Legend Of Dev Anand: Tina Ambani Wept Inconsolably; Simi Garewal Fondly Recalled...

MUMBAI, Mehboob Studio: It was a condolence meeting in honour of an 'evergreen' star, whose inimitable style and boundless energy vaulted him to be an icon of matchless measure.

Dev Anand may have left for his heavenly abode…but the throng of admirers that he has left behind, continue to secretly mourn the passing away of their legend.

At the shokh sabha (prayer meet) convened in honour of the veteran at Mehboob Studio, one witnessed a celeb turnout : Aamir Khan, Hema Mailini, Abbas-Mustan, Ashutosh Gowariker, Shekhar Kapur, Satish Kaushik, Kabir Bedi,Kalpana Lajmi, Amrita Rao, Shekhar Suman, Madhur Bhandarkar, Divya Dutta, Aftab Shivdasani, Waheeda Rehman, Asha Parekh, Yash Chopra, Tabu, Ramesh Sippy, Zeenat Aman, Padmini Kolhapure, Rishi Kapoor, Farooq Sheikh, Abhishek Bachchan, Vinod Khanna and several other luminaries present were only too eager to rave about the late matinee-idol.

One sterling discovery of his, however, was in no frame of mind to reel off any quotes to the media.

Case in point:Tina Ambani, his star discovery of Des Pardes (1978).

No words, rather, Tina Ambani, all emotionally overwhelmed, couldn't control the surge of feelings churning within her and it soon expressed itself as drops welling up in her eyes. And as she left, the sobs were quite evident as the girl who was initiated into cinebiz by Dev Anand couldn't hold back her tears…

Vidhu Vinod Chopra told a rapt media, "There is no one in Bollywood who has the dynamism and the energy that Dev Anand had. He has done so much for the film industry, that there are few who can equal him."

Simi Garewal, one of the three female leads in Teen Deviyan (1965) also turned a tad emotional. "It is coincidental that I gave my first shot with Dev Anand for Teen Deviyaan, right within this very Mehboob Studio. And it's a rather emotional moment for me that I have come for the condolence meeting of the very same icon in this very studio. Though I must say that there can be no shokh sabha for a legend such as Dev Anand. He was truly incomparable and a man who can't be matched."

All eyes were rivetted onto Suniel Anand, scion of the late veteran, who said, "My father has left behind an impressive body of work. He made films with all his heart. Following in his footsteps, we plan to keep alive the tradition of his Navketan banner. And we will announce our next project soon."