Chetan Anand (1921-1997) was a famous Hindi film director, producer, actor and script writer. In 1946, he won the Palme d’Or (then known as the Grand Prix) at the Cannes Film Festival for the Hindi film Neecha Nagar (1946), his directorial debut. The film became the first Indian film to gain recognition at the international level. He is the elder brother of Hindi film actors and directors Dev Anand and Vijay Anand.
Wiki/Biography
Chetan Anand was born on Monday 3 January 1921 in Gurdaspur, Punjab, British India (now India) at the age of 76; however, some sources claim that he was born Lahore, Punjab, British India (now part of Pakistan). He studied Hindu scriptures at Gurukula Kangri in Haridwar, Uttarakhand. He graduated from an English-medium Government College in Lahore.
Chetan Anand as a young man
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′6″
Hair color: gray
Eye color: black
Chetan Anand (right) and his brother Dev Anand
family
Vijay Anand was born into an upper-middle-class Punjabi Hindu family in Gurdaspur, Punjab.
Parents and siblings
His father, Pishori Lal Anand, was an advocate. He lost his mother at an early age. Chetan Anand has six siblings, three of whom are brothers – Manmohan Anand, Vijay Anand (filmmaker) and Dev Anand (actor, director and producer) — and three sisters — Sher Kanta Kapoor (the mother of Indian film producer Shekhar Kapoor), Usha Maddock and Bunny Shareen.
Dev Anand (left), Vijay Anand (center) and Chetan Anand (right)
Chetan Anand’s sister Sheel Kanta Kapur
wife and children
In 1943, Chetan Anand married Uma Chatterji, a Bengali Christian woman of Brahmin descent.
Chetan Anand and Uma Anand wedding photos
Chetan Anand and Uma Anand
Later, they became parents to Vivek Anand and Ketan Anand (filmmakers).
Ketan Anand, son of Chetan Anand
After a few years, the two separated, but remained legally married, as the law at the time did not allow divorce, even if both parties agreed.
Relationships/Affairs
Priya Rajvansh
After Chetan Anand separated from his wife Uma Anand, he fell in love with Indian actor Priya Rajvansh. Priya Rajvansh made her debut in the Hindi film industry with the lead role in Chetan Anand’s film Haqeeqat (1964). Uma Anand is said to have brought Priya Rajvansh into Chetan Anand’s life. According to reports, she saw Priya performing at an event in Chandigarh and she approached her and gave her Chetan’s business card to contact him. However, Priya moved to London to pursue acting courses at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). After completing the course, Priya shared her portfolio with Chetan Anand, who was looking for a girl to play the role of ‘Heer’ in the film ‘Heer Raanjha’ (1970). After checking Priya Rajvansh’s portfolio, Chetan Anand telegraphed her to come to Bombay (now Bombay) to meet him. After receiving the telegram, Priya came to Mumbai, where she met Chetan Anand, who was 16 years older. After Chetan started working on the film ‘Haqeeqat’ with Priya and team, the film ‘Heer Raanjha’ experienced some delays. Chetan and Priya reportedly fell in love with each other during the shooting of the film Haqeeqat in 1960.
Chetan Anand and Priya Rajvansh
One of Priya’s close friends, Moin Beg, spoke about her relationship with Chetan Anand and revealed that the two of them are in a live-in relationship. Since Chetan Anand is legally married to Uma, his relationship with Priya cannot take on a legal identity. Chetan and Priya live as a couple and have no children. According to Moin Beg, Chetan Anand and Priya have amazing understanding. Chetan relied on her for medical appointments or writing scripts. They did have disagreements at times, but they managed to come to a consensus. Moin added that Chetan Anand used to fondly call Priya “Bimbo” and whenever she was upset, he would just say “Aur kya ho raha hai Bimbo?” to make her smile. Talking about Chetan Anand and Priya Rajvansh’s chemistry as a couple, Moin Beg said:
He (Chetan Anand) is completely dependent on her, be it about the doctor or his scripts. They do have a lot of arguments. When she gets angry, she sulks. To appease her, all Chetan saab could say was, “Aur kya ho raha hai Bimbo (his nickname for her)?” and she would start smiling. Chetan Saab and Priya have a great rapport with each other. They have amazing understanding. “
Profession
director
Movie
Chetan Anand made his directorial debut in 1946 with the Hindi film Neecha Nagar.
Poster of the film Neeche Nagar (1946)
In 1949, he founded the production company “Navketan Films” with his brother Dev Anand and directed his first feature film “Afsar” (1950). In 1954, Chetan directed Taxi Driver, starring Dev Anand and Kalpana Kartik; the film was shot in the suburbs of Bombay (now Mumbai) and lasted about 45 days. The film, based on a script written by Vijay Anand and Uma Anand, was Chetan Anand’s first box-office success and Navkotan’s highest-grossing film to date.
Poster for the movie Taxi Driver (1954)
Chetan Anand later directed many films, including Arpan (1957), one of the earliest war films in Indian cinema, Haqeeqat (1964), Heer Raanjha (1970), Jaaneman (1976) (1981) and Kudrat (1981).
TV series
In 1988, Chetan Anand directed the Indian TV series Param Vir Chakra, which depicted the real-life lives of Param Vir Chakra gallantry award recipients. The drama is aired on DD national channel.
Producer
In 1960, Chetan Anand established his own production company “Himalaya Films” and collaborated with cinematographer Jal Mistry, music director Madan Mohan, lyricist Kaifi Azmi and actor Priya Rajvansh. The first film produced by Chetan Anand was Saheb Bahadur (1977); it was produced by Himalayan Films. Anand produced “Haathon Ki Lakeeren” in 1986.
Movie “Saheb Bahadur” poster (1977)
actor
In 1944, Indian film director Fani cast Anand as the protagonist in the film “Rajkumar”, but it was not released due to some problems. Chetan Anand made his debut as an actor in 1953 with the film Humsafar. He also appeared in many other films, including Kala Bazar (1960) and Kinare Kinare (1963).
Chetan Anand as Puran in the movie “Kinare Kinare” (1963)
screenwriter
Chetan Anand is the screenwriter. In 1950, he wrote the script for the film “Afsar” for the first time. He wrote scripts for several films, including “Haqeeqat” (1964), “Heer Raanjha” (1970) and “Kudrat” (1981).
Poster of the 1981 film Kudrat
Awards, Honors, Achievements
- 1946: Wins the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival for Neecha Nagar (1946)
- 1965: Second National Film Award for Best Feature Film “Haqeeqat” (1964)
- 1982: The film Kudrat won the Filmfare Award for Best Story (1981)
die
Chetan Anand died in Mumbai on July 6, 1997 at the age of 76.
Facts/Trivia
- Chetan Anand comes from a family of Hindi film actors, directors, producers and screenwriters.
- Due to his interest in politics, Chetan Anand became a member of the Indian National Congress in 1930.
- In 1930 he was working at the BBC.
- In the early 1940s, while teaching history at Doon School in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, Chetan Anand wrote a play based on Emperor Ashoka, which he later wrote in Bombay The script was presented to Indian film director Phani Majumdar.
- Chetan Anand was associated with the Indian People’s Theater Association (ITPA) in Bombay (now Bombay).
- Chetan Anand reportedly left a considerable portion of his wealth to Priya Rajvansh in his will, which included ownership of Anand’s luxurious beachfront bungalow in Juhu, Mumbai. As per the will, Priya has no right to sell the bungalow and it will return to Chitan’s sons after her death. Chetan Anand took this decision considering that Priya would be able to spend the rest of her life in the house that she and Chetan had shared memories of for two decades, and that his sons would not be deprived of their father’s property. According to some sources, the relationship between Priya and Anand’s son turned sour after Anand fell ill. Priya Rajvansh was murdered at Chetan Anand’s Ruia Park bungalow in Juhu, Mumbai on March 27, 2000. Chetan Anand’s sons Ketan Anand and Vivek Anand and two maids were charged with murder by the police.
- In 2007, Chetan Anand’s wife Uma Anand and son Ketan Anand wrote a book called “Chetan Anand: The Poetics of Cinema”, which tells the story of Chetan Anand’s life in Journey in Hindi Cinema. In 2008, Ketan Anand made a documentary about this.
- In the same year, retrospectives of his films were organized at the Stuttgart Film Festival and the India International Center in New Delhi.
- In 2013, India Post issued a commemorative stamp of Chetan Anand.
Chetan Anand commemorative stamp 2013
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education