BIRTH ANNIVERSARY: ANAND KE DOST DR KULKARNI ANAND SE MILNE CHALE GAYE .... (RAMESH DEO NE ALVIDA KEH DIYA) BY - ALI PETER JOHN

Life was one long show for him, a show which lasted sixty-seven years till the curtain came down at 8 30 pm on February 2 - Ali Peter John

What else but a show was life for Ramesh Deo who started his acting career in 1955 and went on to be one of the most illustrious careers in India, a man who held the extraordinary record of working in two hundred and eighty-five Hindi films, one hundred and ninety Marathi films was the center of attraction in ninety Marathi plays which collectively had more than two hundred shows all over Maharashtra, a man who had made two hundred ad films and was a part of hundreds of other shows for films, television and theatre besides many countless state level and national level awards.

What was the Guinness Book of Records doing when Ramesh Deo went on breaking one record after another without worrying about awards and applause? That he was active till he was in his 80s is a feat no other actor anywhere must have accomplished.

I met Ramesh Deo and his actress wife Seema Deo in their simple apartment in "Meghdoot". They had invited me for lunch and today more than forty years later I remember the entire course of the meal served to me and prepared by Seems Deo herself.

The chapatis and the bangda curry together with the chutney also prepared by Seema was the highlight of the lunch.  It was during this long lunch meeting that the lovable couple told me the story of their lives which I didn't realize would be of use to me today when I am destined to write my tribute to Ramesh Deo who must have been reduced to ashes as I write this tribute to him .....

Ramesh belonged to a royal family which had its ups and downs and he took a serious liking for acting he was only in his early 20s when he made his debut as an actor in Marathi films.

That was the beginning of a career that didn't seem to end. The Marathi films he did as a hero are too many to be enumerated here, but it must be said that he was nothing less than good in almost all the films he did.

It was while he was involved in work right up to a point when he had no time for anything else, he met his future wife who was from the Saraf family but changed her name to Seema Deo after they got married.

The Ramesh Deo and Seema Deo team had grown amazingly popular for more than three decades. They had two sons, Abhinay and Ajinkya. Abhinay is an acclaimed director after he made films like Delhi Belly and Blackmail and Ajinkya is a known actor and director in Marathi films.

Ramesh Deo was soon recognized by Hindi filmmakers and he was the favorite of directors from the South and directors like Dev Anand and Sunil Dutt from Bombay.

He was a star in a class of his own when Hrishikesh Mukherjee who was making "Anand" with Rajesh Khanna decided to take a risk by signing both Ramesh Deo and Seema Deo to play the doctor couple in Anand.

And the roles played by the couple are a very crucial part of the magic of Anand. All the characters in "Anand " have grown into cult figures and the Deo couple are as much a part of every middle-class family during the last fifty years as Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan.

Ramesh Deo was typed as the villain in several films and worked with Rajesh Khanna, Jeetendra, and Shatrughan Sinha in several Hindi films. The generation which saw his Hindi films remember the song, Jaise ko taise mila to this day.

Ramesh Deo played an active part in the affairs of the Marathi film industry and had contacts with the most influential and powerful politicians of Maharashtra. And could get things done for the industry and he did.

Age started catching up with him, but he kept looking handsome even when he was in his 80s. And his passion for work can be felt when he worked even when he was nearing 90. And Jolly LLB was the last Hindi film he did.

Only last year, his wife Seema who was married to him for more than sixty years was diagnosed with dementia and life was not the same again.

I had a kind of premonition about Ramesh Deo a few days ago and like many other premonitions I have had, this was also a premonition that had to come true. Ramesh Deo is one of the last big characters and celebrities who came into my life and he too has left to perhaps join Anand ( Rajesh Khanna ).

And I have a fear that I may soon have no more celebrities who I can remember with pride. I know all those who are born have to die, but however hard I may try, I find it difficult to find replacements for amazing men like Ramesh Deo.

LOG AATE HAI AUR CHALE JAATE HAI, LEKIN KUCH LOG AATE HAI AUR DILO MEIN GHAR BANAATE HAI JAHAASE UNHE KOI NIKAAL NAHI SAKTA

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