Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 25, 2019)

He would have turned 85 on January 22 had death not snatched him away 15 years ago. But for me, Vijay Anand or Goldie Saab as I knew him, still lives on in the movies he left behind.

He is best remembered for the cult classic Guide which came to him on the rebound after Waheeda Rehman refused to work with Raj Khosla following an altercation on the sets of Solva Saal earlier, and the eldest Anand brother, Chetan, opted out after getting financial aid and army clearance for his war drama Haqeeqat. Goldie Saab who had turned down the offer to direct the film twice, agreed on the condition that he’d rework Nobel laureate Pearl S Buck’s original script on which the Tad Danielewski-directed English version was based. “I couldn’t have a film starting with Raju and Rosie jumping into bed within hours of her stepping off the train with her husband Marco,” he told me years later.

And while changing the first scene, and diluting the adulterous content of R K Narayan’s novel, Goldie saab also tweaked the ending, making it more spiritual and befitting a Hindi film hero. “In the English version, Raju after serving a jail sentence, lands up, broke, in a village where he is mistaken for a godman after a sadhu, seeing him shivering in his sleep, throws his saffron chaddar over him. While in the Hindi Guide Raju fasts for rains and breathes his last as the first of the life-saving showers come, in the English film, he keeps reiterating, ‘I can see the rains coming.’ But the film ends with the camera panning on a clear blue sky, implying that even in death he cheats the villagers who’d believed in him,” informs Mohan Churiwala, a close associate of Dev Anand. While Danielewski’s version didn’t impress anyone, Goldie Saab’s ‘Guide’ became a saviour even in real life as a drought-hit Gujarat turned to Raju to bring rain.

R K Narayan outraged by all the changes, publicly denounced the film, calling it “Misguided Guide”. But that didn’t dent its appeal. Guide was India’s official entry for the Oscars, losing in the second round to a Norwegian film. Half a century later, its regarded as a classic, and its songs remain evergreen. “The Lata Mangeshkar-Kishore Kumar duet, 'Gaata Rahe Mera Dil', was shot after the film was completed, in Ooty, because Dev saab wanted to incorporate a song by Kishore Kumar,” says Churiwala.

After Guide, Goldie saab was signed by Nasir Hussain for Teesri Manzil, initially planned with Dev saab. He was replaced by Shammi Kapoor after a fallout with Nasir saab at R K Nayyar and Sadhana’s engagement ceremony. While Goldie saab attributed the exit to a date clash, Aamir Khan was reported saying it was because his uncle had overheard Dev saab saying Nasir saab had signed Goldie to direct Baharon Ke Sapne, a small black-and-white film with newcomer Rajesh Khanna, while he was all set to helm a colour film with him. The next day, Nasir saab exchanged projects with Goldie saab on the condition that Teesri Manzil would not feature Dev Anand.

According to Churiwala however, the argument was over remuneration. “Dev saab wasn’t the kind of person to make an issue over money but during Jab Pyar Kisise Hota Hai he’d learnt that Nasir saab had borrowed money at a very high interest rate to finance his first production. So, he returned his signing amount, telling him to pay him after the film’s release. Nasir saab did settle his dues but did not pay him the price he commanded then, assuring him that he’d compensate him in their next film together,” informs Churiwala. He adds that at the engagement party, Dev saab jokingly asked Nasir saab what remuneration he had in mind for him in Teesri Manzil . “Nasir saab casually replied, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you.’ That sparked off Dev saab’s temper as he had said that earlier too many times and he stormed out of the party and the film. Shammi Kapoor when approached, called Dev saab and only after getting his go ahead agreed to a script narration.”

The Anand brothers did five more films — Jewel Thief, Johny Mera Naam, Tere Mere Sapne, Chhupa Rustam and Bullet. There was a sixth film, Jaana Na Dil Se Door, a tribute to Chetan saab. A father-daughter story with Indriani Banerjee in a double role, it was completed but not released. “And with it we lost a beautiful song penned by Kaifi saab (Azmi) for which he hadn’t charged a rupee,” sighs Churiwala. “Tu chala jo apni talash mein, To kahan kahan se guzar gaya, Har kadam pe tha inteha, Har inteha se guzar gaya…”