In the vibrant era of 1940s Bollywood, Dev Anand emerged as a charismatic actor, gracing Hindi cinema with numerous unforgettable films. His immense popularity led to recommendations against wearing black in public. As a superstar of his time, Dev Anand not only acted but also took on the role of director in several movies. Despite his widespread fame, some of these directorial ventures did not achieve the same success.
Born as Dharamdev Pishorimal Anand on September 26, 1923, in Shakargarh, Punjab (now in Pakistan), he is universally known as Dev Anand. He made his debut in Bollywood with ‘Hum Ek Hain’ (1946). He then went on to deliver several iconic films such as ‘Guide,’ ‘Jewel Thief,’ ‘Johnny Mera Naam,’ ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna,’ ‘Kala Bazar,’ and ‘Hum Dono.’ He also directed some films that unfortunately flopped. Let’s explore five of those.
**’Prem Pujari’**: Released in 1970, ‘Prem Pujari’ was a directorial and production venture by Dev Anand, where he also played the lead role opposite Waheeda Rehman. The movie featured Zahida Hussain, Prem Chopra, Shatrughan Sinha, and Amrish Puri. While the music of this film became popular, the film itself was a box office disappointment.
**’Ishq Ishq Ishq’**: The 1974 release, ‘Ishq Ishq Ishq’, saw Dev Anand in the triple roles of director, producer, and lead actor, alongside Zeenat Aman, Shabana Azmi, Zarina Wahab, Prem Nath, and Jeevan. Although it had a few memorable songs, the film was not a success.
**’Return of Jewel Thief’**: Dev Anand’s 1967 film, ‘Jewel Thief’, was a massive success. In contrast, the 1996 collaboration with TP Aggarwal, ‘Return of Jewel Thief’, faced a box office failure. This film showcased Dev Anand, Jackie Shroff, Dharmendra, Ashok Kumar, Madhu, and Shilpa Shirodkar.
**’Love at Times Square’**: Released in 2003, ‘Love at Times Square’ was directed and produced by Dev Anand. It featured a cast of musicians including Lucky Ali, Adesh Shrivastava, Adnan Sami, Rajesh Roshan, and Bappi Lahiri; however, the film did not perform well. The cast included Dev Anand, Hiny Kausar, Chaitanya Chaudhary, Moon Moon Sen, Ashish Vidyarthi, and a cameo by Salman Khan.
**’Censor’**: In 2001, Dev Anand directed and produced the film ‘Censor’. The film featured Dev Anand, Hema Malini, Rekha, Govinda, Shammi Kapoor, and Archana Puran Singh, but it is considered among Dev Anand’s significant failures at the box office.
