Lessons from an ageing film star

Dev Anand, the evergreen actor celebrated his 83rd birthday onSeptember 26th. A commendable feat is that he is still active, stillmaking movies and still full of zest. At an age, when many who arestill alive have either fully or partially retired, Dev Saab carrieson unabated. However, looking at things from another point of view,the view of the film lover, his fans and the market, I am reminded ofa quote by the late cricketer Vijay Merchant who retired from theplaying field at the peak of his career. When asked why he retiredwhen he still had plenty of cricket ahead of him to all intents andpurposes, Vijay Merchant replied that people should fade out at a timewhen people ask " why" and not linger on till people begin asking "whynot "

Dev Anand was a great actor of his time and his film "Guide" isconsidered as one of the all time greats of Hindi cinema. Along withDilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor, he was part of the super star triumvirateof Bolly wood of the 50s and the 60s and even till the 70s. the moviesof the time – Hum Dono , Jewel Thief, Black Mail , Kala Pani , TaxiDriver and many , many others were not only box office hits but werealso known for their melodious music and giving breaks to singers andcomposers like Kishore Kumar and R.D.Burman and gave opportunities toveterans like S.D.Burman .

Those days are over. The movies that Dev Anand now makes are hardlywatch able. Mediocre plots, obscure casts, ordinary music and littledistribution channels ensure that only through the media does thepublic get to know about movie Dev Saab is making, what is its titleand what is its plot? You will hardly see these movies being screenedin the multiplexes or even the other movie halls and their DVDs Are rarely available too. Bollywood, which may respectfully call DevAnand, Dev Saab is ultimately ruled by the market and knows that hismovies do not really matter any more as no body watches them.

Looking through Dev Anand's life and work, I thought that there arelessons that we as Christians can learn – lessons that the Bibleteaches us but are best learnt perhaps when there are illustrations.Dev Anand was once a relevant, meaningful film maker who madebeautiful films but he chose to over judge his relevance and slowlybecame obsolete. The Bible teaches us that "Man born of woman is offew days and full of trouble. He springs up like a flower and withersaway; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure."( Job 14:1-2 (NIV).Also As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flowerof the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its placeremembers it no more(Ps 103:15-16 (NIV)

But looking at the way some of us and our organizations work, it wouldappear that we feel that the above verses will pass us by. So we carryon and on and on far past our glory days and never ever adapt orchange or give way. The result is that a glorious and productive pastwhich is worthy of remembrance gives way to a dubious present which isaccompanied only by a passive tolerance if not outright derision andridicule. Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 reminds us that there is a time forevery thing. It will be helpful to the legacy we leave behind if welisten to the verse, give away our existing roles when the time isproper and adapt and accept new and meaningful roles that are right and proper for us.