Deven Verma was an actor who, with his perfect timing and subtle changes of expressions aided by hand gestures, made people laugh and enjoy any film scene that he was in.

Basu Chatterjee’s Khatta Meetha (1978) fixated all and sundry with the song, Mummy O mummy tu kab saas banegi, featuring Deven Verma as a young man anxious to get married. More than the lyrics, it was his character of Dara, helplessly urging his mother to get him married, that still represents the emotions of frustrated bachelors everywhere.

Unmindful of the length of his screen presence, Deven had an uncanny way of selecting films which are considered classics today. He was lucky to act in films directed by auteurs like Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Gulzar and Basu Chatterjee who specialised in making domestic comedies.

Verma didn’t begin his career as a humourist. He essayed roles like the protagonist’s friend, a villain and a husband, among other characters, till Gumraah (1963) with his would be father-in-law, the legendary actor Ashok Kumar.

Watch these Deven Verma films and chuckle away to glory

Here, Images on Sunday shares a few Deven Verma’s films that one is likely to enjoy for their sheer beauty.

Devar (1966)

This was a film by Mohan Sehgal and probably the only role that Verma played that had shades of grey. With Sharmila Tagore (Madhumati) paying his wife, Devan Verma (Suresh) is an advocate and a friend of protagonist Dharmendra (Shankar) who cheats him and marries his childhood sweetheart. He may have played a villain but many left the theatre wondering how such a good looking, suave man could have such a complex character.

Anupama (1966)

This film had been directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. This critically acclaimed film had Verma (Arun) playing a foreign-returned engineer eager to marry the daughter (played by Sharmila Tagore) of his father’s friend. On realising that she is in love with his writer-friend Ashok (Dharmendra), he plays cupid and helps them meet. The film was considered to be one of Dharmendra’s classic films, but a well-dressed and sophisticated Verma also did not fail to impress.

Khamoshi (1969)

Directed by Asit Sen, Khamoshi is remembered today for its songs — Hemant Kumar’s Tum pukaralo, tumhara intezar hai, Kishore Kumar’s Woh sham kuch ajeeb thi, yeh sham bhi ajeeb hai and of course Lata Mangeskar’s Hum ne dekhi hai un aankhoon ki mehkati khushbu. One of the best photographed black-and-white movies, it’s remembered for a superb performance by Waheeda Rehman as the caring nurse in a psychiatric ward. Verma plays one of her most lovable, endearing mentally disturbed Patient no. 22!

Mere Apne (1971)

This film by Gulzar had an older Meena Kumari playing the lead role of the widow Anandi. Deven played Niranjan, her argumentative but very warm-hearted husband who gets killed after his meeting with a revolutionary. The best part of the film is that it had Shatrughan Sinha, Paintal, Asrani and Danny Denzongopa making their big screen debut with this film.

Chori Mera Kaam (1975)

A film by Brij, the role of a publisher Parveen Chandra Shah fetched Verma his first Filmfare award for a comic role. Acting with Ashok Kumar, Shashi Kapoor, Zeenat Aman and of course Pran, Verma in one his interviews had admitted that the film was a breakthrough in his career as the word Chor in the title of his films seemed to help him win over audiences. There was nothing great about the film, however, and only Verma and Ashok Kumar made the film watchable.

Golmaal (1979)

This was a hilarious film by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Amol Palekar played a mock dual role, Bindiya Goswami his love interest and Utpal Dutt as the girl’s father have immortalised the film. In the original, Verma plays himself as an actor advising Palekar on how to enact the second identity to fool Dutt.

Khatta Meetha (1981)

This is a quirky comedy based on Mumbai’s Parsi community and helmed by Basu Chatterjee. Verma once again teamed up with his father-in-law Ashok Kumar and sister-in-law Preeti Ganguly (Freny). Verma as Dara works with widower Ashok Kumar (Homi Mistry). Mistry knows Dara’s desperation to get married. When Kumar marries the widow Nargis Sethna (Pearl Padamsee) he decides to get Dara married to Nargis’ daughter Freny.

Angoor (1982)

This film was an absolute gem from Gulzar. Based on Shakespeare’s A Comedy of Errors, Gulzar had both Sanjeev Kumar and Deven Verma play double roles without resorting to any disguise or costume whereby the acting prowess of both actors got highlighted. Verma playing Kumar’s Man Friday in both roles is unbelievably endearing and comic. Verma got his third Filmfare award for this film.

Dil to Paagal Hai (1997)

This is a famous Yash Chopra film. It must have been difficult to enact a character who is too besura to be taken seriously as a singer when in life Verma could really sing well. Just listen to him in a couple of playback songs such as Aaj Mere Yaar ki Shaadi Hai (Aadmi Sarak Ka) and Maathe pe Lagake Bindiya (Doosra Aadmi). In the film he plays the man who brings up his friend’s orphaned daughter Madhuri Dixit and urges Shah Rukh Khan to give him a chance to croon in his dance dramas. Verma proved his mettle here.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, December 14th, 2014