His nephew, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, recently reminisced how Dev's off-screen persona was inspiring too, especially in the way he coped with the failure of his most ambitious project.
Shekhar Kapur recalled Dev Anand's most challenging phase
In a conversation with Filmfare's YouTube channel, Shekhar Kapur lauded Dev Anand's wisdom and how one learnt so much by simple observing his actions. He said, "You learn from seeing someone like that deal with his life. I remember that Ishk Ishk Ishk had just been released, and he had put his own money into it. I went to the premiere because I had a small part in it. We came back to the Oberoi hotel, and I sat in his room while he was getting calls from everyone in the industry. Naturally people congratulated him and told him what a fantastic film he had made, but soon reality started setting in. Someone told him over the phone that people got up and left the theatres while his film was still playing."
When Dev Anand was asked to give up his house, wife's jewellery
The Bandit Queen filmmaker shared another lighthearted anecdote that talked about Dev Anand's carefree attitude. Shekhar Kapur recalled, "I remember having breakfast with Dev uncle, and the producer was there too. He asked the producer if he had to sell anything to make his latest film, and the producer narrated a long list of items he had to let go of, including his wife's jewellery and his home. Without skipping a beat, Dev's uncle said, 'Acha hai, aise hi banti hai filmein' (That's good. This is how you make films."
Released in 1994, Ishk Ishk Ishk was directed by Dev Anand himself and starred Anand, Shabana Azmi, Zeenat Aman, Zarina Wahab, Jeevan, and Kabir Bedi in pivotal roles.