Before ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’, Dev Anand and Zeenat Aman actually appeared together in a Hollywood Film

The die-hard fans of the Evergreen Dev Anand might know about this rare fact but for many young friends here,that Dev Anand also featured in an American film along with Zeenat Aman and Kieu Chinh, a leading lady from Vietnem in the year 1970. In fact, Zeenat Aman was signed for ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’ 1971), after Dev Anand chose her to feature in this English film as one of his leading ladies. So before the cult movie ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’, Dev Anand and Zeenat Aman actually appeared together on the screen in this Hollywood venture "The Evil Within".

The full movie is uploaded in this blog,you can watch this movie by visiting my blog.
The movie’s cast and crew includes several other familiar Indian faces, including Prem Nath, Iftekhar, MB Shetty and even Jagdish Raaj. Renowned cinematographer Fali Mistry, who lensed such Indian classics as ‘Amrapali’, ‘Nagin’ and ‘Guide’, shot ‘The Evil Within’.

Dev Anand plays special agent Dev Varma, who teams up with Rod Stevens (American actor Rod Perry) to finish off an opium syndicate. In the opening scenes, an assassin called Fat Man (enthusiastically played by Allen Fitzpatrick) slays the enemies of the syndicate’s head, the grandly named Princess Kamar Souria, played by Vietnamese actress Kieu Chinh.
Other gang members, especially Hanif (played by Iftekhar), want to wrest control from the princess. The roster of shady characters includes the India-hating Rita (Zeenat Aman), who is on Hanif’s payroll, and who is the daughter of a judge named Krishna (Prem Nath).
Karan Johar’s father, Yash Johar, who later set up Dharma Productions, served as a production controller for The Evil Within.The Cinematography was done by Fali Mistry who was the cinematographer of Guide and many Navketan's films.Major portions of the movie were shot in and around Udaipur
The film is not released in India,it was dubbed in phlilpino got released in Philippines
Below I  am giving the Link for this movie

https://youtu.be/vJCfjGqfUas

Rajesh Khanna- Dev Anand was his Inspiration

Rajesh Khanna in an interview said that he was an ardent admirer of Dev Anand from his teens.When I joined films in 1967, I was highly inspired by his acting style. He was amongst the first to view Aradhana and compliment me genuinely. As I rose in stature as an actor in the early 70s, I received healthy and clean competition from Anand, who was still going strong with a super hit like Johny Mera Naam. 
He allowed Kishore Kumar to sing for me in Aradhana without a second thought. The songs of Aradhana made him the super star.
Rajesh Khanna was first taken by Chetan Anand in Aakhri Khat.It was during the muhurat he met ehis idol Dev Anand. Before that he used to come to see the shooting of Jewel Thief.

Rajesh Khanna, Yash Chopra's with Dev Anand

There were talks of Amit Khanna producing a film in which both were to have acted together. The film never went on floors. In fact, when Khanna’s films started flopping in the late 70s, Anand was the first to encourage him by saying, “Why are you losing confidence? You are a brilliant actor. Look at me and my ups and downs. You termed me the leap year hero. Have confidence in yourself and march forward keeping in mind that the coming days are yours.”

Song of Aradhana 1969

Des Pardes was the last hit of Navketan

Des Pardes  is a 1978 Hindi film, produced and directed by Dev Anand.It dealt with the subject of illegal immigration.  It was on a flight that Dev Anand struck upon the idea of making this film as he read a story on illegal immigrants. Issue-based stories always caught his imagination and here was a subject that begged attention. 
It was a burning issue during the 70s when youngsters, driven by an ambition to make money, took enormous risks at the behest of corrupt agents and explored a future in distant lands. United Kingdom.
 It was a pleasing debut by one of the most beautiful faces that Dev Anand introduced as a filmmaker with amazing vision. Dev Anand always claimed that she was special.
Tina Munim had approached Dev Anand as a 16-year-old, seeking an autograph, before she was picked to play the role of Gauri in “Des Pardes”. 
Dev Anand, at that time was producing 3 films (no other film maker attempted that) together each film was being directed individually by the three brothers. Janeman by Chetan Anand, Bullet by Vijay Anand & Des Pardes by Dev himself. Out of the three Des Pardes was Super Hit. As the years goes by, the film, Des Pardes becomes more fresher and more good, the film grows to become more new as the years goes. This film will always remain evergreen.
The highlight of the film was its music. 
Music composer Rajesh Roshan had just made his debut with Julie. Dev Saab signed him for Des Pardes and song writer Amit Khanna, they all created the big successful, hit music, the songs also had became very popular and memorable till now. Rajesh Roshan was nominated as the best music composer, by Filmfare. 
Dev Anand had insisted to music composer Rajesh Roshan to compose the song tu pee aur jee......in 3 antras, which was difficult and songs were not compose that way, it was something new, but Rajesh Roshan composed it successfuly with kishore Kumar's energetic singing. The other difficult song was Lata's aap kahe aur hum na aye aise baat nahin hai...many days Dev saab heard several tunes from Roshan, but he was not satisfied and rejected. Finaly one day Rajesh Roshan made Dev Saab hear Mehdi Hassan's song and Dev liked it very much and then the song was recorded. Des Pardes's music and songs are the best work of Amit Khanna and Rajesh Roshan. The best combination.
One of Des Pardes 's song Nazrana Bheja Kisi Ne Pyaar Ka' is inspired from Cliff Richard's 'The Young Ones
When this film was released in London many people thought that the pub shown in the film, is an real pub which is some where in East London. That pub was made in Mehboob studio in Bombay, under the supervision of art director T.K..Desai, who won the award of the best art director.
One interesting fact was that Dev Anad had fixed the date to release Des Pardes on the same day Satyam Shivam Sundaram, was to be released, Dev Anand wanted both films to be released toghether, but then Raj Kapoor, last moment, he decided to change the release date of his film.

Song of Des Pardes 1978

Song of Des Pardes 1978

Song of Des Pardes 1978

Song of Des Pardes 1978

Song of Des Pardes 1978

The Story Behind the Song "Rim Jhim Ke Tarane Lekar Aayi Barsat"

This song of Kala Bazar (1960) was picturised on Dev Anand and Waheeda Rehman sung by Mohammad Rafi and Geeta Dutt.The song was written by Shailendra and the music was given by S D Brman.
The song became the most iconic rain song and is spontaneously remembered with the pitter-patter of rain. It catches the mood perfectly, the rhythm of falling rain drops and the romance.
It is the first time ever any duet was picturised in background. Thanks to the genius of Barman Dada who insisted that this should be played in background.
The Director of the film was Vijay Anand who was a master of picturising songs.He was picturising this song on the hero and heroine but Sachin Da told him that instead of singing this song should be played in the background. 
Vijay Anand in an interview said that SD Burman was very perceptive about the power and impact of the medium of films and took a keen interest in understanding the situation of a song and its context in the landscape of the entire movie.
The situation was that Waheeda Rehman is standing at the bus stand. Most people here are holding an umbrella each because it is raining. Only Dev Anand is holding a newspaper over his head. He calls a cab. Both he and Waheeda Rehman approach the stopped cab. When they reach it, they see and recognize each other. Within that moment an old woman enters the cab and leaves with it.
Waheeda Rehman wears a dark sari with a light colored blouse, while Dev Anand is wearing a dark kurta pyjama. She had closed the umbrella while approaching the cab. Now both are getting wet. So Dev Anand tells her to open the umbrella and she tells him to come under it too. They try to catch another taxi when it is taken by somebody else.
Suddenly, the camera shoots the sea with the playful waves hitting the large rocks on the shore. The playful nature of the waves represents the mood of the song that is to follow. The song begins. They feel the song in their hearts. They remember all the things that had happened to them together in the past. During the entire song, they are walking on the street. The song abruptly ends, when they reach Dev Anand’s home.

Sachin Da used to experiment a lot, not only during composition of his songs but during background music as well, at times putting his reputation at stake. Sometimes, he faced opposition but stood firm, the skeptical falling in line when the experiment succeeded.The picturised version of the song is less than two minutes long. but it gave an excellent impact in the film.This picturisation happened, and what an eye candy this picturisation was Dev Anand and Waheeda Rehman,

Song of Kala Bazar 1960

Raj Khosla- A director with a fantastic ear for music

Raj Khosla ( 31 May 1925 – 9 June 1991) who came to Bombay to become a singer but he became an ace Director of the Golden Era. In his autobiography, Romancing With Life, Dev Anand mentions meeting a wannabe singer, Raj Khosla at a coffee joint around Mumbai's Flora Fountain. Dev Anand helped him and gave him a job of an assistant to Guru Dutt for the Navketan film Baazi 1951. It was to be the beginning of a very productive film career. He assisted Guru Dutt in his subsequent films. 
Khosla would soon make his debut with Milap (1955). Contrary to his training, his first film was a story about a country bumpkin (Dev Anand, naturally) who comes into a fortune and does not know what to do with it. While the film was a flop, it had glimpses of Khosla's craftsmanship and a fine ear for music. One he would put to great use over his next films.

Guru Dutt who was producing CID (1956), had the confidence of Raj Khosla's capabilities gave Raj Khosla another chance of directing the film. The film starring Dev Anand was a hit After this came  Kala Pani (1958), Solva Saal (1958), Bombai Ka Babu (1960). Of these, C.I.D. is the perfect example of the template that would become Khosla's signature style.
His early background in classical music ensured that most of his films excelled in music. Art of picturising a song he learned from Guru Dutt. In most of his films, he would have at least a song based on folk tune e.g. C.I.D., Bambai Ka Babu, Solva Saal, Mera Saaya, Do Raaste, Mera Gaon Mera Desh to name a few. 
Despite his traditionality in sticking to the formulaic tropes of the noir genre, Khosla added a uniquely Indian touch to it through music. A director with a fantastic ear for music, his films are remembered for their memorable musical scores. SD Burman, OP Nayyar, even RD Burman (who played the harmonica in 'Hai Apna Dil Toh Awara' in Solva Saal) benefitted with the nuanced picturisation of their songs by Khosla.

After Bombai Ka Babu(1960) he directed Ek Musafir Ek Hasina (1962).It was a musical film which was again a hit. After that, he directed suspense thrillers (Woh Kaun Thi? (1964), Mera Saaya (1966), Anita (1967) – his mystery trilogy with actress Sadhana), melodramas (Do Badan (1966), Do Raaste(1969)) or dacoit dramas (Mera Gaon Mera Desh (1971) .He also had hits like Prem Kahani (1975) starring the then hottest pair of the day Rajesh Khanna and Mumtaz, Nehle Pe Dehla (1976) andMain Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki (1978). One common factor of all these films was its hit music 
After enjoying big hits like Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki (1978) and Dostana (1980) with Amitabh Bachchan, Zeenat Aman and Shatrughan Sinha, Khosla ran into some rough weather as his other films started flopping. A dispirited Khosla took refuge in alcohol and died in Mumbai on 9 June 1991, totally disillusioned with the film industry.

Song of Milap 1955

Song of CID (1956)

Song of Kala Pani (1958)

Song of Solva Saal (1958)

Song of Bombai Ka Babu (1960)

Song of Ek Musafir Ek Hasina (1962)

Song of Woh Kaun Thi? (1964)

Song of Mera Saaya (1966)

Song of Do Badan (1966)

Song of Do Raaste(1969)

Song of Mera Gaon Mera Desh (1971)

Dev Anand - The Karma Yogi of Indian Cinema

Dev Anand played the lead role in 110 movies – more than any other Hindi film star.  Not only that, of the total of 114 Hindi films he appeared in, 82 were box office hits – a success rate of 72%. It is hard to imagine any other actor, then or now, with such a high success rate.
His rapid-fire dialogue delivery, his legendary style, the hats, scarves, his very long career in the Hindi film industry, his discovery of new stars, the wonderful music in his films, and above all, a singular dedication to films and film-making.  
He never bothered about the commercial success of the film,  he continued to make films which no one really watched.  He did not make them for others, but for his own sheer joy of making those films.  This is a love for his art that is way out of the ordinary and truly epitomizes the “karma yogi” of the Bhagavad Gita.

Dev Anand entered into direction with Prem Pujari in 1970, it was not a successful film but he never got disturbed by its failure, he immediately went on to make Hare Rama Hare Krishna with an unusual subject of Hippies. The film released in 1972 and it was a hit.

The next film he produced and directed was Heera Panna released in 1973. The film starred Zeenat Aman and Rakhi opposite Dev. It was a moderately successful film. Immediately after this released Ishq Ishq Ishq in 1974 which was a flop. It is said that Dev Anand was very upset with the outcome of this film but he decided to make another film. This time he took a new heroine Tina Munim in Des Pardes, released in 1978. Dev Anand chose comparatively new music director Rajesh Roshan for this film, who did full justice to his selection as most of the songs became quite popular. The film was successful. 
After the success of Dev Anand started Lootmar with the same team. It was released in 1980, it was an average at the Box Office.

 In 1984, he introduced his son Suneil Anand as Hero with Anand Aur Anand. The film flopped but he continued to make films.
After that, he made nine films but none of his film clicked at Box Office. the last film he made was Chargesheet released in 2011. Starring himself, Jackie Shroff, Naseeruddin Shah and Divya Dutta in lead roles, while Riya Sen appears in an item number.
After Lashkar, Dev Anand has not had a single hit. His films have come and gone unnoticed, but he continued to make films. On his flops, he said  “My films may have flopped. But that does not indicate I flopped too!Otherwise, how can I carry on making films?

Dev Anand's Association with Shankar Jaikishan

Shankar Jaikishan were associated with Raj Kapoor and Shammi Kapoor but they also composed for Dev Anand in 8 films with 63 scores. The first film they worked together was the 1953 film Patita. But when producers and directors approached Shankar Jaikishan for composing music in Dev Anand’s film, he took Hemant Kumar for Dev Anand. The song Yaad Kiya Dil Ne Kahan Ho Tum was super hit. Another song for Dev Anand was Talat Mahmood.
The combination of SJ and Dev Anand stormed Bollywood from the time he used Rafi for almost all the songs in the film Love Marriage in 1959.Rafi’s songs included “kahan ja rahe the“, “dheere dheere chal“, This combination created storms in the film Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai.
Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai was a musical film with Asha Parekh and all the songs became super hit in the early 60s. Some of them included “jiya ho, jiya ho jiya kuch bol do“, “sau saal pehele hume tumse pyar tha“, “yeh aankhe uff yummma“, “teri zulfonki“, to name a few. The success of the film Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai was followed up in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s film Asli Nakli. All the songs of this film were hit especially “tera mera pyara amar“, “tujhe jeevan ki dor se bandh liya hai“, “ek buth banayunga“, “asli nakli chehera“ 
After this released Dev Anand Saira Bano starrer Pyar Mohabbat in 1966. The songs in the film Pyar Mohabbat, like “dil ki awaaz khuda khair Karen“, “pyar muhobbat” and duet songs with Sharda like “sun sun, sun re balam, dil tujhko pukare” were hits.
After this film SJ did 2 films with Dev Saab both released in 1968,Duniya and Kahin Aur Chal The songs of Duniya were popular in this film SJ used Kishore Kumar for Dev Anand.

Song of Patita 1953

Song of Love Marriage 1959

Song of Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja (1961) 

Song of Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai (1961)

Song of Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai (1961)

Song of Asli Naqli (1962) 

Song of Asli Naqli (1962) 

Song of Pyar Mohabbat 1966

Song of Duniya 1968

Song of Duniya 1968

The Story Behind the Song "Dum Maro Dum"

This super hit song was once an anthem of the Indian young generation. To hear ‘Dum Maro Dum’ blaring over loudspeakers was a part of growing up in the 1970s. The job of composing music for ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’ was first offered to Sachin Dev Burman but he hated hippie culture and turned down the offer. But his son R. D. Burman was of a different opinion and decide to grab this opportunity. After this song, R. D. Burman became the new mega-composer of Bollywood.
Actually ‘Dum Maro Dum’ was supposed to be a duet between Usha Uthup (singing for the bad girl) and Lata Mangeshkar (singing for the good girl). But at the end, they were both checked off the list and Asha Bhosle ended up singing the song solo.
The song topped the Binaca Geetmala annual list 1972. In Binaca Geetmala, a song could appear for a maximum of 18 weeks, after which it was called a Sartaj Geet. On 15 March 1972, Dum Maro Dum became a Sartaj Geet while it was at #1 payddan (position). It had remained at #1 position for 12 weeks.
Dev Anand wanted some peppy music before his song "Ram Ka Naam Badnam Na Karo" R D Burman sat with Anand Bakshi and asked him to give him few words before starting the song Ram Ka Naam Badnam No Karo. It was Anand Bakshi who used the old phrase Dum Maro Dum Mit Jaye Gum as Mukhda for this song, R D Burman immediately made a tune which was liked by all his musicians. So he asked Anand Bakshi to complete the full song on this tune.

The song came out to be marvellous, everybody was convinced that it will become a craze. In fact, Dev Anand was scared of this song, he was worried that this song will overshadow his song Ram Ka Naam Badnam Na Karo. RDB suggested to him that they will keep this song only on the disc. After a few days, Dev Saab decided to picturise this song on Zeenat Aman but kept a small version of this separately in the film.
The song presented the lyricist Anand Bakshi as a versatile lyricist and shaped his career. It also boosted the composer Rahul Dev Burman's career. Bhupinder played the guitar for the song. Charanjit Singh played the distinctive drone of the transichord that opens the song.
This song has been remixed and sampled by a number of artists. It has also been included in many compilations.British DJ, San-j Sanj has used the infectious guitar hook and created a dance track featuring Natty A called "So Real So Right". DJ Ritu and Bally Sagoo compiled the song for their collection The Rough Guide to Bollywood in 2002. In 2004, the hip-hop artist Method Man sampled the song in his third album Tical 0: The Prequel, for the track "What's Happenin'" featuring Busta Rhymes.
Here is the original song along with many cover  versions of this song

Song of Hare Rama Hare Krishna 1971

Dum Maro Dum by Rowdy Brass Band "What Cheer

Method Man and Busta Rhymes, "What's Happenin'"

The Beatles of Bollywood

Naarghita - Dum maro dum

Robin and The New Revolution

Story Behind the Song "Yeh Aankhen Uff You Maa"

This Iconic song is sung by Rafi and Lata and it is picturised on the lead pair of Dev Saab and Asha Parekh. The film was directed by Nasir Hussain and the song was written by Hasrat Jaipuri and composed by Shankar Jaikishan. The film was a super hit, all the songs were hit.
When this song released everybody was curious to know the meaning of Uff Youmaa.These words became craze after the release of the film.
The story behind these words was that once Music Director Jaikishan along with lyricist Hasrat Jaipuri were attending a party in Bombay where an Arabic lady who was very beautiful said Uff Yumma and Jaikishan immediately took a liking for this very unusual word and there and then asked Hasrat Jaipuri to sit down and write a romantic song using this word for their upcoming film Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai.
The Mukhra of this song was ready in a few minutes. Jaikishan immediately left the party and went to Nasir Hussain's house Initially Nasir Hussain was reluctant to take these words but when the full song was ready he invited Dev Saab to listen to the song. Dev Anand instantly liked these words and approved this song.
This romantic song was picturised on the beautiful hills of Darjeeling. The situation was created for this song by the director for using these words. 

Song of Jab Pyar Kisise Hota Hai 1961

Please Click the Link Below to know more about Hasrat Jaipuri

https://youtu.be/58O0VJZZ0UU 

Story Behind the song Hotho Mein Aisi Baat

"Hotho Mein Aisi Baat, Mein Dabaa Ke Chali Ayee" is one of the best dance sequences in Indian Cinema. This is from Dev Anand's classic Jewel Thief(1967). That was the time when actresses were actually trained (long term!) in dance. Vyjantimala, of course, was the best of the best. But others like Waheeda Rehman, Hema Malini and others have also given some great dance sequences.
Vijay Anand was the director of this film, we all know that he was the master of picturising a song. This movie started a trend where directors began putting a song before the climax. Before that, he tried a song before the climax in Nau Do Gyaraha(1957) but this song remains one of the best Dance Songs of Bollywood.

Vijay Anand worked with Vyjantimala for the first time. She was a Super Star at that time. There were some date problems and many distractions but Vyjayantimala being the professional that she was, still came up with a polished performance. Goldie's only grievance was that she could have done better with Hoton Pe Aisi Baat. He wanted her to rehearse the number before we went for a final take. But she told me airily that she didn't need any rehearsals. he insisted she did, but she still didn't report for rehearsals and came straight to the set. he called for "pack-up" and told her firmly that she had to stay back in the studio and practise with the assistants. She did practise, for 15 minutes. Then she got into her car and drove off saying that Saroj Khan would be coming to her place later and they'd go over the steps together. The rehearsal never happened but Vyjayantimala being a good actress and an excellent dancer didn't find it too difficult to pick up the steps and the shots were okayed quickly. So if you see a single camera capture of Vyjantimala’s magic, it was ACTUALLY done in a single shot

The song is from those days where technology was so much poorer compared to today, the editing of that song was marvellous. Which means that they didn’t have sharp edits that could get stitched together, and look like one single camera sequence, Think of the choreography with the support dance troupe, and other stars like Dev Anand, floating in between the long sequence otherwise focused on Vyjantimala.
Honthon Mein Aisi Baat” (brilliantly choreographed by Master Sohanlal), as the camera follows Vyjayanthimala, he uses the circular tracks, dynamic angles and cuts to build up the tension to a crescendo. Here is an example of how Western technique could merge with Indian art. Even as you enjoy the aesthetics of dance.
As we all know that the music was given by S D Burman and he was assisted by his son R D Burman who by that time had become an independent Music Director and was giving the music of Teesri Manzil side by side. The song was sung by Lata Mangeshkar but you will be surprised to know that Bhupinder also participated in that song. Bhupinder sings the opening
refrain Hooooo for Dev and in the middle of the song he says " O Shalu". That was his total contribution to the song.

Song of Jewel Thief 1967

 

Johny Mera Naam, the film that influenced future Hindi films for decades.

The 1950s and 1960s were the eras of Family dramas but with the release of this film Action and Thriller genre began. This Golden Jubilee thriller was the first Indian film to cross a commercial milestone—it did Rs. 50 lakh business per territory when tickets were priced at a maximum Rs 2.50?

Johny Mera Naam remains the career-biggest hit of brothers Dev Anand and writer-director-editor Vijay Anand, together and separately? It also is Vijay Anand’s last hit as a filmmaker.

The year 1970 was the beginning of a decade that was to give Indian cinema an amazing thrust. The films came in a wide range to suit the interests of all sections. Romance remained paramount but crime thrillers and offbeat subjects dominated the world of Hindi cinema. It was hardly surprising that Dev Anand chose to take the lead with “Johny Mera Naam”, a huge hit with catchy scores from Kalyanji-Anandji and one of the raunchiest numbers ever with bold lyrics and a bolder dance by Padma Khanna.

The movie, a thriller all the way, had the stamp of quality from director Vijay ‘Goldie’ Anand. He and Dev Anand had begun their association with “Nau Do Gyarah” in 1957 and went a long way to give Indian cinema classics like “Guide”, “Kala Bazaar” and “Tere Ghar Ke Samne”.

The film was full of entertainment with lots of twist and turns. The music of the film was very popular. Kalyanji-Anandji provided the music. The cabaret, Husn ke lakhon rang, Nafrat karne walon ke and O mere raja are the other popular tunes from the film.Song picturisation was Goldie’s forte and Pal bhar ke liye koi hame pyar kar le, where Dev serenades the dream girl through windows of all shapes and sizes, remains a masterpiece even today. 

When the film released Dev Anand was nearing 50, formed a dazzling pair with fresh as a dewdrop Hema Malini. This was the first of the nine movies including where Dev Anand and Hema Malini worked together followed by Tere Mere Sapne, Shareef Badmash, Joshila, Chhupa Rustam till Censor in 2001.