Did you call Dev Anand a legend? Please don’t. He hates the tag.

“When people call me a legend I wonder why. I am still going strong, making pictures and am very much in the running as any of the top stars.

In fact I’m in a bigger role because while they are only performing, Iam writing and directing as well. So I am scoring over them and they still have to go 40-50 years to reach my status. And that’s not ego but a fact,” he smiles.

Indeed, the 84-year-old has a work brief busier than many of his younger counterparts, with a film ready to roll, another in conception and an autobiography on the verge of completion.

Right now he’s excited by the prospect of the release of his classic Hum Dono in colour.

The film, a Berlin film festival entry and a smash hit in India, could have become Dev Anand’s ticket to Hollywood.

“Pearl S Buck and others wanted to cast me in an English film, but I said I will choose my subject. Then Guide happened and we shot it separately in English.”

Dev saab counts Hum Dono’s double role among his most challenging performances.

“People admired me in that role and still remember me for the never-say-die philosophy of my character evident in his signature line … ek taang to hai!” he says.

If Hum Dono, which is scheduled for a January release works, then he plans to colour some of his other classics too. But doesn’t colouring the old films tantamount to playing with the appeal of the original?

“I think some of the musicals have the potential of being coloured,” he says.

“It’s the dark, mysterious films that shouldn’t be tampered, but romantic films look best in colour.”

Did he ever feel that Hum Dono’s Main zindagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya would end up being every smoker’s anthem?

“I think it’s an excuse for them. On a deeper note, it encourages one to dispel life’s sorrows in a careless way, just as you blow away smoke… har fikr ko dhuan mein udata chala gaya.”

Talking of living life king size, Dev Anand, who started documenting his life story two years back, is all set to launch his book Romancing With Life “with a big noise” on his 85th birthday on September 26.

“My book is a romantic, sexy one involving real people and emotions… it’s about an educated boy who struggled for two-and a- half years when he came to Mumbai in 1941, but did not have to look back for 61 years once he got his break. It also documents my perceptions of my own growth as well as the nation’s.”

So will it be the final say on his famous love story with Suraiya?

“Suraiya will be there and you can read a lot between the lines,” he says.

The book apart, he is quite kicked about his forthcoming film Chargesheet, which will be a whodunit quite in line with the thrillers Navketan has been always famous for. Does he ever heed what the critics say about his films?

“Filmmaking is my passion. I have been in it for 61 years and as long as my energy is there I will keep on making films as that’s the only thing I have learnt. The more I work, the better I am. Until my body says khatam karo, I won’t retire.”

The actor on his leading ladies

Suraiya – A good singer

Geeta Bali – A brilliant actress and dancer

Waheeda Rehman – Very domestic and emotional, not flirtatious

Asha Parekh – An all-rounder

Nanda – Wifely and sisterly

Sadhana – Very cute, pretty and totally fresh when we did Hum Dono

Nutan – Beautiful smile and lots of feminine charm.

Vyjayanthimala Bali – A very good dancer

Hema Malini – Beautiful eyes and an actress who has matured with age and experience

Zeenat Aman – Modern, clever and intelligent

Tina Munim – A cute girl with the sensibilities of her Des Pardes Character