Raw appeal (Baarish)

There is a good thing and a bad thing about watching a very, very old Dev Anand film. That would be films in the 50s, when he was yet to become the charismatic debonair who made all of us weak in the knees. He was yet to get the swagger, that style, that mischievous glint in his eyes that crushed the knee caps to jelly whenever he appeared on the screen. And yes, he was yet to get that sweeping hairstyle!

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Treading untried territory (Bombai ka Babu)

Come to think of it, there are quite a few films where Dev Anand has portrayed characters undergoing immense mental turmoil. There's Hum Dono, Asli Naqli, Guide and Kala Bazaar. But, in Bombai ka Babu, his character tilts towards the dangerous territory of incest. A full-bodied man, Babu has to suppress his passion for a beautiful woman only because he is duping her family pretending to be their long-lost son. And in doing so, he is supposed to be her brother. With a plot as fascinating as this, Bombai ka Babu is obviously a thrilling experience. You sympathise with this angst-ridden young man as he is forced into the crime world and stay riveted when he helplessly tries to clear his ground before the charming Maya.

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Introducing an anti-hero (Kala Bazar)

Can we call Dev Anand one of the first anti-heroes in the history of Hindi cinema? For, there are roughly three major films where he handles his grey tones with panache. I'm talking of Guide (1965), Asli Naqli (1962) and Kala Bazar (1960). In all these films Anand's character starts off negatively. But after a certain cathartic moment, he emerges from the flames that help to purify him. In Asli Naqli, his metamorphosis happens when he sees that true love actually resides in poor homes because that emotion needn't be validated by money. In Guide, a personal trauma shakes him up and he atones for his sin by helping villagers. And, in Kala Bazar, the change comes through because of his love for a beautiful girl.

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