Deven Verma was always full of life, ready with his deadpan humour says Asha Parekh

Comic virtuoso Deven Varma who passed away on Tuesday in Pune was not only an actor of tremendous renown he also directed a handful of films.

Asha Parekh who starred in Deven's first directorial venture Nadaan recalls him as a jovial taskmaster. "He was great fun to work with. Always full of life and ready with his deadpan humour all the time."

Nadaan gave Asha a rare opportunity to move away from her romantic image. "I played a tomboy in the film. That was a challenge. Deven was a capable director. My co-star in Nadaan was supposed to be Parikshat Sahni. He was replaced by Navin Nishchol. It took us a while to get comfortable. But eventually we found our bearings. I think Devenji directed some other films after Nadaan. None too successful. Later Devanji and I co-starred in another film. I remember during the shooting the filmmaker Brij Sadanah passed away. Devenji was close to Brij Saab and was very upset."

Ashaji recalls a very interesting incident after the release of Nadaan. "Lawyers took great offence to a line of dialogue in Nadaan. The lawyers of Bihar sued Devenji, Navin Nischol and me and we were summoned by the honourable court in Bihar. The then railway minister Lalit Nayaran Mishra who belonged to Bihar had to intervene to sort out the matter."

The veteran actress feels a sense of loss at Deven's going away. "One by one all the people who made a difference to cinema in the 1960s and 70s are going away."

Asha Parekh in Deven Verma directed 'Nadaan'