Obituary: Vijay Anand

The actor and film-maker Vijay "Goldie" Anand, who has died aged 70, was one of the most versatile and creative artists of popular Indian cinema. During the 1960s and early 1970s, he scripted, directed and edited such blockbusters as Guide (1965), Jewel Thief (1965) and Johnny Mera Naam (My Name Is Johnny, 1970), which continue to inspire Bollywood today. It was Guide that turned Vijay into a legend. Adapted from RK Narayan's novel, the original version was directed in English, as an Indo-American project. Vijay demanded independence from the English version - which bombed, while his film became a classic. He depicted the merger of faith with religion, folklore and philosophy, giving his Guide a timeless quality. With virtually no formal training, he mastered film by assisting his elder brother, Chetan Anand. Born in the Punjab, the youngest of a barrister's four sons, Vijay followed his siblings to Bombay (now Mumbai) for higher education, then worked with Navketan, a film company set up by his brother Dev. Vijay's talent for screenwriting was discovered when Navketan used him on his brother Chetan's Taxi Driver (1956). Its success won the 22-year-old his first directing job, on Nau Do Gyarah (Nine Two Eleven, 1957). His first major success was Kala Bazaar (Black Market, 1960), blending fantasy with realism. Vijay also came across as a sensitive actor, despite being confined to introverted characters. He is remembered as a frustrated alcoholic doctor in Tere Mere Sapne (Our Dreams, 1971), and a middle-class lecturer in Kora Kagaz (Blank Paper, 1974). In the early 1980s, he briefly became a disciple of Bhagwan Rajneesh, the charismatic guru. In the 1990s, he starred in the television series Tehqiqaat (Investigation). Two years ago, he resigned as head of the Indian film censors after a controversy over his proposal to modify censorship rules, and returned to directing. He is survived by his wife and son. · Vijay Anand, filmmaker, born January 22 1934; died 23 February 2004