Movie making is a great adventure, an adventure of the mind, soul and body." So says Dev Anand in his autobiography, "Romancing With Life". His memoirs chronicle the journey of all three as they traverse the world in the search for and expression of the magic of that 'ray of sunshine that makes life worth living'.

In fact, this ray of sunshine figures consistently in the telling of his tale, whether it is when it "brightened my face anew" or when "the first rays of sun lit up my face." This imagery serves as the fulfillment of the prophecy made early in his life, by a Sikh vendor, that "you have the sun on your forehead. You will be a very big man."

This book is not a literary masterpiece. His prosaic style often meanders through several thoughts crowded together in the same sentence. True to its genre, it is not a dramatic tale of suspense, of adventure or of romance. It is not a treatise on world politics, nor is it an exploration of human intrigue and mystery. It is the story of one man's triumphs and failures, a story that has elements of suspense, mystery, drama, adventure and above all, romance.

Romance that encompasses, in the ultimate, his passionate love affair with his creativity. His life is a testament to his belief that "for a creative desire to grow inside you…… you must look deep inside yourself and draw out the passion for your chosen field." Those who are looking for the 'dirt' on his life are not going to find it here.

Dev Saab, as he is affectionately known, believes in the dictum of 'gentlemen don't kiss and tell'. He tenderly recounts his first infatuation with Usha, which is a prelude to his lifelong fascination with beauty in the female form. Oscillating between shy expressions of a desire "to shower a thousand kisses all over her silken gorgeousness, each kiss opening a new vista of paradise that would engulf us both into its deepest ocean" and endearingly bold and honest Harlequin-style expressions, such as, "Our bodies were united in a lingering kiss, my hands searching into the female fragrance of her skin, hers caressing my waist in an attempt to unfold my manly delight", he manages to maintain anonymity about his lady loves.

It is only when he talks about his deepest love affairs, Suraiya and Mona, that he discards the cloak of anonymity. Even then, he never reveals anything that is not already widely known through the media. The book is riveting, no doubt.

The over 400 pages are a breeze to read, capturing and holding the reader's interest throughout as he weaves a tale of the successes and failures of his life against the backdrop of his family life, his relationships with his two brothers, Chetan and Vijay and with his various lady-loves. Meshed in this intricate fabric is a historical and political perspective, offered in brief insights into India's struggle for independence, the aftermath of partition and other events in world history that had an impact on him.

He is extremely vocal about his perspective on political events that shaped the history of India and is critical of the policies of Indira Gandhi in her imposition of restrictions during the Emergency. The book may give the casual reader the impression that his life was nothing but a series of success stories, with each movie taking him to higher and higher pinnacles, with pretty girls chasing him and offering themselves to him and other crazed fans vying for his attention. But those who know the personality of this star know that he is ruled by an optimistic and a sanguine nature.

He believes in looking ahead and not dwelling on his failures. He dismisses his failures as valuable learning experiences, truly believing in the words of one of his favorite lines from a song in Hum Dono "Main zindagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya; har phikar ko dhuen mein udata chala gaya - I kept on giving life my company/And blew every weary thought away like smoke-rings."

He finds inspiration in topical events - the hippie cult in Hare Rama Hare Krishna; pacifism in Prem Pujari; the senseless dictates and restricts imposed by the Censor Bureau in Censor; the immigrant problems in England in Des Pardes.

He dares to gamble with bold subjects like adultery, "which is inherently taboo to the Indian psyche" in Guide, where he also goes totally against his romantic image, "playing a shabby, unshaven sadhu in an ordinary, crumpled, dusty khadi kurta-pajama". While movies like Guide and Hare Rama Hare Krishna propelled him to heights of stardom, others like Awwal Number and Gangster were flops at the box-office.

He justifies his failures with the belief that, sometimes, his movies are ahead of his times; in Awwal Number, he "combined the theme of sports with terrorism, the order of the day". His allusion to the LTTE threat to blow the stadium found real-life expression in the brutal death of Rajiv Gandhi at the hands of a suicide-bomber.

And the theme of cricket found "resonance years later in the Oscar-nominated film, Lagaan". Dev Anand's search has been endless. He has fearlessly cast newcomers in his movies. While the industry struck gold in finds like Zeenat Aman and Tina Munim, others such as Sabrina, Heena, among others, found no other projects to take them to stardom.

Yet, he has never been deterred by this failure and has continued to seek new, fresh faces, his only criterion being that the face should fit the vision he has in his mind for a particular role. His story is, indeed, a portrayal and a real life manifestation of his name - Dev "God" Anand "Joy". This God of Joy recounts his experiences with sheer joy pulsating through his journey. The book radiates the ultimate joy of being alive.

Here is a character who just refuses to be discouraged and who refuses his moral spirit to be shattered by any negative occurrences in his life. Not that he has been immune to disappointment and pain. He displays deep emotion in his love for his family, especially his children, and talks with poignant sensitivity about the loss of his brothers.

The ray of sunshine that has always illuminated his life seems to shine on Goldie's dead body - "A quick ray of light from a ventilator above fell on Goldie's face and lit up the touch of gold that shimmered in his hair". But, even in the midst of his deep grief, he sees the immortality in what a man's work leaves behind.

Coming to the end of the book, the reader is struck, once again, by the sheer magnitude of the man, for whom the sun will never set. His book is not a nostalgic memory of greener pastures left behind, but rather a story of positive energy, waiting to scale yet newer and bigger heights.

This energy's essence stems out of his book, proclaiming to the reader to get up and grasp all that life has to offer. For, in his own example, here is a giant of a man who, at 84, still has the vitality and verve to proclaim "My heart is singing like it always has been - This is a beautiful world!"