AMTS driver was Dev Anand’s friend, fan, co-star & guide

Ahmedabad: Dev Anand’s death has aggrieved fans and co-stars — the grief was particularly intense for an employee of Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service, who belonged to both the groups.
Manu Pandya (56), a supervisor in AMTS, not only worshipped the evergreen screen legend but also acted with him in ‘Chargesheet’ and ‘Mr Prime Minister’.
During the release of Dev Anand’s autobiography, ‘Romancing With Life’, Pandya helped the star steer his way through the barricades of cameras.Pandya was then an AMTS bus driver.
“The glaring flashes of cameras used to momentarily blind him,” Pandya said. “Dev Anand walked up to me and told me to remain close to him and help him around.”
Pandya’s devotion as a fan carved a special place for him in the life of Dev Anand. From a young fan to a good friend, Pandya has lived through what seems like a heartwarming Bollywood story. Pandya was fourteen years old when he saw his first Dev Anand film, ‘Bombai Ka Babu’, which was screened at his village, Mahuda in Kheda. “I was so moved by the acting of the star,” Pandya said. “In the movie, I saw he was a very good man and had lots of affection for children. I decided meet him in Bombay.”
Along with two friends, Pandya, who was in standard IV then, ran away from home. In Nadiad, his friends returned home. Pandya pressed on; it took him 15 days to reach Bombay. “I didn’t have a ticket and the police used to throw me out of trains at various stations,” he said.
In Mumbai, Pandya waited for two days at the gate of Dev Anand’s studio at Pali Hill. The security guard noticed the young boy waiting in the rain and intimated Dev Anand. Pandya thus met his hero, who told him to go home and work hard to become a good man. Around 15 years later, Pandya became a truck driver which often gave him the opportunity to visit Mumbai and meet Dev Anand. “For the past 25 years, I have met and greeted Dev Anand on his birthday every year,” he said.