Deven Verma is regarded as a legendry actor, director and producer from the ninteenth century. His funny character in prominent movies such as Chori mera Kaam, Angoor, Gol Maal and Chor ke Ghar Chor were highly appreciated.
Wiki/Biography
Deven Verma was born on Saturday, 30 October,1937(age 77 years; at the time of death) in Kutch,Gujrat. He is famous for playing excellent comical roles.Deven Verma humorous roles in many movies such as Bahadur in Angoor, Chor ke Ghar Chor and Chori mera Kaam were admired.
Deven Verma in movie Gol Maal
And not just in the field of acting, he has also been a prominent director as well as producer. Movie Besharam(1978) which casted Amitabh Bachchan and Sharmila Tagore and was directed by Deven Verma was a major hit. Deven Verma was a multi-talented actor. Apart from Hindi movies, he have also worked in some of the Marathi as well as Bhojpuri movies. In an interview he narrated how he used to manage his busy schedule
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 2″
Weight (approx.): 81 kg
Family
Deven Verma belonged to a Rajasthani Hindu family.
Parents & Siblings
Deven Verma father Baldev Singh Verma belonged from Rajasthan and was into silver business while his mother Sarala Devi belonged from Kutch, Gujrat. Deven Verma had four siblings. Reportedly, Two of them were twins. The four sisters were named Nirupama, Tushar, Amita and Parul.
Wife & Children
Deven Verma married to Rupa Ganguly who was daughter of late veteran Bollywood actor Ashok Kumar and elder sister of Preeti Ganguly. Deven Verma also worked with Ashok Kumar in a few films, and he used to pay him visits at his home for dinner, where he met his younger daughter Rupa Ganguly.
Deven Verma with his wife Rupa Ganguly
Rupa and I liked each other and wanted to marry and I asked Ashok Kumar saab for her hand in marriage. He looked at me and said, “We will think about it.”It took two years for us to finally get married. They would say she is too young, we will decide later, and kept on delaying because Ashok Kumar’s elder daughter Bharati had also married a Gujarati, Dr Patel.
Deven Verma along with his father-in law Ashok Kumar and wife Rupa Ganguly
Caste
Deven Verma father belonged from a Rajasthani family.
Career
Acting
Brought up in Pune, Maharashtra Deven completed his graduation from Nowrosjee Wadia College. Deven Verma is known to work in around 149 movies. His extraordinary comical roles made him prominent. He started his acting career with his first movie Dharmputra in 1961 but this movie turned out to be a flopped movie.
After Dharamputra, I went abroad to do stage shows. Dharamputra flopped. I was in Mauritius where Shashi (Kapoor) sent me a letter that said, ‘Picture has flopped and nobody knows the reason why’
His humorous role in Chori Mera Kaam (1975) was a major hit and the movie was especially appreciated for his acting. After establishing some of the best comical roles, Deven Verma was considered as a prominent actor during the 70s. Judaai (1980) and one of the legendry movie Angoor (1982) were his award winning movies.
He have worked under many famous directors such as Basu Chatterji, Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Gulzar.
Deven Verma in the movie Angoor
Not only has Deven Verma been in comedic roles in Hindi films, but he has also appeared in Marathi and Bhojpuri films. Deven Verma have performed in Hindi serials series such as Mama Ji (1992) and Zabaan Sambhalke (1993). He mostly played supporting roles in movies such as Gumrah (1963) in which he played the role of servant, Qawwali Ki Raat (1964), Devar (1966), Andaz Apna Apna (1994 ) Anupama (1966), Gol Maal (1979). The last movie of Deven Verma was Calcutta Mail (2003) where he played the role of Rani Mukherjee’s Grandfather as Reema’s Grandfather.
Director & Producer
Along with acting in multiple Hindi films, Deven Verma have directed as well as produced some of the outstanding movies such as Nadaan (1971) which starred Asha Parekh and Navin Nischol, Bada Kabootar(1973) and Daana Paani (1989) with Mithun Chakraborty. His first Hindi movie which he produceed was Yakeen (1969).
Death
Deven Verma passed away at the age of 78 after suffering severe Cardiac Arrest and Kidney failure on 2nd December, 2014.
Awards
Filmfare Awards
- Best Actor in a Comic role for the movie Angoor (1983).
- Best actor in a Comic role for the movie Chor ke ghar chor (1979).
- Best actor in a Comic role for the movie Chori mera Kaam (1976).
Facts/Trivia
- Deven Verma’s real name was Devendu Verma. He changed his name in college and kept Deven.
- His acting career started touching heights after he recieved his first filmfare award as a best actor in the comic role for the movie Chori Mera Kaam
My career really took off in 1975 after Chori Mera Kaam, which gave me my first Filmfare Award. It was a big hit and I was flooded with offers.
- Deven Verma enrolled himself for perusing law from the law college Mumbai but left soon after he didn’t found it intresting.
- In an interview Deven Verma claimed that he really liked watching movie Vicky Donor.
I have never enjoyed a movie so much as I have enjoyed Vicky Donor. It belonged to my genre. I loved it because it is a believable comedy
