Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

PM's remarks at the Book Release Function of Dev Anand's Autobiography `Romancing With Life'

It is really an honour for us to have Shri Dev Anandji here with us on his 84th birthday. I join millions of his admirers and well-wishers all over the world in wishing him a long, healthy and even more creative life in years to come. At 84, he is not only young at heart, but also youthful to look at. I am sure that for several generations of his fans, he will always be remembered as a delightfully romantic and endearing artist. He is possibly one of the most enduring romantics in the last half century. It is only fitting, therefore, that Dev Anandji has titled his autobiography "Romancing with Life".

However, it would be wrong for us to conclude, either from the title of his autobiography or from the delightful happiness of many of his films, that Dev Anandji's own youth was one of fun and frolic. Hailing from a middle class family of modest means, he lived through a childhood and youth marked by deprivation and dislocation. Like thousands of young men and women of his generation whose lives were disrupted by the trauma of Partition, Dev Anandji too was forced to migrate to free India from what is now Pakistan.

I am aware that he lived a life of great difficulty when he first arrived in Mumbai in search of a new life. The trials and tribulations of those difficult years did not, however, warp his personality not did they stunt his talent. He soon discovered his true calling in the world of Indian cinema. And Indian cinema discovered the immortal Dev Anand. He rose to be one of the trinity who ruled the heart of every Indian - Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand. He has possibly acted with every top heroine over five decades - from Suraiya and Waheeda Rehman to Madhubala and Zeenat Aman. The range of themes he has covered in his movies is extensive. Who can forget the challenging roles he essayed in Guide, Hum Dono and Prem Pujari?

Dev Anandji's life is a tribute to the world of opportunity and creativity that the Indian film industry has come to represent. Many talented young men and women have been able to live their dreams and earn their livelihood and make their mark thanks to the creativity and enterprise of filmmakers like Dev Anand. I salute their creativity, I salute their sense of enterprise, I salute their sense of compassion and above all, their deep patriotism.

The Indian film industry, especially the Hindi film industry, has shaped the psyche of post-Independence India in many ways. No other institution has been as successful in achieving the emotional integration of this vast and diverse land of ours as our film industry has been. It is not official Hindi, or Government Hindi, that unites the length and breadth of this country but in fact popular spoken Hindi, as popularized by our Hindi cinema. It is a unique language, a mix of shudh Hindi, of spoken dialects like Bhojpuri and Hyderabadi, and of spoken languages like Urdu and Marathi. This unique mix of conversational Hindi from across the country, popularized by the film industry, has become the thread that weaves us all together as Indians. I would, therefore, like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the Hindi film industry and to its tallest leaders like Dev Anandji.

I am not a regular movie-goer and cannot claim to know much about recent trends in Indian cinema. But, I do know for a fact that wherever I go in the world, the Indian film industry has made its presence felt everywhere. From the islands of the Pacific to those of the Atlantic, from the southernmost tip of Africa to the icy deserts of Siberia, from the towns of West Africa to the cities of East Asia, from the suburbs of North America to villages across Asia - around the world, across the globe, the sun never sets on Indian films. Hollywood may have more money invested in it, it may be a bigger business, but I am sure that more people across the world actually watch Bollywood movies! More people laugh and shed tears, more people sing and cheer watching an Indian film.

We must, therefore, pay a special tribute to artists like Dev Anandji for their contribution to this great saga of creativity and enterprise that Indian film industry represents. I hope his autobiography will inspire newer generations of Indians to aspire for a life of even greater creativity. His is a classic rags to riches life, where those riches have been earned through dint of sheer hard work and dedication.

Dev Anandji's life mirrors India's own progress. Over sixty years ago, when he started acting in films, India was a poor and backward colony. Today, India is among the world's front ranking nations. We still have to win the war against poverty, ignorance and disease. But, today, we can say with a much greater degree of confidence and assurance that we will indeed win this war. We have marched forth with confidence in the past and we must continue to do so. I hope popular creative artists like Dev Anandji will inspire our people and motivate them to work harder work together and work purposefully. Taking a cue from the immortal song from Guide - Main zindagi ka saath nibhaata chala gaya; Main phikr ko dhuen mein udaata chala gaya.

I am sure Dev Anandji has still many many more miles to cross. As a poetess said, "sitaroan ke aage jahan aur bhi hain, abhi ishq ke imtiahn aur bhi hain". With these words, I once again wish Dev Anandji a long life full of creativity so that he can continue to entertain and inspire another generation of fans.