How the Dev Anand-Suraiya love affair ended

Life, in all its glory, was a celebration for Dev Anand, who lived it at a pace that would have rendered most other mortals breathless.

His love life was nothing short of an epic story. He may have married his Taxi Driver costar Kalpana Karthik but his first love was Suraiya, the iconic singer/actress of the 1940s.

In his autobiography Romancing With Life, the late star revisited the events that put an abrupt end to a passionate love affair.

Here, we present an excerpt from the book:
Standing in a corner I read the note scribbled back by Suraiya. I read, 'I cried as I read your letter. It is mutual. I love you. I, too, am dying to meet you. Call me tomorrow at 7 pm. I shall be near the phone.

Next day, I called her exactly at the time she had given. She picked up the phone. As I heard her "Hello," joy coursed through my veins.

"Nosey," I poured all my love into the word. But I heard granny's voice reply instead, saying, "Who's that?" And a weepin

g shriek from Suraiya in the background, while the phone got disconnected. I did not let my determination die down though and called again; the phone was picked up; I repeated, "Suraiya!"

Excerpted from Romancing With Life by Dev Anand, Penguin Viking, with the publisher's permission, Rs 695.

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Image: Dev Anand with Suraiya
Photographs: From Dev Anand's autobiography Romancing With Life, published by Penguin Viking 

Joy coursed through my veins when she picked up the phone'

"Suraiya is not at home!" The granny shouted and banged the phone down. I persisted and rang again. Granny who picked up the phone now said threateningly, "Next time I hear your voice, you will have the police talking to you." Then came a loud banging down of the phone, this time more violent.

Frustrated, I closed my eyes, sat down, holding my head in my hands; but I did not give up. I let a little time go by, about an hour, during the course of which I again thought of the futility of existence without my lady-love. Then I rang her number again.

Somebody picked up the phone. I listened quietly to the voice. It said "Hello" very softly. It wasn't Suraiya's voice, and it certainly wasn't the granny's either. I guessed it could be Suraiya's mother.

"Is that Mummy?" I whispered.

"Yes Dev." I heaved a sigh of relief.

"Can I speak to Suraiya?"

"She's been crying," her mother said.

I was emboldened. "Can I speak to her?" I repeated.

"No, she cannot, her granny is close by," she said in a soft whisper.

"But I must meet her!" I was desperate.

"She, too, wants to meet you."

"Then?" I asked eagerly.

"Call me exactly after one hour, I shall arrange a meeting."

Image: The three pillars of the industry: Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand

'Is it a ruse to trap me? I wondered'

I called exactly after one hour, and her mother said, "Don't call Suraiya. But you can meet her tomorrow."

I was in heaven. She continued, "But very late at night. A little after eleven-thirty."

"Eleven-thirty tomorrow night?" I reaffirmed.

"She'll be up on the terrace of the building. You can take the staircase, as you enter from the main building, and climb straight up," she said, and put the phone down.

"Is this a ruse -- to trap me?" I wondered.

"I don't think so.  I should take the risk!" the determined part of me said.

Image: Dev Anand with Gregory Peck, who influenced his style

'I could end up in a lock-up'

"What if I am caught? I'll be proclaimed a sneaky scoundrel in all the newspapers." The cautious side of me warned. "I could even land in a lock-up."

There was a hell of a debate raging inside me. But the lover in me had the final say, "How can I not trust Suraiya's mother? She is the only one in the family who is fond of me. I have to believe her."

I opted for my historic and fairy-tale rendezvous with the love of my heart and took my friend, Tara, now an inspector in the police department in Bombay, along with me.

Image: Dev Anand with Kishore Kumar, Sahir Ludhianvi and R D Burman. Yash Chopra looks on