Teen Deviyaan (1965)

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This post is two weeks late. Late, because it’s a tribute to the actress Kalpana, who passed away on January 4 this year. I didn’t get to know about her death till the 8th, and then – though I did want to do a tribute post – I couldn’t think of a film I hadn’t reviewed, and liked well enough to want to review. (Two of my favourite films – Professor and Pyaar Kiye Jaa – starred Kalpana, but I’ve already reviewed them. And other Kalpana films I’ve seen include Naughty Boy and Saheli – both of which I found almost impossible to sit through). Last weekend, in desperation, I watched Teesra Kaun, thinking I’d review that; but that was a disappointment too. So, finally: an old classic.  Not a great film, but very pretty. And a good Kalpana showcase.


Teen Deviyaan starts off to commentary by Ameen Sayani, as the camera moves through Bombay’s streets, showing love blooming – and sometimes nipped in the bud.
On one of these streets, the pretty Nanda (Nanda; all the main characters in Teen Deviyaan bear the names of the actors who play them) finds herself being – as she sees it – followed. The man, Dev Dutt Anand (Dev Anand), has been sitting in the bus beside her, and has bought a ticket for Dalhousie (after she’s bought one):


…and has now even followed her into the boarding house where she lives. At this point, Nanda loses her temper and yells at Dev, threatening to call the police. Instead, her shouting attracts the attention of the boarding house’s owners, Mr Pinto (Harindranath Chattopadhyay) and his wife (Ruby Myers). Mr and Mrs Pinto assure Nanda that she’s misunderstood this; Dev is their new lodger.


Nanda is sheepish and embarrassed. But Dev forgives her readily – and even sings a lovely song, quite apparently aimed at her, though he’s in his room and she’s in hers, watching each other only through a gap.
Within a couple of days, they’re good friends. In fact, Nanda is pretty much in love with Dev. He flirts with her, is sweet to her, even goes off on a day trip into the countryside with her.


Meanwhile, Dev has begun working at Merry Musical Stores. It’s been a shaky start – his boss, I S Johar (I S Johar, of course) flies off the handle when Dev turns up late on the very first day. But one day, I S Johar happens to come across a poem that Dev’s written and is so impressed that he quickly forgives Dev all his shortcomings and prays that Dev’s poems will soon get published. Hopefully some of Dev’s subsequent fame will rub off onto Merry Musical Stores too.


One evening, Dev’s sitting on a bench in a park when a passing car goes hurtling through a puddle, and Dev is liberally splashed. He calls out to the driver – a woman (Kalpana) – that something’s fallen off her car. Curious, she reverses, then gets out of the car to have a look around.
…giving Dev an opportunity to have his revenge for the drenching he received. He’s been fiddling with a hosepipe all this while, and now turns it on her, leaving her wet. And furious.


Even worse, when she gets into her car and tries to start it, it won’t start. Soon, a bunch of stragglers has collected. Instead of helping her, they spend all their time ogling her and passing comments. Finally, Dev takes pity on her and offers to attend to her car; the engine kicks in immediately, and Dev takes it upon himself to drive her to her home. She makes it quite clear that she doesn’t want his help, but Dev insists, and leaves her with no option but to agree.


By the time he gets her home – having draped his coat over her wet and shivering shoulders – this mysterious lady is rather more kindly disposed towards Dev, though she doesn’t show it. However, when he’s gone and she’s changing out of her wet clothes, she looks fondly down at his coat… and sees his notebook of poems sticking out of the pocket. She has a look through it.


And in the next scene, I S Johar has a piece of very good news to share with Dev: his book of poems has been accepted by a publisher! The first proof copies have arrived! Dev has arrived! I S Johar will be sending out copies to some of Merry Musical Stores’ clients.


One of these is the wealthy and influential socialite Radharani ‘Simi’ (Simi Garewal). Simi has received a copy of Dev’s book of poems and is completely bowled over by them. Dev happens to come to her home to deliver a piano and tune it for her. She, lying on the sofa, begins to exult over the poetry she’s been reading, and Dev owns up to being the poet.


Then, a couple of days later, a lady resurfaces in Dev’s life: the unknown woman to whom he had lent his coat. She’s in her car again, and offers him a lift.
It turns out that this woman is Kalpana, and she’s a famous actress. Her life’s a whirl of men trying to flatter her, making promises of laying their hearts at her feet, and so on. Dev’s failure to even recognise her has endeared him to her. She likes his candour, and the fact that he treats her as a friend, not as an idol.


She’s even bought him a new coat, which she hands over to him in the car, insisting that he wear it in exchange for his old coat.
And that isn’t the only time they meet. One day, Kalpana wheedles Dev into accompanying her for a shoot in the countryside. They have a minor mishap along the way, the car goes into a ditch, and Dev and Kalpana spend an interesting day getting to know the locals…


But remember that there are three ladies in this saga. Simi now comes back into the picture, with an invitation to a party at her home. Dev is reluctant to go, but I S Johar persuades him. Simi is vastly influential; she knows everybody worth knowing. She can give his writing career the boost it needs. Dev must go.
So Dev goes. He is an instant success. And he manages to convince both Simi and Kalpana that the dreamily romantic song he’s singing is for her.


Three ladies. One is the chic, genteel Simi who is eager to spend money on Dev, to further his career, and to perhaps have him as some sort of trophy husband?


Then, there’s Kalpana. Successful, popular, a famous face – but with a sadness in her eyes, which Dev correctly guesses to be loneliness. Kalpana admits it to him, too; she has seen the superficiality of the life that surrounds her, and she longs for someone to truly understand her, as a person, not just a beautiful face. Will Dev be that person?


And – sitting in the boarding house, helping Dev upstairs when he returns drunk from Simi’s party, is Nanda. Sweet, down-to-earth, the girl next door.


Which will Dev choose?

What I liked about this film:

The music. This is one of my favourite S D Burman scores: an array of delightful songs, each better than the next. My personal favourite of these songs is Khwaab ho tum ya koi haqeeqat, followed closely by Arre yaar meri tum bhi ho gazab. Likha hai teri aankhon mein kiska afsaana and Aise toh na dekho are also very good songs, though I’m not as fond of either Uff kitni thandi hai yeh rut or Kahin bekhayaal hokar.

Oh, the prettiness. The teen devis, of course; and Dev Anand – and some familiar faces, now and then.


What I didn’t like:

I last watched this film years ago on Doordarshan, and was left feeling disappointed. This time round, older and wiser, I thought I’d be better able to appreciate it. No such luck. The problem with Teen Deviyaan is that the story is too simple, the screenplay too flat to really hold your interest for long. Dev goes out with girl #1, and they sing a song. Dev goes out with girl #2, and they sing a song. Dev goes out with girl#3, and they sing a song. Dev cannot make up his mind whom he wants to spend the rest of his life with.

This would’ve been interesting if there had been better, more intense character development – or a peppier plot. Unfortunately, the film meanders from one Dev-and-girl rendezvous to another, and becomes increasingly tedious in the process. Nanda and Simi are pretty one-dimensional: Nanda is sweet and homey, Simi is elegant and wealthy. Of the three, the only one who may be interesting (though it isn’t taken any further) is Kalpana, the successful actress who hides a sad, lonely heart behind a laughing, flirting exterior.

Which, I suppose, does make Teen Deviyaan a Kalpana film – and a fitting tribute to the actress. RIP, Kalpana.

Note:

Teen Deviyaan is mainly in black and white, but with some scenes – towards the end of the film – in colour. These have been edited out of the Shemaroo DVD/VCD. I do remember these scenes having been part of the film when I watched them back in the good old days, and they form a critical part of the film. If you don’t find these in the film, don’t blame the director (Amar Jeet); blame whichever video production churned out that disc.

144 thoughts on “Teen Deviyaan (1965)”

  1. Yeah, those colour scenes! Wonder if they are in any copy of the circulating DVDs. Wonder why they should cut it out?

    Whom Dev will choose is a simple enough answer, so I won’t attempt to answer the question.
    Who is the director?
    Is this Simi’s first film?
    She looks beautiful and elegant as usual!

    BTW, why is Dev taking a ticket ffor Dalhousie in Bombay?

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    • I read somewhere that there was kissing in those colour scenes – only read this on some online forum, mind you, so I can’t say if that was true or not. Besides, I saw the film on DD so long ago, I don’t remember the details now (in any case, DD would have themselves censored any smooching!) But it’s silly for Shemaroo to have completely deleted those scenes, because what happens in those scenes is what leads Dev to decide whom he wants… without those scenes, it’s really a “Huh? What happened?” moment. The last minute or so of the movie is a completely inexplicable mess.

      The director is Amar Jeet (who also directed Hum Dono). And no, this wasn’t Simi’s first film – I don’t know which film she debuted in, but I’ve also seen her in Son of India (famous for that Nanha-munna raahi hoon song). That was back in 1962. She always looked so classy!

      Oh, some Bombaywallah will have to tell me why Dev and Nanda were buying tickets to Dalhousie. I thought it was the name of a landmark bus stop – like Flora Fountain.

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          • So sad, I watched the movie yesterday evening and got disappointed watching its climax. I went through different versions, result was same. I think I saw it earlier during my childhood days,mya be 7 or 8 yrs old on Doordarshan in the late 80s. I still remember, I think on weekends Friday or Saturday after 11pm there used to be a show on Doordarshan, Old hindi classics (only B&W movies). Feeling nostalgic thinking about those days when Doordarshan was the only source of entertainment.
            BTW your posts are indeed very nice, of high standard.. Thanks for sharing here

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            • Yes, those good old days of Doordarshan, when there was only one channel! (later, of course, the Metro channel was added, and we thought that was supersleek). My sister and I, I remember, used to watch pretty much everything that was aired – we even watched Graameen Bhaiyon ke Liye once or twice, because we were so bored. :-D

              But I loved the fact that we got to see so many old Hindi movies. Especially around election time: they’d show entire retrospectives, and that used to be fantastic. Almost all the popular movies (and some not so well-known ones, too) which I’ve seen I first saw as a child, on Doordarshan.

              Thank you for the appreciation. :-) I’m so glad you enjoy these posts!

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      • Finally, Rajesha Jee has posted the missing climax down below somewhere where it is difficult to find and view properly. As the reply sequence progresses, the post width reduces. It’s less than 5% of the page width where the video is posted presently. On my 20 inch screen, video is less than 2 cm x 2 cm. Not every one may know the trick to dbl click on video to make it full screen.
        Someone, please fix the video posting.
        Thank you.

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    • With so many comments in replies, What’s in the Color Climax, that I detailed in Sept 2016 post, perhaps is difficult to find. Please search for my 2016 comment, on this page and you will find it. It has all the details from my VHS copy.

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      • Actually there is no where we could see that colour climax. Searched all over the internet. Can it be digitised and posted in youtube or somewhere. please.. Since you have a VHS copy. May be you are the only ray of hope in this regard.
        there are 4 to 5 copies in youtube of the movie and none of them has the colour climax. :(

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        • I did convert that missing scene from VHS to DVD, some 2 years ago. Unfortunately, so far haven’t figured an easy way to convert from DVD to Youtube compatible format. I did send that DVD copy to 4-5 friends and also asked them to post it (reminded one of them just 2-3 days ago and he said he will) on youtube. Hopefully, it’ll get posted. I could mail the DVD to you, if you like.

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          • It would be a pleasure if i can have that DVD. I hope i can convert it using formatting tools. This is my address. Rajesha N. #2619, Lakshmi Nivasa, 12/A cross, V.V. Nagar, Mandya-571401

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            • Rajesh Jee,
              Just wanted to confirm your address. It’s Mandya KARNATAKA ??
              Once you confirm it, I will mail it to you. It’s already packed for you.
              Thanks.

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                • Hello Rajesh Jee,
                  I mailed the DVD today. Coming from Canada, so might take a while. I hope, you succeed in converting & posting the video clip.
                  Thanks.

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                  • Hello Rajesh Jee, Any luck receiving the DVD that I sent you 5-6 weeks ago ?? Please let me know. If not, perhaps it got into Customs hassle or Stolen as most of the times. Disgusted.
                    My next try will be sending it off to India with someone and they can mail it to you (Feb-March). Within India, packages mostly make it to their destination. Can’t say the same for cross border packages coming to India.

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                    • Rana ji, I received the DVD, I received two pacakges, back to back.
                      Thanks for sending, I was very much touched by your gesture. I really finding lack of words to express it. With this I understand, how I could behave with others.

                      I digitized and Shared it in youtube.

                      Thank you very very much. __/\__

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  2. Not the best Dev Anand film I suppose but so much loveliness in it. Nanda looks so cute and I love it when Dev sings Aise toh na dekho to her!! But I think my heart beats to the tune of Kahi bekhayal ho kar!! Sublime…

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    • Yes, Teen Deviyaan is a feast for the eyes and the ears, but that’s about it. Not one of my favourite Dev Anand films either. I’m wondering if they’d been trying to emulate one of those Hollywood screwball comedies – the type Cary Grant was so good at, or Rock Hudson – one good-looking and eligible bachelor being pursued by various girls, and not being able to choose… only, this didn’t have any comic element, and not much else other than his songs with the girls. :-(

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  3. I liked the songs. Full Stop. This was another Maya to me, though this was an interesting premise let down by the script – that of a man who was attracted to three different woman, and had to make a choice. So many interesting possibilities (that were squandered)… And quite a daring theme actually – after all, pyaar ek baar hi hota hai as Shahrukh so earnestly said! And here was a man who was in love with three women – simultaeneously! :))

    And as harvey said, no prices for guessing which ‘girl’ is the winner at the end.

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    • Yes, I thought there was scope there for an interesting story – something really zany, with him juggling the three girls and trying to make each one of them feel she’s his. Here he’s so wishy-washy and non-committal, it’s very boring. And it’s pretty obvious right from the start whom he’s going to choose (which is why that cutting away of the colour scenes doesn’t eventually matter!)

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  4. Great songs, but an average movie at best. I do remember the color piece, and it does connect some dots, but missing it not such a big deal. Actually, just 4 or so songs on you-tube is good enough, most of the rest could be eliminated :) (BTW, This is not to support such arbitrary chopping of movies by DVD companies, just that they got lucky.)
    And that Bombay-Dalhousie part, I thought this movie was set in Calcutta, I think I did see the Howrah Bridge in the initial parts. But then again, with impeccable Bollywood logic, one city is like any other city, and certainly one can buy a ticket to Dalhousie in Bombay :)

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      • I had plenty of offers to do just that. They even offered to extend it all the way to Buenos Aires, if necessary.
        Similar logic is used to show people traveling from the Bandra-Juhu area to Fort-Colaba-Nariman Point in a matter of minutes (or how much ever it takes to sing a song)

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      • One can argue that to look for ‘logic’ in films where the hero-heroine live in Jhumri Talaiyya and land in Switzerland for their songs is, well, worse than looking for a needle in a haystack!

        On the other hand, one can go anywhere on the wings of imagination – you folks don’t deserve to watch masala (read Bollywood) movies. :)

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        • Anu, one of the craziest examples I’ve seen of this geographical inconsistency is in the song Ae dost mere maine duniya dekhi hai from Sachchai. Shammi Kapoor and Sanjeev Kumar are friends who were in college together and had vowed that they’d meet after x number of years. Here, they’re coming together, walking towards each other as they sing:

          Only, if I can identify that correctly, Shammi Kapoor is in the Deccan (probably the Western Ghats), while Sanjeev Kumar is in the Himalayas. Yet they meet.

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            • And to think of all the money I’ve wasted on train/plane tickets to down south… *slaps forehead* – when all it needed was one song. And I do have a lot of friends and relatives scattered across Maharashtra and Chennai and Bangalore and Hyderabad etc – all I needed was to share a song and tell them to karaoke along with me. And zip! I’d have been there. Kya re. :-(

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              • But can you also look so lasciviously at your friends from toes to head and then get tears in your eyes. That is an essential component. Without that it won’t work. So work on that look! ;-)

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                • Listen. I have a fantastic idea. Why don’t you, me, Anu, pacifist, everybody who would like to meet up – do that? We’ll decide on one common song and then sing it all together at one time… and boom! We can meet up and watch a movie together.

                  BTW: Why the need for the lascivious look? Only friends, platonic – no lasciviousness needed. Just affection.

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                  • Most of the duets of sorrow of the hero and heroine were always sung with both of them miles away.And still not only, even the audience would be able to feel of ‘Viraaha’

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    • Samir, thank you for pointing out the Howrah Bridge. How can that have slipped my mind? Yes, you’re right – it is there at the beginning of the film, which means that Dev and Nanda would almost certainly have been going to Dalhouse Square (present day BBD Bagh). I’ve just had a look at the first scene all over again, and yes, there’s Bengali script on the side of the bus, and when the two of them get off the bus, the area behind does look like BBD Bagh.

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  5. The Howrah bridge scene was supposed to point out ‘world over’ it happens. ‘Whan bhi hota hai’ (Calcutta) and ‘yahan bhi hota hai’ (Bombay) – kisi ko kisi ki talaash.
    Only in the former case it was successful unlikw the latter in Bombay case.

    I’m 100% sure Dalhousie is the name of a bus stop. Probably there is a shop or building of that name next to it from which it gets its name.
    Otherweise they wouldn’t be buying tickets to the place dalhousie with coins, and without luggage on a local bus.
    So having done my bit re: explanation for these things LOL, now for the film.
    The film itself was as very very aptly put – songs and prettiness.

    I liked the way Dev Anand kept going to the countryside with two of the heroines (at different times) – to sing a song.

    I always did like Kalpana even if it was because I like any heroine who is not conventional looking otherwise they tend to look like one another, especially from 80s onwards.

    RIP Kalpana.
    Will always love Professor, Pyar Kiye Jaa, even Teen Deviyan, and didn’t really mind Naughty Boy as a time pass and enjoyed the simplicity of the sets.

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    • Have a look at my reply to Samir’s comment, pacifist – I think Samir solved that Dalhousie problem. :-) Oddly enough, despite seeing the Howrah Bridge at the start of the film, I never associated the film with Calcutta – unlike Raat aur Din or China Town, it doesn’t feel like Calcutta. It feels like Bombay. And how much a career an actress would have in Calcutta in the 60s (unless she was in Bangla cinema) is a question mark…

      Ah, I hadn’t noted that bit about Dev Anand keeping on going to the countryside with the heroines. He actually does go to Kashmir with Simi (where they sing Uff kitni thandi hai yeh rut), so perhaps that counts… that song always makes me want to say, “Instead of cribbing about the thandi, why don’t you put on some woollens?!”

      One Kalpana film which I want to see – I’ve seen only half of it, and it was quite madcap – is Biwi aur Makaan, with Biswajit, Keshto Mukherjee, et al.

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  6. @pacifist – my husband says there was a very famous building called Dalhousie in Bombay – so I think your explanation is the right one. :) Of course, as Samir says, one could always buy a bus ticket from Bombay to Dalhousie (wonder how many buses one would have to change!).

    re: cookie-cutter heroines – you’re right again that it was from the eighties that every one of them began to look alike – the same blow dried curls, the same horrendous dresses, the same overloud make-up, the same poses in still photographs. They all looked like they had come off an assembly-line. The 50s, the 60s and even the 70s had heroines who were very different individuals. That said, I’d never liked Kalpana as a heroine – but RIP indeed.

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  7. I did not see Teen Deviyaan but I think it wasn’t a box-office success, anyway the songs were really good. I can here them countless number of times.
    By the way did you know that Kalpana was briefly married to writer Sachin Bhowmick. Back then it was big news but the marriage was short-lived, I was surprised to see no mention of it in all the obituaries that were published in the newspapers.

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    • I think I remember reading about Kalpana having been married to Sachin Bhowmick at one time – I think someone mentioned it on a blog (possibly even this one!), but I did recall that she’d been married to someone pretty famous. Even when I was watching Teen Deviyaan and seeing her act the part of this outwardly-vivacious, inwardly-lonely actress, I was wondering if some of that was true of Kalpana in real life…

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  8. I love this film. It’s beautifully shot and is very contemplative and unique film. The lack of comic hijinks is great because that makes it more realistic. The story is great for it’s subtlety and lack of overblown emoting. One of my favorite Dev films and the only Bollywood film I’ve really loved lately.

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    • Let’s agree to disagree on this one, Upendra! But yes, I do agree that the ‘lack of comic hijinks’ is a definite plus point in Teen Deviyaan – a forced comic subplot (which seems to be almost ubiquitous in most Hindi films of the 60s) irritates me no end. Only a handful of films managed to pull it off effectively without letting it get intrusive.

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  9. I tell you, our world in the blogosphere is so beautiful with no calls and no people cancelling lectures, nobody who wants to be called only in the mornings, no criss-crossing of appointments, no mutliple calls, no students with visa problems, no referents who miss appointments, no people whom you have to coax to come to do something which is good for them.
    If I could, I wouldn’t leave blogosphere!

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  10. Starting a new thread here, re.: song to meet!
    That is a good idea! No, no lasciviousness between us. God forbid!

    I was talking about lasciviousness to describe the look which Sanjeev Kumar and Shammi give each other at the end of the song. I took the liberty to use the hyperbole.

    BTW did you notice that at the beginning of the song Rafi lends his voice for Sanjeev and Manna Dey for Shammi and then they switch! Running down the hills and across plateaus can make your voice osund different

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    • “BTW did you notice that at the beginning of the song Rafi lends his voice for Sanjeev and Manna Dey for Shammi and then they switch!”

      I didn’t even notice that! But, really, considering the two stars of this film – both men I really like – this film was such a dud. Awful. :-( Don’t ever watch it, if you haven’t already.

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  11. You guys are hilarious! :) My husband wondered what could be possibly making me laugh so hard. :)

    I would probably never watch Teen Deviyaan, but now I have the entire weekend to contemplate what kind of songs me and my friends could sing to magically appear in front of each other…Hope they will work in North America too — like uniting east and west coasts or something.

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  12. It was such a sad fact that most of the movies of 50s and 60s were great bore in spite of good star cast and directors. it may have a very loose screenplay or not very effective editing or this or that. music would invariably be good, but chances are that picturization may make you detest the song.
    Teen Deviyan songs were at least good to watch on the screen as well.

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    • Yes, considering the vast number of films the Hindi film industry churned out (and still churns out!), the ratio of good films to bad is depressingly low. Not just in the 50s and 60s, but even otherwise. Even then, though, I think barring a few really hard-to-sit-through exceptions, the 50s and 60s were at least entertaining. Some of my favourite movies are from that period.

      And yes, I agree about the songs of Teen Deviyaan were well picturised. I like that about them too.

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  13. I want to present my theory on the greatness of this film!

    This film is very ground-breaking — consider that there’s:

    1. No villain
    2. No family for Dev or the three deviyan (is there any other film without at least a Ma?)
    3. No comic relief

    The film’s conflict mainly revolves around one man’s mind and desire itself. It’s the ultimate realization of Dev’s urban persona seen in a different light from such fare as Taxi Driver, etc. He’s still a man of humble origins, but he’s no longer constrained by his urban settings (as he was before). He’s no longer a man at odds with the capitalist system appealing to the masses (being driven to crime and having to redeem himself) or burdened by the responsibilities of a rural past (in the form of a Ma). He instead revels in the opportunities inherent in the system and successfully manipulates his surroundings only to run into conflict in excess. (the dilemma of the man who has it all?).

    It’s fantastical maybe to have two great beauties like Nanda and Kalpana both in love with you — but a film must have it’s escapist qualities. The film is just lovely to look at and is like one’s dream of making it brought to it’s inherent end (with the slight hitch of the end)– the ending should have been tragic but the dream-like Nanda reunion was necessary to avoid alienating the formula of mainstream cinema much further.Raj Kapoor carried the tragic ending through in his Mera Naam Joker (which I think this film is a pre-cursor to) and the film was a major failure. :(

    So yeah, love <3 this. It's very European cinema-esque particularly like Michelangelo Antonioni.

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    • Oh, you didn’t need to do that, I am sure there are people who’d like Teen Deviyaan for what it is, even if I don’t – just as I freely admit that I hate some cult movies like Casablanca or Awara. It’s all a question of personal likes and dislikes; if, despite watching a film a couple of times, I still don’t like it much, I don’t know if trying to convince me that it’s good will convince me.

      But, if we’re debating this… well, the fact that there’s no villain isn’t unique, since I can think of other Hindi films too (Dekh Kabira Roya, Dholak, Pyaar Kiye Jaa, Professor, Prem Patra, etc) which also didn’t have villains. Even the lack of a comic sideplot wasn’t unique – again, I can think of other films that didn’t have one. And the lack of a family hovering in the background is actually one of the elements that Sidharth Bhatia talks about as being a hallmark of most of Navketan’s films (Jewel Thief is an example, Nau Do Gyarah another). Even though this film isn’t Navketan, it does conform to that rule of Navketan’s. Also, like Navketan’s heroines, the ladies here are very independent and self-willed – so, not unique. again.

      I don’t mind the premise of the story; I thought it had great potential. What I don’t like is the way it’s treated, without much imagination. After a while, it gets too tediously repetitive.

      But, as I said, I don’t expect everybody to agree with me!

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      • I meant unique in comparison to mainstream Bollywood. Yes, art filmmakers like Bimal Roy were unique too.

        Professor’s villains include the playboy and Lalita Pawar the shrieking banshee. Some of the others mentioned include villainous parents.

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        • I think,liking or not liking anything,why only films,comes from convictions and heart.To each is his own.
          If you like or dislike,no argument can convincingly change it.What is the need also ?
          I would prefer discussing the commonly agreeable things in a group.Agreeable to discuss,that is !
          -Arunkumar Deshmukh

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        • I would hardly call Bimal Roy an art filmmaker – he was pretty mainstream. And the films I’ve listed are also all mainstream, not art films.

          Also, I still don’t regard Lalita Pawar’s character in Professor as a villain – in fact, though she starts off being a bit of a martinet, she soon becomes a more likeable character, and I felt quite sorry for her. Salim Khan’s character is hardly villainous; more spineless than anything else.

          But, as Arunji pointed out, you’re entitled to your opinion. And I’m entitled to mine. ;-)

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  15. You don’t like Kahin bekhayal ho kar? It is a lovely song, rather slow but the poetry and music is amazing. I love all the songs of this film too. Saw the movie in bits and pieces on some channel, but didnt like it very much. I missed all the fun parts, i.e. the early ones.

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    • Compared to the other songs (except, possibly Uff kitni thandi…) I think Kahin bekhayal hokar falls a wee bit behind. It’s not bad – not at all – but I personally don’t like it as much as the others.

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  17. I was surprised to see that this post hasn’t been dedicated to Mr Dev Anand, but Kalpana, But then I got to know about her death through your blog. Sad ! But how these yesteryear stars are memorable even after their short stint in cinema. Coming to movie, You’re right that story-line is too simple, but yet so elegant and sweet. Plus, as everybody would agree, the timeless songs. Such a bunch of classy tracks in one movie. Dev Anand has done a ghost direction for this movie..

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    • Well, I’d been on a very long Dev Anand dedication roll (one ‘Dev Anand in Ten Moods‘ post, followed by a review of Sidharth Bhatia’s book on Navketan, followed by a review of Maya – I figured it was time to dedicate a post to someone else who’d passed away too. It’s sad that people tend to recall only the biggest stars, not the lesser-known actors, and very rarely those who were behind the scenes – unless they happened to be famous MDs, singers or directors.

      I had heard about Dev Anand having ghost directed Teen Deviyaan. That seems to make sense, in some ways… somehow I wasn’t being able to reconcile this film with Hum Dono (also directed by Amarjeet); both are so different.

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  18. Yeah right dustedoff…….You took a sweet step, Infact Kalpana had that charm in her that we can dedicate a post to her…and yeah Both movies are so different Hum Dono & Teen Deviyaan !!

    But Still Dev Anand has beautifully justified his romantic image in this movie….Nice analysis !!

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  19. Hi! I just found your blog through Google and I read through some posts! Have to say, I love your blog! :) By the way, my name is Sasha and I live in Singapore. :D

    I have the movie Teen Deviyaan, got it in my insane quest to find all of Dev’s movies and I watched it recently, but since it was the Shemaroo one – the colored scenes were edited out. I remember thinking, “Okay, what just happened?” when he just randomly comes out and is so happy cause he knows whom to choose. Did I mention that I hate Shemaroo DVDs because they cut everything off?

    Anyway, great post, and I hope you continue writing!

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    • Wow, Sasha. I mean, wow. Just 13, and you already know what’s good in cinema?! ;-) I am impressed. Way to go! I’m going to be checking back on your blog now and then to see what you have to say as you travel down the road of discovering Dev. I’ve reviewed some of his films on this blog (in fact, quite a few of them). He’s definitely one of my favourite actors – particularly in the late 50s and the early 60s.

      Yup, Shemaroo need to be probably hung, drawn and quartered. They’re awful. So are Friends and a whole lot of other video processing companies. They’re so bad, they encourage one to turn to piracy. :-(

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      • Oh yes, I’ve been loving the Golden Era since I was nine! ;) Guess it helps if your grandma is a Raj Kapoor fan. I know quite a lot of his movies, and love them, but not the seventies stuff. Oh no. I avoid anything after Johny Mera Naam. That time I watched Hare Rama Hare Krishna… I nearly flung my laptop across the room when he started preaching. And I ended up banging my head so hard on the pillow that I wound up with a terrible headache. The other time I happened to see Joshila on TV… I nearly cried.

        YES. YES YES YES. That time my Nau Do Gyarah DVD was spoilt (curse you Shemaroo!), I had to go fight it out for an exchange, ended up with a T-series copy, and guess what? No subtitles! Thank God that I could understand Hindi… or else I would’ve exploded. >:(

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        • I think Dev Anand’s best films are the ones between the early 50s and the mid 60s. CID is my favourite, with Nau Do Gyarah a close second. Beyond that, his movies get increasingly hard to bear. I watched Joshila because I like that song in it – Kiska rasta dekhe – but it was so awful, I wished I hadn’t wasted my time on it.

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  21. At home I grew up speak Katchi and Gujrati, so Hindi I only picked up from watching movies (what helped me the most was watching the whole of Mahabharat with subtitles as a child – by the end of it I could speak!) Over the year I’ve practised it with friends and can now speak it pretty well. But of course as a child I would be singing the songs without knowing what they meant at all.

    My favourite was: LIKHA HAI TERI AANKHON MEIN FISKAANAA FASAANAA!

    Hehe, I also loved: SUN SAAIBA SUN, PYAAR KI DHUN, TERE LIYE SAAIB, NAACHUNGI MAIN BAAYGA!

    I had Naughty Boy on my list of films to watch – shall I remove it? I will instead add Pyar Kiye Jaa. I saw Suraj yest – it wasn’t bad but would have been more enjoyable with Shammi Kapoor or Dharmendra. I’m now watching Heer Ranjha and its shockingly dreadful! Hence I’m not even looking at the screen right nw and instead typing this!

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    • Hehe. I have somehow never been keen on watching Heer Ranjha – neither of the leads inspire me (in fact, both of them generally irritate me).

      Pyaar Kiye Jaa is certainly worth a watch. Lots, lots of fun. Naughty Boy, in my opinion, is pretty avoidable.

      I can sympathise with your mondegreens! Even though I grew up in a household speaking Hindi and English, Hindi film songs often have words that one doesn’t come across in everyday usage. No wonder for a long time I thought the song in Guide went “Kehte hain, jaani, duniya hai faani“! :-D

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  22. I am 13 and a big fan of Dev Saab
    Hum Dono rocked me and Guide stunned me
    Funtoosh made my stomach ache and Jewel Thief left me clueless
    Kala Pani was awesome and Prem Pujari was fabulous
    Johny Mera Naam was gr8 and Heera Panna made me cry
    Shareef Budmaash,Joshila,Des Pardes,Warrant,Ishk Ishk Ishk and Paying Guest were too good

    I have a collection of 70 Dev Anand movies

    I was unable to get Teen Devian and searched for it for quite a long time.I got the shemaroo dvd of Teen Devian.I saw that the certificate was ‘A’. I searched the net and got to know that it was because of the kissing scenes in colour,that were missing from the dvd.I dont feel that kissing is adultic. I think that any other company shall produce a dvd of the movie and get it censored from the modern day censor board to get a ‘U’ or ‘U/A’ certificate without any cuts

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    • I remember having seen the film a long time back on TV (when I wasn’t even 13!), and it never did have those kissing scenes, even back then – they were probably removed even before release.

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    • Thanks!I liked your review, too. I agree this isn’t one of Dev Anand’s best films (personally, I think the plot is too flimsy), but it’s a good watch, anyway. Even if only for the songs.

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  24. For me Teen Devian was great because the era in which it was made most Hindi commercials were tear jerkers and foolishly emotional. This one was quite refreshing. Where else can you find in one movie a handsome hero, his three beautiful heroines with a story ahead of its times plus superb music. What was shown in this movie is more relevant today in India.

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  25. Could you tell me what happened in the hypnosis? Was that never part of the film? The first time I saw the film on Doordarshan I thought they edited the scene, but later when I saw it on YouTube, I still cannot see it. Any idea if it was there in the theatrical release?

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  26. Lovely songs, nostalgic about an era gone by, my early childhood with single channel doordarshan.Handsome and debonair dev anand,sweet Nanda,smart and dapper similar,charming and cute kalpana. Memories, great soft numbers. Black and white era at its charming best!!

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  27. http://www.zulm.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=9352&p=106669&hilit=teen+devian#p106669

    SPOILER ALERT———-MAY BE.

    This much is in the DVD:
    Dev is really puzzled who to select as his wife. He can’t make up his mind. He sees a Fortune Teller Window. He goes in.

    The following is missing: (In Color)
    The Fortune Teller uses a magic crystal ball for Dev to discover what will happen in his married life. Dev sees through the Crystal Ball.

    First Kalpana Honeymoon scene and then friction between Kalpana the actress vs jealous Dev.
    Simmi Honeymoon scene and later show Simmi wants abortion.

    As far as I remember, Nanda episode is not in crystal ball or elsewhere.

    End Color sequence.

    Rest is in the DVD.

    Rana

    Rented Esquire VHS. It’s 2 hrs 20 min. Color sequence that I described is 12.5 min, out of total discrepency of 14.5 min. So, the DVD (Shemaroo or IAVC) is just missing this color reel climax of the film.

    BTW, in the color sequence, segments from the song “Aise To Na Dekho” are filmed on Kalpana and as well as on Simi. Nanda too, appers in the color sequence but for less than one minute.

    Further to Teen Devian climax Missing in DVD:

    1) Film CC (no date, but looks like the orig release): 4186 meters which is 152.5 min. But, it also says 15 reels so film must have been 150 min max ??

    2) It’s available in VHS, Color portion is 12.5 min. It must have been close to 20 min. Once it’s over 10 min, you need a new color reel. Why waste expensive (at that time) 7.5 min of color film ?? From this I must conclude that some scenes are cut in the color sequence.
    Moreover I distinctly remember 2-3 scenes in the color sequence that were definitely there when I saw it in theatre, in the 1960s, and are not IN now.

    3) VHS is 139 min and is 4% speed up making it 144.5 min film time.

    4) DVD is 125 min and is 4% speed up, which is 130 min film time. Annoyingly, Climax is totally missing.

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    • Wow! Thank you for all that information. I had seen what I thought was the original Teen Deviyaan on Doordarshan years ago, but from your comment, I can see that even that was a heavily edited version.

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      • Finally got the climax,read it now. Thank you Rana.
        Yet those scenes don’t look too convincing…Too much filmy and no surprising element. Even the director is not trying to do something new

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  28. The color climax scene is essential to understand the whole movie plot and that is why it was in color to explanation what if scenario in all three deviyan or goddesses.

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  29. Here I am a product of the west, maybe somewhat influenced by Hindi cinema of the early 70’s due to my youth, and boy was I incredibly stunned by Kalpana’s beauty. I know this sounds superficial; I know nothing of the actress, and it’s bad to idolize her, but it took me some time to get her name extracted from a youtube video that had her. Her eyes, her smile, some traditional Indian modesty… Too bad I couldn’t have seen her videos while she was alive.

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  31. Hello,
    Are you all taking about this video?

    I have no idea, about a color part of the movie. But when I searched, I got this video!
    Is it the one?
    I haven’t seen the movie, but does he choose Nanda finally?
    From the color portion, it seems that he doesn’t go well with either Kalpana or simmy.
    Nanda says him to forget about her.

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    • Yes, this is the missing segment from Teen Devian.
      But, what I was asking to fix the video posting was by Rajesha, which is difficult to find on this page. It also has 1-2 minutes before the color sequence and another 1-2 min after the color sequence to end the film. This extra 3-4 min put the color sequence in perspective.

      Searching on you tube, now I did find a few postings of what you posted. All are recent ones (4-5 months). Until then, this color sequence was nowhere on youtube.

      BTW, Nanda does not say to him to forget about her. Instead, she says, I will never be an obstacle in your way. This is in contrast to Kalpana for whom her career is more important and Dev’s feelings mean nothing and also in contrast to Simi, who does not want to lose her beauty and social status by having his child, wants an abortion that Dev does not agree to and hence they fight goodbye.

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  32. Rana ji,
    Here’s the climax video by rajesha ji

    I found the comment, and the video too.

    I think this is the one. It has a few minutes before the color part.

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  33. Loved your review. Yes, this is one of those films which I loved watching when I was a kid, and though do not remember the plot, reminisce about it with nostalgia. As you said, perhaps, more than 3 decades later, I may not enjoy it that much now.

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    • Thank you! I’m so glad you enjoyed the review. Yes, I suppose age and experience makes us less forgiving of the flaws in a film, but still: at least the wonderful music and the general watchability of films like these make them likeable even now. Possibly not lovable, but certainly likeable.

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  35. Kahin bekhayal ho kar is a top class poetry and very difficult to sing too. I think only Rafi Saab could have done justice to this melody which, he very superbly does. If you don’t believe me then try to sing it without getting besura. Hats off to the Maestro 👍🙏🥰

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