The shooting in Udaipur was completed in 80 shifts.
Next Vijay Anand directed Teesri Manzil for Nasir Hussain. Guide had taken its toll on him and he wanted to make a light film which would make for easy viewing. He gave thrillers the kind of varnish job that made them gleam. It was the first time he directed outside Navketan.The film was a hit.After that he directed Navketan's Jewel Thief in 1967 which was also a hit,by this time he was the No 1 director.
Jewel Thief was followed by Johnny Mera Naam (1970), another superhit. It was so slick that the Principal of the FTII, Pune, showed his students this film to give them an example of a perfect mix of art and the commercial.
In 1971 he directed Tere Mere Sapne for Navketan in which he acted also,before that he acted in  Kala Bazar 1960,Haqeeqat (1964).As an actor, his most memorable roles were in the films  Kora Kagaz (1974), (in which he starred opposite Jaya Bachchan) and Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki(1978). Chor Chor was a songless thriller in which Leena Chandavarkar was his heroine. He acted in Ghoonghroo Ki Aawaz, Double Cross and Chhupa Rustam.
Vijay Anand was known for his stylish song picturization, such as the numbers; "O Haseena" (Teesri Manzil ), "Kaaton Se Kheech" (Guide ) and "Honthon Mein Aisi Baat" (Jewel Thief )
He served a short stint as the chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification, India's censor board, a position from which he resigned, in 2002, after he ran into ideological differences with the government over the introduction of ratings for adult movies.
Goldie, as he was affectionately called, died on 23 February 2004 due to a heart attack. He was aged 70