NOBEL LAUREATE PEARL S. BUCK AND DEVANAND'S MOVIE GUIDE

                                                                                               

NOBEL LAUREATE PEARL S BUCK WITH DEVANAND 

PEARL S. BUCK  WAS ALSO  AN  ADMIRER  OF DEVANAD’S  ACTING  STYLE .

Not many of us know that nobel laureate Pearl S Buck  wanted to make a film on some  Indian theme  with Devanand in the lead role.  

During a visit to India  ,  she  met Devanad at his residence in Mumbai  and discussed many projects . Hollywood director Tad Danielewski was also present in this meeting. In fact a novel was also shown to Devanand that was supposed to be the base for the proposed   movie . The novel was written by some Indian author based in the 

. Both the director and Pearl S Buck had read the novel and liked it . After Devanand read the novel, he said an emphatic 'NO'  to the project. So it was shelved there and then.

Again when Hum Dono was  selected for Berlin Film Festival  , Devanand went  to Berlin.  Tad Danielewski was also in the festival with his film . Tad again discussed the shelved  project with Devanand. By this time Devanand  had read R K Narayan’s Guide and  was thrilled with the character  of Raju  .

 From Berlin,  Devanand went to London and telephoned Pearl S Buck about his intention of doing a film based on R K Narayan’s novel. And pearl S Buck was more than happy to see Devanand  working with her . She advised Devanand  to come over to the US for further discussions. Dev flew to America  and gave R K Narayan’s novel “Guide  “ to  Buck . She read it  in plain two days and   was impressed with the story and characters. It was decided to seek rights from R K Narayan. From the US,  Dev flew to Mysore to discuss all the issues of the book and the  project with the author .  After finalizing all the details , Dev flew  back to the  US and finalized the deal  with Pearl S Buck  for filming English version.

 This English version was jointly produced by Pearl s Buck and Devanand in 1965. It was directed by  Tad Danielewski.   Screenplay ( Based on R K Narayan’s novel ) for the movie was written by  Pearl s Buck who was assisted by Devanand and Vijay Anand . The English version stayed close to original plot ( adultery )  of the novel . The Hindi version was modified  and changed  to suit audience sensibilities and preferences  .

Dev had complete  print of the  English  version with him  ( Source . Devanand’s autobiography "Romancing with life"  )  till his death. This must surely   be in possession of his son Suneil now. This version has remained an issue of interest for Indian audience . 

( Avtar Mota )

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