When Dev Anand talked about losing his first love Suraiya ‘Had I gone to her, my life would have been different’

On the occasion of late superstar Dev Anand’s 99th birth anniversary, we recall the times when the actor talked about his first love, Suraiya. The two had worked together in quite a few films like Vidya (1948), Jeet (1949), Shair (1949), Afsar (1950), Nili (1950), Do Sitare (1951) and Sanam (1951). They fell in love while working on their first film together, Vidya. Also read: When Dev Anand said being in love ‘doesn’t mean you are sleeping with women all the time’

The two had quite a filmy love story which ended with Suraiya surrendering herself to family pressure. She remained unmarried until her death at the age of 74.

Dev Anand opened up about their love story in his autobiography, Romancing with Life. While talking about the book, he had said according to PTI, “It was destined that way. Had I gone to her, my life would have been different. Had I married her, life at her end would have taken me to a different course. Then may be I would not have been the Dev Anand I am today.”

Dev Anand and Suraiya had fallen in love when he saved her from drowning during the shoot of the song Kinare Kinare Chale Jayen Ge for the film Vidya. She slipped from the boat and Dev jumped into the lake to save her. Suraiya had once said in her interviews that she wouldn’t have been alive had he not saved her. This attracted her to Dev Anand.

They went on to meet each other despite opposition from Suraiya’s grandmother but the actor eventually gave in. It is said Suraiya was even planning to elope with Dev Anand but her grandmother got to know about it and ruined her plans. She was against their inter-religion love story.

Dev Anand accepted his destiny and said, “I fell in love for the first time. We all know what first love does to a human being. Then the agony of not getting it. Suddenly hope was aroused after being encouraged, but again disillusionment crept in when nothing happened.”

Dev Anand finally married Kalpana Kartik in 1954. They had two kids: son Suneil Anand and daughter, Devina.