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Bollywood Actor Dev Anand and Nepal

By Kamala Sarup

Kathmandu, Nepal,- "Bollywood actor Dev Anand has made great contributions to strengthen the relations existing at the people-to-people level by making some very popular films in Nepal. His films helped introduce Nepal's image in India. For the last four decades, Dev Anand's passion to visit Nepal has continued. Even at this stage, he came to Nepal to unveil his autobiography, 'Romancing With Life.'

Although he is 85, Dev Anand still has the same charisma, and his smile still has the same power to steal hearts," said Kathmandu's Spotlight magazine.

It is always a pleasure watching Dev Anand's movies and his acting. His enthusiasm and passion for acting and work in the name of beauty have always impressed me. I am not just praising him emptily. It is a great asset for India to have an actor like Dev Anand. His commitment, dedication, and tireless hard work have benefited the movies, as well as our hearts. He is truly admirable.

According to Wikipedia, "Dev Anand's films are best known for their successful songs. Most of his films are an expression of his worldview and have dealt with socially relevant subjects. He always emphasizes this in his interviews. He thinks that his films represent his personal point of view."

Dev Anand was born in Punjab. His first acting role was in the film Hum Ek Hain in 1946. Shortly after, he was offered his first big acting break by Ashok Kumar.

In Kathmandu, Dev Anand once said, "The way I have seen Nepal, most of you have not. I've traveled the world. Mark my words: no place in this entire universe is as beautiful as your country. Even in Switzerland, many things are man-made. Nepal is god-gifted. I appeal to all to go to Nepal, go to the high mountains. They're tremendous. That's Nepal to me."

He is making a difference and moving the hearts of many Nepalese. We certainly deserve to have better music and art. Nepal has beautiful works of art and music characterized by an abundance of natural heart.

A local artist in Kathmandu, Sanu Thapa, told me, "I am deeply concerned that we might have to develop our arts and dance along with music, like Dev Anand's acting. Nepal's old movies are perfectly fine and only need to develop more in the area of musical progress and emancipation. There is no need to destroy our old forms of art and dance. Indian and Nepalese dance and music have lasted for hundreds of years and will continue for many years to come, for future generations."

When I watch Dev Anand's wonderful acting, I feel that it reflects all my emotions well. His creative acting skills are advanced. He has now become a world-class actor. That is something I aspire to as a poet. Throughout his life, Dev Anand has evolved as a modernist, a beautiful artist, an emancipated actor, and someone with purpose in his life.

I just hope that art schools in Nepal develop as institutions, like in India. Of course, each individual is responsible for new ideas in music and the arts. Every one of us must follow the path laid by our own art, drama, and dance. The arts and music are the basis upon which we must live our lives. If this had not been the case in the past, then our civilization as it is would not exist. If society respects artists and places them in a respectable position, then the arts will gain true meaning. No piece of art, film or music can survive by relegating artists to a second-class or subservient status, as some societies tend to do.

To me, for all Dev Anand's beauty, his acting is the best in the world. If Dev Anand and I join hands together, I believe we can make a big difference in the art world.

Kamala Sarup is a regular contributor to UPI- Asia News. Her specialties are in-depth reporting and writing stories on peace and anti-war issues, women, terrorism, democracy and development. Some of her publications include: Women's Empowerment in South Asia, Nepal; Prevention of Trafficking in Women Through Media; Efforts to Prevent Trafficking in for Media Activism. She has also written two collections of stories.

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