Biography of Vijay Anand

(22 January 1934 - 23 February 2004)

Vijay Anand's films provided a bridge between commerce and art, between intellectually stimulating cinema and financially lucrative films.

Vijay Anand was born at Gurdaspur in Punjab. He received the Arts degree from the University of Bombay. He wrote the script for "Taxi Driver' while he was still in college. The film proved to be largely influential for his brothers Dev Anand (the hero of the film and Chetan Anand (the director). Vijay Anand's directorial debut was the film ‘Nau Do Gyarah' (1957).

Though Vijay Anand had a number of successful films to his credit, like 'Hum Dono', Jewel Thief', 'Teesri Manzil, ‘Johnny Mera Naam', but it was 'Guide', the most critically acclaimed film of his time, that he is most remembered for. After ‘Guide’, ‘Anand’ chose to prove that he could blend all the right ingredients for a frothy treat with 'Jewel Thief' and ‘Johnny Mera Naam', as sex and violence became the currency of the 1970's. Even today, Vijay Anand's films command a cult following.