ETimes BFFs: Did you know Dev Anand married Kalpana Kartik only after he was threatened to be killed by his then girlfriend Suraiya’s grandmother? | Hindi Movie News

The legendary Dev Anand had the most illustrious stint in the film industry. In his career spanning over six decades, he has done over 100 films. The evergreen star had several interesting stories attached to his personal life as well. Dev was one of the nine children born to Pishori Lal Anand. His eldest brother Manmohan Anandwas an advocate in Gurdaspur District Court just like his father.It was his brotherChetan Anand who marked the family’s entry into the Indian film industry. He directed the film Neecha Nagar which won the Palme d’Or award at Cannes in 1946. It was the first Indian film to gain international recognition. Then followed Dev and Vijay Anand. Dev co-founded Navketan Films with Chetan in 1949.
The Anand brothers had five sisters – Savitri, Sheila, Kanta, Lata and Usha. But did you know Dev Anand had a failed love story with Suraiya? They could not take their relationship forward as they came from different religions. Ironically, Dev’s debut film was Hum Ek Hain that spoke about Hindu-Muslim unity. Find out much more about Dev Anand’s life in this edition of ETimes BFFs (Big FIlmy Families).
Acha Anand
Acha is Dev Anand’s nephew (son of Manmohan Anand) who worked as a production controller at Navketan Films. He was associated with films like Suraag, Amar Vijay, Shaksiyat, Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas among others. He died of liver cirrhosis in 1994.
Hersh Kohli
Dev Anand’s nephew Hersh Kohli ventured into production and direction. Hersh is one of the six children of Dev Anand’s sister Savitri. Uma, Vishal, Sushma, Aruna and Yash are his siblings.
He has two children Rima and Purab Kohli. Purab has made his mark as an actor with films like Airlift, Rock On, I am, Wo Lamhe, Mission Mangal, Bob Biswas and many more. He was a VJ and popular television actor too. Purab is married to Lucy Payton and they have two children Inaya and Osian.
Hersh’s brother Yash is also a film producer associated with movies like Double Cross, Kalabaaz, Jewel Thief, Prem Pujari among others.
His sister Aruna is married to actor Parikshit Sahni. They have two daughters Aditi and Tanya. Parikshit is the son of the legendary Balraj Sahni and brother of Bhisham Sahni.
Sushma’s marriage was rather controversial and she tied the knot with her uncle Vijay Anand. Together they have a son Vaibhav Anand. Vijay was one of the most celebrated directors of Hindi film industry known for films like Kala Bazar, Tere Ghar Ke Samne, Guide, Jewel Thief and Johny Mera Naam among many others. He passed away in 2004 due to cardiac arrest. Sushma also passed away due to cardiac arrest earlier this year. Vaibhav continued the legacy and doubles up as an actor and filmmaker.
Chetan Anand
Dev Anand’s brother Chetan made his directorial debut in 1946 with Neecha Nagar. He founded Navketan Films – their first film was Afsar that starred Dev Anand alongside popular actress Suraiya, who went on to have a raging love affair later. Chetan was the one who gave a break to actor Rajesh Khanna in Aakhri Khat.

Chetan married Uma Chaterji and they have two sons – Ketan and Vivek. Their marriage fell apart and while Uma became the companion of Ebrahim Alkazi, Chetan found love again in actress Priya Rajvansh whom he had launched in his film Haqeeqat. Since Chetan and Uma were not legally divorced, he could not marry Priya nor have any children with her. But before he died in 1997, he had bequeathed a sizable portion of his wealth to Priya, which would revert to his sons after her death. Priya was murdered in the bungalow she shared with Chetan for twenty years. Ketan and Vivek were arrested for murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. They were granted bail after two years in jail.
Shekhar Kapur
Yes, BAFTA and Golden Globe winning filmmaker Shekhar Kapur hails from the Anand family. Dev Anand’s sister Sheila is his mother who was married to Dr Kulbhushan Kapur. Neelu and Sohaila are his sisters. neelu was the first wife of actor Navin Nischol. Shekhar made his directorial debut with the film Masoom in 1983. He gained acclaim with films like Mr India, Bandit Queen and Elizabeth.
Shekhar was first married to Medha Gujral. They divorced in 1994. Shekhar later married actress Suchitra Krishnamoorthi with whom he has daughter Kaveri. They got divorced in 2007.
Dev Anand
Dev Anand made his debut in 1946 with Hum Ek Hain, but he gained popularity with subsequent movies like Ziddi, Baazi, Jaal, Taxi Driver, CID, Kala Pani and more. The 1965 film Guide became a milestone in his career as it entered the 38th Academy Awards as the Best Foreign Language Film. Dev continued to shine with films like Jewel Thief, Prem Pujari, Johny Mera Naam, Hare Rama Hare Krishna, Heera Panna, Chargesheet among many others.

Dev fell in love with popular actress Suraiya with whom he acted in several films like Vidya, Jeet, Shair, Afsar, Sanam and more. They had a raging love affair however, their relationship was opposed by Suraiya’s maternal grandmother as she was a Muslim while Dev was a Hindu. In fact Dev had even proposed to her with a diamond ring, but their relationship fell apart as both her grandmother and her maternal uncle threatened to get Dev Anand killed, as told by Suraiya in an interview. Dev then fell in love with actress Kalpana Kartik and proposed to her during the making of Taxi Driver. They got secretly married and have two children – Suniel and Devina.
Dev Anand died in London in 2011 due to a cardiac arrest.