One was an ace actor, director, writer and producer in Hindi cinema. The other is an economist and politician, and currently the Prime Minister of the world’s largest democracy. Dev Anand and Dr Manmohan Singh are opposites in every sense, but have one thing in common — their birthdays.
Dev was born on September 26, 1923, and Singh came along nine years later on the same day. This year will mark the 89th birth anniversary celebration of the legendary star who passed away last year, while the politician who has sported many caps — including governor of RBI, minister of finance, railways and external affairs — will celebrate his 80th birthday.
However, with the UPA II regime now crunching numbers to avoid being a minority, and the possibility of early elections around the corner, one wonders how these two men would fare if they faced off in an election to pick the next prime minister of India. Radhika Raheja, a homemaker, says, “My vote goes to Dev Anand. His rapid style of speaking and the way he used to nod his head was so endearing. With Dr Singh, we don’t really have much to work with.”
Several others too emphatically chose the deceased film star over the seasoned politician. Rishabh, a journalist, says, “I would choose Dev saab, obviously. Whether he does anything for the country or not, we’ll get a PM who delivers punch dialogues and bashes up bad guys twice his size. Now, who doesn’t want that?” Akanksha Jain, who runs a boutique, adds to this with a grin, saying, “If Dev saab wins, we’ll have a ‘deadly’ PM.”
Others stuck with Singh though, as he is the more experienced of the two, and is also an economist. “As much as I admire Dev Anand, Singh will know what’s better for the nation,” says Maliha Saman, a dentist. Experience wasn’t the only thing getting Manmohan his votes. Mani*, an RJ, said, “I’ll go with the alleged coal thief than the Jewel Thief. He might even be a far better actor than Dev Anand.”
However, a few people decided to go with the 49-O option. Some others like Shiva, said, “I’d vote for Katrina Kaif. That old age home called Parliament could do with a bit of glamour. Last time I checked, Jaya Bachchan remains the hottest woman in the house,” he says.
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