GREGORY PECK AND DEVANAND

                                                                      

“AISSEY TO NA DEKHO “

DEVANAND (1923-2011) AND GREGORY PECK (1916-2003)

Both were Stars of their time. Both were handsome ,iconic and both carried themselves with a romantic casualness . On screen, both presented a happy go lucky image .

And to some extent , Devanand carried an "I damn care attitude" through his characters and that is what his audience loved. 
                                                                                                       

                                                                                                

Both had a style in wooing their heroines.

So many magazines wrote that Devanand copied Gregory peck. Like Gregory , Dev was also suave and a debonair star. And with his caps , walking style, Wind kissed hair and dresses, Devanand did resemble Gregory.

Some Magazines wrote that Bolywood singer cum actress SURAIYA had a great crush for Gregory Peck. She had also sent him her photograph .And when she found a version of Gregory in Devanand , she instantly fell in love. And Gregory , during his visit to India, in early fifties of the last century, met Suraiya at her Marine Drive Home.

In an interview published in 1972, Suraiya has said ,

“ The meeting was arranged through Frank Capra sometime in 1954. Gregory and i met and talked for an hour . I could not sleep that night . It was difficult for me to make people believe that I had met Gregory Peck. People laughed at my story. Some Newspapers carried stories later that I was in love with Gregory. I enjoyed reading all that stuff.”

And did she find Gregory in Devanand?

“ During our shooting schedules, I started teasing Devanand that he looked like Gregory Peck.In fact every person inside the studio where we were shooting , started taking it seriously. And they did look alike . And then Dev started copying his mannerism.”

Devanand and Gregory Peck met thrice . Once in India when the Hollywood star visited Bombay, Again in Rome when the Gregory was shooting ROMAN HOLIDAY with Audrey Hepburn and once in London on the sets of Moby Dick .
                                                                                                   

Devanand who acted in more than 100 films has said,

“Guide, Hare Ram Hare Krishna, Des Pardes and Hum Dono are closest to my heart. People may draw my comparison with Gregory Peck but it is Ashok Kumar whom I truly admire. I was always awed by his work in films like Achhut Kanya and Kismat. “

About Suraiya and Gregory Peck meeting , Devanand has said , 
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"He must have read about me as my romance with Suraiya was grabbing the headlines. And he knew about Suraiya's fascination for him. So he knew who I was. I didn't quite feel anything. It wasn't as if they were going to fall in love or make love. Even if they would have, it wouldn't have mattered. I was mature enough. Moreover, he wasn't my rival. I too was a big star by then." 

About his Jewel Thief Cap ,Devanand once informed,

“ No that cap was not Copied from any Hollywood actor or from Gregory peck as written in some Magazines. It was my own creation. I was shooting in Denmark and bought that cap from a store and then wore it in JEWEL THIEF “

                                                                                         

In Hollywood, Devanand had friendly connections with Kirk Douglas , Shirley Maclaine and James Stewart.

( Autar Mota )

CHINAR SHADE by Autarmota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.
Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.