Filmfare – July 2019

with giving Veeru a break

with Roti Kapda Aur

Makaan (1974). It was a

multi-starrer with loads of

action. Veeru was praised

for the imaginative scenes

he choreographed.

His innovative ways

of conducting fight

choreography, as well as

his humble disposition,

led him to become

popular. He built a rapport

with the stars and worked

on their individual

strengths, making sure the

audience got their money’s

worth. He introduced

motorcycle jumps in

films. He took risks but

made sure the safety

quotient in his films was

high. Perhaps the most

famous stunt he executed

was son Ajay Devgn’s

entry scene in Phool Aur

Kaante (1991). Ajay came

straddling two motorbikes,

while executing a split.

That dramatic entry is still

talked about.

Besides being a stunt

master, he was also seen

in bit roles in films like

Ek Khiladi Bawan Pattey

(1972), Muqabala (1979),

Mr Natwarlal (1979) and

Kranti (1981). He also

dabbled with direction

with Hindustan Ki Kasam

(1999). The film, starring

Amitabh Bachchan in a

double role, had amazing

stunts but didn’t do well at

the box-office.

He retired the same year

and spent his days in the

company of his children

and grandchildren. He

was said to be close to

daughter-in-law Kajol,

who penned a heartfelt

note on his passing away.

Sharing a photo of him on

her Instagram handle, she

wrote, “In happier times ...

He won the award for

a lifetime of achievement

on this day but it took

a lifetime to prove. So

many people mourn the

life of the man but that

was a life well lived...

RIP with love.”

Veeru Devgan passed

away on May 27, 2019, in

Mumbai, aged 85. He was

suffering from ill-health for

some time and succumbed

to complications arising

out of old age. „

of his fight boys. That’s
how the outsider from
Amritsar made inroads
into filmdom. Soon,
Veeru was doing stunts
with every hero, be it
Dilip Kumar, Sunil Dutt,
Manoj Kumar, Pran... Ravi
Khanna, a hard taskmaster,
was said to be a stickler
for perfection. Amitabh
Bachchan, penning a
heartfelt tribute to Veeru

Devgan in his blog,
described thus the harsh
life of the stuntman,
“I saw him for the first
time on the sands of
Pochina, a small village
in the Rajasthan desert, a
two-hour wild drive from
the city of Jaisalmer, where
I had just arrived along
with some members... of
my second film Reshma
Aur Shera. The legendary
action master and director,
Khanna saheb was
conducting a dummy
rehearsal for the scenario,
which involved Sunil

Dutt saheb the leading

man of the film, being

beaten up by the negative

character of the village

... He was demonstrating

the action on a stand-in

for the leading man... The

negative character was

beating the leading man

with a thin whip-like stick,

and the leading man was

taking it all in and not

retaliating ...Khanna saheb

was renowned

for his authenticity

when conducting stunts

... he was lashing the

stand-in, whip-like and

with each lash, I could

see the pain and agony

on the stand-in’s face, but

he continued to complete

the dummy rehearsal, to

perfection...The stand-in

getting the lashing was

Veeru Devgan...”

Manoj Kumar iscredited

n WithsonAjayDevgn and

Amitabh Bachchan on the

set of Hindustan Ki Kasam

o On a film set

p Rehearsing with Roopesh

Kumar and Tej Sapru

qThe last journey

VEERU DEVGAN’S

INNOVATIVE ACTION

CHOREOGRAPHY

MADE HIM POPULAR.

HE WORKED ON

THE INDIVIDUAL

STRENGTHS OF THE

STARS, MAKING

SURE THE AUDIENCE

GOT THEIR MONEY’S

WORTH

Ajay Devgn in

Phool Aur Kaante

n o

q

p