Vijay Anand was born in Gurdaspur, Punjab, India, the son of Pishori Lal Anand, a successful and affluent advocate. He was the youngest of nine siblings. The producer and director Chetan Anand and the celebrated actor Dev Anand were his brothers, and among his sister was Sheel Kanta Kapur, mother of film director Shekhar Kapur. Vijay married his niece, Sushma Kohli, the daughter of his older sister. This uncle-niece pairing is forbidden in much of Indian society and was a scandal when it happened. The couple married in the face of resistance from many quarters, not least their own families, but they had a happy marriage which lasted all their lives. They were blessed with a son, Vaibhav.
Career
Though Vijay Anand has had a career as an actor, screenwriter, editor, and producer, he will primarily be remembered as a director. He made his directorial debut in 1957 with Nau Do Gyarah. The film, where Vijay's brother Dev Anand played the leading role, was shot in only 40 days. Some of Vijay's other successful movies as director are Kala Bazar, Guide, Teesri Manzil, Jewel Thief, Johny Mera Naam, Tere Mere Sapne, Ram Balram and Rajput. Nearly all of these films were made by Navketan films, the production company started by the Anand brothers themselves. A notable exception was Teesri Manzil, which was produceb by Nasir Hussain. The period 1957-1970 must be reckoned the High Noon of Vijay Anand's career, as is evident from the films listed above. Vijay's 1965 film Guide starring Dev Anand and Waheeda Rehman, which was based on R.K. Narayan's novel of the same name, marked the acme of Vijay Anand's career. It was not only his biggest blockbuster but also his most critically acclaimed movie, celebrated by the masses, the classes and music-lovers alike. Navketan attempted an international release of an English-language remake of Guide, but without success. Vijay Anand is known for his stylish song picturization, such as the numbers; "O Haseena", "Kaaton Se Kheech ke yeh aanchal" and "Honthon Mein Aisi Baat". As an actor, his most memorable roles were in the films Haqeeqat, Kora Kagaz, and Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki. Chor Chor was a songless thriller in which Leena Chandavarkar was his heroine. He acted in Ghoonghroo Ki Aawaz, Double Cross and Chhupa Rustam. To the younger generation of the 1990s he is also known for playing detective Sam in the television series Tehkikaat. He served a short stint as the chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification, India's censor board, a position from which he resigned, in 2002, after he ran into ideological differences with the government over the introduction of ratings for adult movies. He caused a major controversy by marrying his much younger niece. He was in the inner circle of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. Goldie, as he was affectionately called, died on 23 February 2004 due to a heart attack. He was aged 70.
's Johnny Gaddar, a Film Noir style thriller is dedicated to his influence on the Hindi noir/thriller genre. It also pays tribute to him in a scene in which his movie Johny Mera Naam is being watched by a character and there he takes the name johnny to hide his identity. A retrospective of his films was held at International Film Festival of India, held at Goa in 2007.
