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88 Facts You Didn't Know About Dev Anand

If Dev Anand was alive today, he would have turned a glorious 89.

The evergreen star of Hindi films left for his heavenly abode in December last year, leaving behind a rich legacy of films, iconic avatars and countless stories.

Here's revisiting some interesting facts about the legendary Devsaab...

You can read the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth parts here.

1. When Dev Anand met Charlie Chaplin

Dev Anand was a huge fan of the great actor and got a chance to meet him while Chaplin was residing in Switzerland after the American government termed him a leftist and asked him to leave the country.

True to his style, Chaplin took up residence in a villa and called it his white house.

When an Indian delegation including Dev Anand paid the actor a visit at his villa, Anand, who'd seen Chaplin's film The Great Dictator during his college days and admired it, couldn't help but exclaim, 'Hail Chaplin!' with his arm raised like Nazi soldiers.

Chaplin laughed and added jokingly, 'Welcome to my white house!'

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2. Meeting with other world cinema greats

Dev Anand was very well connected internationally too.

While he collaborated with the likes of nobel prize winner Pearl S Buck and Shirley Maclaine, he also had the privilege of making acquaintance with It's A Wonderful Life director Frank Capra when he came to attend India's first ever international film festival in Bombay and Italian filmmaker Vittorio de Sica (who made Bicycle Thieves) in Rome.

3. When he was mistaken for a taxi driver

While shooting for his film Taxi Driver, Dev Anand was offloading a passenger in front of The Taj Mahal hotel.

As soon as the take was over, a foreigner hastily got in the cab and asked the actor to take him to the 'Red Light District'.

It took several seconds for the wonderstruck man to recover when he was told about the star status of the 'cabbie'.

4. First trip abroad

Dev Anand's first trip was to Venice when he accompanied elder brother Chetan Anand for the screening of their film Aandhiyan.

5. His earliest role model

Dev Anand's first role model was his elder brother Chetan Anand.

Chetan had studied in London and was a man of intellect and refined tastes. While Dev Anand eventually grew out of his shadow, his early acting efforts were inspired by his elder brother's mannerisms.

6. Played tennis in college

The late star played tennis for his college and participated in inter-college tournaments but was, by his own admission, awful at it.

7. Where his famous beret finally rested

Dev Anand threw his famous beret at the crowd of eager fans at Swastik theatre when he emerged from Baazi's premiere.

It was caught by a teenaged girl.

Fifty years later, Dev Anand bumped into a girl while paying a visit to his dentist who turned out to be the granddaughter of his fan who'd caught the beret.

8. His daughter's name

His daughter, who he completely doted on, was named after his own and wife Kalpana Karthik's (her real name was Mona) names.

Dev and Mona when combined together became Devina.