The Hindu Business Line : Lessons from a creative life

I recently had the good fortune to meet and speak with Dev Anand at the launch of his autobiography, Romancing with Life. The horde of adoring fans was testimony to the charisma of the film star, and it was reassuring to find that age has not dimmed his appeal – he held the audience in the palm of his hand with his savoir faire and his charm.

Yet, even as I continue to be a fan of Dev Anand’s early black-and-white films in the ’50s and ’60s, what inspires me is not Dev Anand the actor, nor Dev Anand the producer-director. What I marvel at is the amazing creative potential of the man and his effervescent optimism. He is 84, going on 85. He’s just written a huge tome looking back at over six decades of life spent acting, producing, writing and directing films. And going by his optimism and positive outlook, this must have been the only time that he looked back. His eyes are relentlessly fixed forward – the next new idea to excite his curious mind, the next insight he can use to sculpt a story, the offbeat location for his next film. Even as he careens around India and the world on a book tour that would be punishing for a person half his age, he talks of wanting to know the feedback to his book because he would learn more from humanity and who knows what creative impulse that could set off!

His autobiography is itself an interesting piece of work – the reviews so far have focused mainly on the purple prose and personal revelations on his relationships, but I believe a look at his creative output offers many learnings for an organisation interested in improving its innovation quotient and creative spirit.

For one, he is a decisive risk-taker. He doesn’t look for partners in his risk – when he found his brother Chetan Anand could not get buyers for movies with artistic potential, he was moved to creating his own production house, Navketan Films, so that he could fund and support ideas which were different, becoming a young producer at the age of 27, barely 10 films old in the industry. Navketan was quite unusual among its contemporaries in its sources of inspiration, its determination not to plagiarise and an urge to explore new ground.

The Navketan team itself demonstrates the kind of creative fusion that results when different talents mesh smoothly: the artistic and intellectual vision of Chetan Anand (who directed probably the earliest Indian film to win an award at Cannes), the brooding intensity of Guru Dutt (considered one of India’s greatest directors), the stylish direction and choreography of Vijay Anand (emulated to this day by modern day moviemakers), and Dev Anand’s screen presence and willingness to fund avant-garde themes. Individually, each had a very different approach to film-making, yet their abilities coalesced to form a team that created films that experimented with controversial themes, had superb music, introduced vibrant new actors, and were both commercial hits as well as standing the test of time critically. It is also interesting that when this team fell apart Navketan lost a lot of its pizzazz. Navketan’s last few films have been box-office clunkers and not exactly oozed critical acclaim – which is why Dev Anand’s continuing production of flops evokes so much criticism. Yet, since he funds them himself and is not disturbed by their outcome, the commercial impact is not a deterrent to him.

Here are some pieces of wisdom from his autobiography, which can be of value to creative minds in all walks of life.

On what is the core of a good film: “Big money does not necessarily make a big film. While big money can help structure a big film project with glitter and shine, it cannot give it the spine it needs to be a hit. A good story is the soul of a good film.”

On the success of Guide, which was widely expected to flop, with its controversial theme of adultery and spirituality: “Personally for me, the most rewarding award was that I had dared to gamble on a bold subject and come away with accolades. When you are going into a territory hitherto unknown and obscure, away from the beaten path, the world often laughs at you and ridicules you. … Taking risks can at times be dangerous. But they are worth taking nevertheless, for without risks, there can be no extraordinary achievements”

On flops and failure: “Ishq Ishq Ishq was my biggest disaster at the box office. But it was the most inspiring and exhilarating experience for my own growth and enlightenment. The film taught me resilience. A broken nose sometimes makes a great boxer.”

On the essence of the creative spirit: “I did not care whether the film was a hit or a flop, whether it was accepted or discarded, condemned, ridiculed or praised to the skies, so long as the thought and the message I had tried to convey got released into the atmosphere, for people to see and hear and to react to.”

When asked about the happiest and most exhilarating moment of his life: “This one is!”

For organisations wishing to generate a stream of ideas, practise failure tolerance, encourage risk-taking, learn trend-spotting; for any one wondering how to stimulate creative energy and to look with undeterred optimism at the future, Dev Anand’s creative journey can be an inspiration and a guide for not just improving innovation, but indeed, fostering an enthusiasm and appreciation for life.

(Radhika Chadha is a consultant in strategy and innovation. Karate-gy is the proprietary name of the strategic exercises conducted by Paradigm Management Knowhow Ltd).

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