Dev Anand to visit Nepal soon

By SUDESHNA SARKAR

Kathmandu, May 8: As Nepal’s cornered King Gyanendra awaits a countdown to the abolition of his crown, will his last days in the endangered royal palace be livened up with a visit by India’s legendary film actor Dev Anand?

That is the buzz here with the evergreen actor, who turned into a film director from reigning hero in India’s film industry in the course of a career spanning nearly five decades, arriving in Kathmandu on Friday to promote his autobiography Romancing With Life.

Dev Anand, whose blockbuster film on drug-snorting hippies Hare Ram Hare Krishna promoted Nepal as an idyllic locale, had last come to the Himalayan nation in 2005 to receive a controversial award at the first — and only — film festival held during the absolute reign of King Gyanendra.

Critics said that Dev Anand was conferred the award because of his closeness to Nepal’s royal family. That was the year when King Gyanendra’s attempt to seize absolute power triggered international condemnation and foreign governments began distancing themselves from the royal regime. Dev Anand was among the few foreign visitors to enjoy cordial relations with the embattled royal family. The king himself awarded the honour and in turn received a spontaneous hug from Dev Anand. (IANS)