Legendary actor Dev Anand, the ‘evergreen romantic superstar’ of Indian cinema, died in London on Saturday night following a cardiac arrest. He was 88.

Dev Anand, was in London for medical check up, was not keeping well for the last few days, family sources said. His son Sunil was with him when he breathed last.

Amitabh Bachchan on Sunday morning tweeted, “Just reading news about Dev Saheb.. praying it is not true… He was such a positive person.. never associated death with him..”

Dev Anand made his debut as an actor in 1946 in ‘Hum Ek Hain’. By the time his ‘Ziddi’ was released in 1947 he was a superstar and has never looked back.

Versatile Dev Anand has given countless hits like ‘Paying Guest’, ‘Baazi’, ‘Jewel Thief ‘, ‘CID’, ‘Johny Mera Naam’, ‘Amir Garib’, ‘Warrant’, ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’ and ‘Des
Pardes’.

For his outstanding contribution to Indian cinema, Dev Anand was honoured with the prestigious the ‘Padma Bhushan’ in 2001 and ‘Dada Saheb Phalke Award’ in 2002.

He established his film production company ‘Navketan International Films’ in 1949 and has produced more than 35 movies.

Dev Anand won two Filmfare Awards – India’s equivalent of the Oscars – in 1958 for his performance in the film ‘Kala Paani’ (Black Water) and in 1966 for his performance in ‘Guide’.

‘Guide’ went on to win Filmfare Awards in five other categories including ‘Best Film’ and ‘Best Director’ and was sent as India’s entry for the Oscars in the foreign film
category that year.

He co-produced the English Version of ‘Guide’ with the Nobel Laureate Pearl S Buck (‘The Good Earth’).

In 1993, he received a Filmfare ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ and in 1996 he received a Screen Videocon ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’.

Of late he was involved in the direction of a new all American film Project ‘Song Of Life’ – a musical love story which was to be shot in the United States.

He was to play the central character in the film which was to have a predominantly American star cast.

Dev Anand is the second of three brothers who were active in Hindi Cinema. His brothers are Chetan Anand and Vijay Anand. Their sister, Sheel Kanta Kapur, is the mother of renowned film director Shekhar Kapur.

In what can be considered a record of sorts, yesteryear actor Dev Anand’s biography is selling like hot cakes, with 30,000 copies already sold. His autobiography, Romancing With Life, has beaten the sales of Shah Rukh Khan’s biography Still Reading Khan written by Mushtaq Khan which has found 20,000 buyers so far. South superstar Rajinikanth’s popularity too just saw 10,000 copies of his biography being picked up the shelves, even as a second edition is in the pipeline.

Evergreen, debonair, urbane and classy are words which have described Devdutta Pishorimal Anand or simply Dev Anand aptly during parts of his six-decade film career and often throughout.
Be it at the beginning of his career, the zenith or what some would call, though the man himself vehemently denies, the fag end, the octogenarian Bollywood legend has staunchly refused to look back.
But that was till now.This self-styled torchbearer of the future has now decided to chronicle his life and times and to a large extent that of Bollywood in an autobiography, however, without pausing for a breath.

Romancing with Life oozes the essence of Dev: flamboyance, drama and panache in his inimitable style. In his memoir, Dev takes you through the journey of his life in classic filmi style, starting from his early days of struggle in Bollywood, to his relationship with his siblings, his crazy fans, his association with directors, actors and of course his heroines.
Dev Anand is something of a Bollywood institution.  In Romancing with Life, the first-ever full-fledged memoir by a leading Bollywood star, he tells his remarkable life story—no less dramatic and gripping than any of his films—like only he can. Here are tales from Dev’s youth in 1930s Gurdaspur and Lahore; his years of struggle in 1940s Bombay; his friendship with Guru Dutt and his doomed romance with Suraiya; his marriage to co-star Kalpana Kartik; his relationships with his brothers Chetan—who brought him to Bombay—and Vijay Anand—who directed him in hit after hit, with S.D. and R.D. Burman, who provided the memorable music for his films, with his compatriots Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor, to both of whom he was very close, and with his heroines, from Geeta Bali, Madhubala, Meena Kumari, Nutan, Vyjayanthimala, Mumtaz and Hema Malini to Waheeda Rehman, Zeenat Aman and Tina Munim, all of whom he launched.

Romancing with Life is a fine account of a superstar who has lived on his own terms and conditions. Yes, it has several superfluous elements in it, but still one can’t ignore the intricacies of a Great Star who continues to look forward to future with a childlike intensity. It’s worth being an attraction in your book shelf.

A career spanning six decades, with more than 100 films and in the roles of actor, singer, writer, producer and director, Dev Anand has donned many hats.

The 84-year-old veteran actor who is still young at heart is ready with his autobiography called Romancing With Life, which will be released on September 26, on his birthday.

The autobiography of evergreen Dev Anand titled Dev Anand: Romancing With Life, will be released on his 84th birthday on September 26th in New Delhi by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The launch will be followed by subsequent releases in Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore. The launches will then proceed to Europe, US and Canada.

Dev Anand is set to tour the US, UK and Europe for the promotion of his book. And next on his agenda is the starting his next film Chargesheet.

Even in old age, Bollywood legend Dev Anand is indefatigable.Reports have it that the US bombing of Baghdad and the disquiet it caused among people worldwide has spurred Dev Anand to pen his autobiography.

“It was in 2003 when the US began bombing Saddam Hussein’s palaces. I was in US then. I saw people were disturbed with the scale of destruction. I immediately wrote down my feelings. Then I realised I could write my feelings when it came from the heart,” Dev Anand is quoted as saying.

Soon he started writing his autobiography, titled ‘Romancing With Life’.The book spread over 500 pages reflects on the former superstar’s ecstasy, sorrows, and achievements spanning over his 62-year-long career.

“I was being approached for a biography. However, I was not keen, as my life could not have been told better than myself. The US bombing provided me the right impetus to write my autobiography,” he said.