The Film Heritage Foundation (FHF) has organised a film festival titled ‘Dev Anand@100 –Forever Young’ to commemorate the birth centenary of Dev Anand.The festival will showcase the legendary actor’s iconic movies on the big screen across 30 cities including Mumbai, Pune, Goa, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Trivandrum, Chennai, Bangalore, Lucknow, Kolkata, Guwahati, Indore, Jaipur, Nagpur, Chandigarh, New Delhi, Gwalior, Rourkela, Raipur, Noida, Kochi, Aurangabad, Vadodara, Surat and Mohali on September 23 and 24.
As reported by The Times of India, the films have been handpicked by FHF in partnership with NFDC and NFAI, who have also restored them. The aim of this festival is to reintroduce Dev Anand’s work to a new generation and evoke nostalgia among his admirers, according to officials from I&B and FHF.
A film festival is being organised by exhibitors, the Film Heritage Foundation, and the National Film Development Corporation to commemorate the birth centenary of Dev Anand on September 23 and 24. This comes after the successful events ‘Bachchan Back to the Beginning’ and ‘Dilip Kumar – Hero of Heroes’ held last year.
After the sucess of “Bachchan Back to the Beginning” & “Dilip Kumar – Hero of Heroes”, FHF is back with another blockbuster festival – “Dev Anand @ 100-Forever Young” – to commemorate the 100th birthday of the evergreen star. pic.twitter.com/vs5KJhOqak
— Film Heritage Foundation (@FHF_Official) September 11, 2023
The selection of movies aims to familiarise the younger audience with the memorable roles played by Dev Anand, such as
Inspector Shekhar from C.I.D. (1956)
Known for its suspenseful storyline and memorable performance, C.I.D is a 1956 classic film directed by Raj Khosla. The movie revolves around Inspector Shekhar, who is assigned to investigate a murder case. As he delves deeper into the case, he uncovers a web of crime, deceit, and secrets.
Raju, the tourist guide from Guide (1965)
Considered one of the greatest films of all time, Guide is known for its exceptional storytelling, music, and performances. It starred Dev Anand and Waheeda Rehman and is based on the novel of the same name by R.K. Narayan.
Vinay/Amar from Jewel Thief (1967)
Johny from Johny Mera Naam (1970)
Directed by Vijay Anand, Johny Mera Naam, starring Dev Anand, Hema Malini and Pran was the highest-grossing Bollywood film of 1970. The film won three awards at the 18th Filmfare Awards for Best Comic Actor to I. S. Johar, Best Screenplay and Best Editing to Vijay Anand.
Prithul Kumar, MD NFDC and Joint Secretary (Films) said, “It is important for the public to witness Dev Anand on the big screen once again, just as they did during his heyday decades ago. The NFDC-NFAI is leaving no effort spared to ensure that these films are presented in the best possible way, with hundreds of restoration artists, technicians, graders, DOPs, sound engineers and archivists, spread across multiple cities, are hard at work to once again bring these films to life. The restoration of the films is being undertaken as part of the National Film Heritage Mission and funded by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.”
Amitabh Bachchan said, “As Dev saab turns 100 this year, I still remember how his attitude and singular style in his performances would get us out of our hostel beds in the middle of the night, jump the boundary walls of the college to the nearest film theatre repeatedly, just to witness the magic of his charm and energy. And on our way back we would sing along with his songs, his deliveries of dialogue and create this wonderful world he had structured for us to be remembered forever.”
Suneil Anand, Dev Anand’s son said, “As we celebrate his centennial, I’d like to say that dad’s movies were decades ahead of their time. I’m confident that the fest will be a huge success, and newer audiences will rediscover the youthful magic of my father – who will forever stay young on screen.”