Hum Dono

by Tanuja Chaturvedi

Brand New

Paperback

Published January 1, 2024

Reviews

[Laya · Rating 4 out of 5]

A much deserved documentation of one of the best director-actor collabs of Indian cinema, that too from an insider who was a film student. Loooved reading the chapters on Guide, Teesri Manzil and Jewel Thief (which are unsurprisingly my favourite of their Collab + my favourite three film run of a director in Bollywood).

It also does suffer a bit from the insider-ism but it's best to treat the book as a lovely ode, deep from the heart of a fan. It was also so vindicating to read the paragraphs on Goldie's songs because watching his songs was what made him one of my all time favorite auteurs.

[Rahul Vishnoi · Rating 5 out of 5]

-Story of a Cinematic Genius-
Review of 'Hum Dono'

Hum Dono is a reminiscing of the brilliant cinematic journey of a genius who has largely been forgotten by the Indian Film Industry. It is none other than the director of legendary movie Guide (based on the eponymous Sahitya Akadami Award winning novel of RK Narayan) and superstar Dev Anand's brother- Vijay Anand, lovingly called Goldie, abbreviated version of a nickname given by his father because of his golden curls (Goldilocks).

Since the writer was chief assistant to Dev Anand, the book is filled to the brim with insider knowledge and delightful anecdotes. It painstakingly traces the journey of the two brothers through their filmography, detailing the process of nine movies which are- Nau Do Gyarah, Kala Bazar, Hum Dono, Tere Ghar Ke Samne, Guide, Teesri Manzil, Jewel Thief, Johny Mera Naam and Tere Mere Sapne.

An invaluable treasure for cinema students, Hum Dono is equally delightful for the cinema goers too. Soaked in nostalgia as well as stories, the book is an earnest homage to Vijay Anand. The stories like how Vijay narrated the story of Nau Do Gyarah in a ride to Mahabaleshwar to Dev who immediately cancelled the movie he was going to make and greenlighted the one his brother wrote. Chaturvedi shares how her students are impressed with the filmmaking technique of Anand when she shows them his movies, marveling at the complex takes and shots.

My favorite portion from the book is of course the detailed chunk dedicated to Guide. It's mesmerizing to know about the movie that's considered quite ahead of its times. Don't miss this book.

[Rammesh Venugopal · Rating 1 out of 5]

Could have been great.

Poor research. Lots of factual errors like 16 track recording in 1964 for Guide. Resp reso used in Padosan song mentioned as sound of plastic comb. Geeta Bali dying of chicken pox.And so on. This could have been a great book.

[Deepanjali B Sarkar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Growing up we spent many delightful weekends having Dev Anand retrospectives on VCR as my dad (Pradip Bhattacharya) was a big Dev Anand fan. Even as a young teenager, the first time I saw Jewel Thief on Doordarshan I remember being awed by the story telling technique, the marvellous twist in the end, the wry humour of the last scene, the fabulous songs. This film felt modern, intelligent and not the maudlin sentimental love story that all other Hindi film directors churned out. That was the first time I saw a Vijay Anand film and over the years my admiration for him has only grown as I have learnt to appreciate cinema in a deeper way.
For all those who have loved Vijay Anand’s movies this book by Tanuja Chaturvedi is a must read. Tanuja Chaturvedi was Dev Anand’s Chief Assistant Director and interacted with both Dev Anand and Vijay Anand closely over the decades.
In this book she talks in detail about each of Vijay Anand’s films. I found her analysis of his song picturizations particularly interesting (the camera work in “O Haseena Zulfon wali” from Teesri Manzil” and “Hoton pe aisi baat” from Jewel Thief”.
But the book’s title is Hum Dono and is also about Dev Anand. The chapter in Guide makes us realise how incredibly brave Dev Anand had been to think of producing this film. Even after the disaster of its English version, he was so committed to the story that he went ahead and shot the Hindi version - and what a classic it is!
There is a lovely anecdote of Guide. Hasrat Jaipuri was originally the lyricist but his songs didn’t excite Dev Anand and Vijay Anand. When they went back to him, he told them with derision - how could they expect better lyrics for a pimp (Raju, the Guide’s character in Guide). Both the director and producer were shocked that that is how Hasrat Jaipuri saw the hero and Shailendra’s was brought in to compose the lyrics.
The author’s love and admiration for the Anand brothers colours her writing, the book being a sort of guru dakshina to Dev Anand whom she looked up to as her mentor.