BJP condoles demise of Dev Anand

Pune, Dec 4 (ANI): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has condoled the demise of veteran Bollywood actor, director and film producer Dev Anand, who passed away in London on Saturday night following cardiac arrest. BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said Dev Anand was a wise and kindhearted man. "Dev Anand was a timeless artist and stars like him are not so common in this country. He was a very kind hearted man and his absence will be felt. I think a star like Dev Anand will always remain in our hearts," said Hussain. "In my life, I have seen many people who were stars and then their presence vanished but nobody can call Dev Anand an old man as he was a young man," he added. Dev Anand was born to Dharam Dev Pishori Anand on September 26, 1923, in Shakargarh Tehsil of Gurdaspur district (now in Narowal District, Pakistan) in undivided Punjab, British India to well-to-do advocate Pishori Lal Anand. He was the second of three brothers who were active in Hindi Cinema. His younger sister is Sheela Kanta Kapur, who is mother of Shekhar Kapur. His older brother was Chetan Anand and younger one was Vijay Anand. He graduated in English Literature from the Government College, Lahore, (now in Pakistan). The Indian Government had honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 2001 and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2002 for his contributions towards Indian cinema. In July 2000, in New York City, he was honoured by an award at the hands of the then First Lady of the United States of America, Hillary Rodham Clinton, for his 'Outstanding Contribution to Indian Cinema'. In 2000, he was awarded the Indo-American Association "Star of the Millennium" Award in the Silicon Valley, California. Donna Ferrar, Member New York State Assembly, honoured him with a "New York State Assembly Citation" for his "Outstanding Contribution to the Cinematic Arts Worthy of the Esteem and Gratitude of the Great State of New York' on May 1, 2001. (ANI)