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UK SPECIAL: DIWALI
In Times Square
The indefatigable thespian is still at work-Dev
Anand is in and around New York, shooting his latest love story
By Raj S. Rangarajan
The
leaves are turning to gold, as is their wont in the north-east in the
fall, and there's a slight nip in the Manhattan air. "Cut!"
Suddenly the call rents the air. It is veteran thespian Dev Anand who,
at 78, is still the picture of positive exuberance. Standing erect on
a bright sunny day, he directs Hini Kaushik and Chaitanya in his new film,
Love in Times Square.
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| INDIAN PLOT: Chaitanya and Hini Kaushik
on the sets of Love in Times Square |
"We shot for three days in picturesque
Catskills and the orange glow every evening was a sight to behold,"
Anand says, taking a few minutes off.
At this age, when others of his generation have
retired, evergreen Anand remains ebullient and trim.
With typical flair, he says: "Tamasha,
my friend. The more you work in a business like this, the sharper your
mind becomes. You feel younger, and the more you feel young, the more
you progress in the creative and thinking process. I want to give back
something exciting to the world. I sometimes feel pleasure like a child."
Anand is giving. Once again he is performing-this
time, for the first time, as the father of the heroine. Love in Times
Square, with a Rs 14-crore budget, is an Indian love story shot in the
US. The story is of two boys and a girl: one boy works in the Silicon
Valley and the other comes from India to meet the girl. The question is,
who will get the girl? Kaushik, who plays the main female lead, debuted
in Censor, which released in April. The two men wooing her are Chaitanya
and Shoaib.
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"Thousands
came to watch boxing legend Mohammed Ali preside over the launch
ceremony."
DEV ANAND, of LOVE IN ..
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The sets drew a lot of attention. Says Anand,
"Thousands of people came on December 31, 1999 to Times Square as
boxing legend Mohammed Ali presided over the ceremonious dropping of the
ball. We stood in the cold for seven to eight hours as our clapper sounded
the first shot for our film."
Anand has produced, directed and written the
screenplay while Lucky Ali has done the music. The film crew is America-based
with David Tumulty as cameraman and chief organiser. Prashant Shah, from
Edison, New Jersey, coordinates with the Navketan group.
With much of the movie canned, Anand hopes for
a June 2002 release.
Debuting with Hum Ek Hain in 1946, Anand has
come a long way, having started his own film company in 1949. "I
am flattered that many of my former assistants have succeeded in films
and mastered the art of movie-making," he says, as he walks away
into the sunset. The halo glows golden around him.
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