2 minutes of readingChennaiFebruary 9, 2026 08:03 am IST
The 1965 Classic Guide is one of the most memorable films of Waheeda Rehman and Dev Anand’s careers. However, in a recent interaction, Waheeda shared how she initially refused to star in the project and how it was Dev Anand’s stubbornness and persistence that finally made her sign the film.
Speaking to ETimes, Waheeda admitted, “I almost didn’t do Guide.” She explained that she and director Raj Khosla, who was initially supposed to direct the film, did not get along very well. She recalled how the two had differences of opinion while working on a previous film and said it affected their professional relationship. “I never worked with him again after that. I wasn’t willing to trade that for Guide or any other film.”
However, she admitted that Dev Anand was extremely persistent in casting her in the film and kept asking her to “let bygones be bygones.” “But I refused to give in,” he said. Waheeda even suggested that Dev Anand’s brother Vijay Anand should direct the film, but at that time he was busy with the shooting of Tere Ghar Ke Samne.
Finally, he shared that another director, Chetan Anand, was roped in. However, this time it was Anand who did not want to choose Waheeda. “I think Chetan Saab wanted Priya Rajvanshji. But Dev was adamant,” he recalled. Ultimately, the makers were looking for a heroine who could dance, and Priya didn’t have that forte. As a result, Waheeda was eventually cast in the film, which was eventually directed by Vijay Anand.
Waheeda also admitted that she shared a very comfortable equation with Dev Anand, with whom she had made her Hindi film debut in CID. He fondly remembered how Dev Anand insisted that he call him Dev and not ‘Anandji’ or ‘Dev Sahab’. She reminds him that he was making fun of her: “Do I look like a schoolteacher to you?” Waheeda ended up calling him Dev until the end of her life.