Subhash K Jha (DNA; February 8, 2015)

Suneil Anand, the legendary Dev Anand's only actor-son is all set to revive his father's most well-known film Guide which was directed by Dev's brother Vijay Anand. Suneil currently is giving finishing touches to his new acting assignment.

He says, "Yes,we are looking at reviving Guide in a technically enhanced format with high-quality picture and Dolby sound. Guide is my dad's most beloved film. It's also the film closest to his fans' heart. The film's theme is timeless. So we do feel it would be the right thing to do."

Suneil is also looking at putting together a museum of his dad's artifacts and mementos garnered from his movies.

However he says this project is not likely to take off in the near future. "The museum would take time, as we need to go through a huge moment of requisite permission. So it's a little premature to talk about it."

Being the mythical Dev Anand's son has never been easy for Suneil. He was launched by his father in 1984 in Anand Aur Anand where Dev and Suniel played father and son. The last film that Suneil appeared in was Master in 2001. But now Suneil is back to acting.

"I've just finished filming for our New Hollywood Movie, Vagator Mixer, a joint venture between our home banner Navketan and Junix Entertainments Inc, LA. We're now in post-production. I play the lead and have directed the movie. My partner Deen Bakshi plays a pivotal negative character," says Suniel, adding that the film has a national and international cast.

"We'll be releasing the film in its original English language and also in Hindi. It will also be dubbed in some south Indian languages," promises Suneil.


Other Bollywood movies re-released


Mughal-e-Azam
The first black-and-white Bollywood film to be digitally restored, coloured and restored, the epic K Asif saga about a Mughal emperor's love for a courtesan, which originally released in 1960, returned to screens in 2004. Lead actor Dilip Kumar, who wasn't present at the film's original premiere attended the relaunch.


Naya Daur
The 1957 B R Chopra hit returned in 2007, coloured and re-mastered with the intention of making it accessible to a new generation. About the consequences of progress, this landmark film had Dilip Kumar famously racing a tonga against a bus.


Sholay
The 1975 revenge saga directed by Ramesh Sippy became a cult classic. It saw a re-release in 3-D in 2014. Ketan Mehta's company did the conversion with the help of international technicians. Lead actors Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra actively promoted the re-release.


Garm Hawa
This 1974 film by MS Sathyu about post-Partition India was initially denied a certificate by the Censor Board at the time. The Balraj Sahni-starrer, made originally at a budget of roughly Rs 10 lakh, cost about 10 times as much to restore as the negative was badly damaged. The sound quality was digitally enhanced at a studio in Los Angeles.

Roshmilla Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 12, 2014)

Suneil Anand is determined to revive Dev Anand’s banner Navketan Films and has been busy shooting a 100-minute English film sans any song and dance, Vagator Mixer, in Goa with a cast and crew from Hollywood.

While he is busy with the film, which also stars him in the lead, Anand studio is also getting ready for a second innings.

There have been rumours about the studio being sold off but Suneil insists that there is no truth in them.

 “I have a legacy to take forward. The show will go on. The studio is presently being upgraded and renovated and we should be able to reopen it in four months,” he says.

After completing Vagator Mixer, Suneil plans to commit to celluloid some of the scripts his father has left behind.

“Before he passed away, dad and I felt the time was right to make a Hollywood film. He has left behind six scripts and I’d like to turn each into a movie. But the concept of Vagator Mixer is mine and I’ve worked with two American writers on the screenplay. We have about 20 per cent left to shoot which we will complete in Los Angeles,” says Suneil, who plans to wrap the film up by the year end.He intends to release it worldwide. In India he plans to dub it in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

Asked if there are any plans to re-release any of the Navketan classics in colour, he says,“None as of now but if I had to pick up one, it would be Tere Ghar Ke Samne. A story I would like to take forward is the slickly made, interestingly written Jewel Thief.”

Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; February 5, 2014)

It appears that apart from Dev Anand’s son Suneil, Reliance Entertainment is also keen to carry forward the legacy of the late actor-filmmaker, who passed away in December 2011.

Buzz doing the rounds has it that the production house wants to take over his banner Navketan, the Anand recording studio and the negative rights of 32 of his films.

Says a source, “Things are under wraps and no one wants to talk about it yet.” Interestingly, in 2009, the evergreen hero’s landmark — Anand Studio at Pali Hill, Bandra — went in for redevelopment. When asked about it back then, Dev Anand had just mentioned that the concerned person was a dear friend. Sources at that time had claimed that Reliance was involved in the redevelopment.

This time, Suneil didn’t say much either. “I don’t know who is spreading these rumours. I am currently busy with my film, Vagator Mixer. It has a Hollywood crew and is being shot abroad,” he said, adding that work on the redevelopment of Anand Studio is still on.

One may recall here that Dev Anand discovered Tina Munim after she won a beauty pageant and cast her in his 1978 film Des Pardes.

She later acted with him in two other films — Lootmaar (1980) and Man Pasand (1980). Reliance Entertainment is part of her husband Anil Ambani’s group of companies.