Dev Anand (Hindi pronunciation: [de:u ǝna:nd] ^ⓘ; born Dharamdev Pishorimal Anand; 26 September 1923 – 3 December 2011) was an Indian actor, writer, director and producer known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is considered as one of the greatest and most successful actors in the history of Indian cinema. Through a career that spanned over six decades, he worked in more than 100 films. Anand is a recipient of four Filmfare Awards, including two for Best Actor. The Government of India honoured him with Padma Bhushan, Indian third highest civilian honour in 2001 and with Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2002.

In 1946, Anand debuted with a lead role in Prabhat Films's Hum Ek Hain, a film about Hindu-Muslim unity. He had his first commercial success in Ziddi (1948) and gained widespread recognition with the crime thriller Baazi (1951), which is regarded as the forerunner of the spate of "Bombay Noir" films that followed in Hindi cinema in the 1950s. He consistently starred in top–grossing Indian films from the early-1950s to the 1970s, such as Jaal, Taxi Driver, Insaniyat, C.I.D., Paying Guest, Kala Pani, Kala Bazar, Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai, Hum Dono, Asli-Naqli, Tere Ghar Ke Samne, Guide, Jewel Thief, Johny Mera Naam and Haré Rama Haré Krishna. Despite the arrival of new crop of stars in the latter-half of the 1970s and 1980s, Anand continued to star in highly successful films, such as Amir Garib, Warrant, Jaaneman, Darling Darling, Des Pardes and Lashkar. Some of his most acclaimed performances, include Munimji, Funtoosh, Baarish, Nau Do Gyarah, Solva Saal, Manzil, Jaali Note, Baat Ek Raat Ki, Sharabi, Teen Devian, Duniya, Prem Pujari, Tere Mere Sapne, Heera Panna and Lootmaar. The 2011 film Chargesheet, which Anand also directed was his final film.

Anand was born Dharamdev Pishorimal Anand on 26 September 1923 in the Shakargarh Tehsil of the Gurdaspur district in Punjab, British India (now Narowal District, Punjab, Pakistan).

His father Pishori Lal Anand was a prominent lawyer in Gurdaspur District Court. Pishori Lal Anand was also a freedom fighter and scholar affiliated with the Arya Samaj organisation, who would study world religions in different languages (the Bhagavad-Gita in Sanskrit, the Bible in Hebrew, the Qur'an in Arabic while he also knew Persian).

Dev was the third of four sons born to Pishori Lal Anand. One of Dev's younger sisters Sheel Kanta Kapur, is the mother of film director Shekhar Kapur. His older brothers included Manmohan Anand (Advocate, Gurdaspur Dist. Court) and Chetan Anand, while Vijay Anand was his younger brother.

Anand did his schooling till matriculation from Sacred Heart School, Dalhousie (then in Punjab), and went to Government College Dharamshala before going to Lahore to study. Later Dev completed a B.A. degree in English Literature from the Government College, Lahore in British India. Part of the Anand family, he co-founded Navketan Films in 1949 with his elder brother Chetan Anand.

After completing his BA degree in English literature from the Government College, Lahore (then in British India), Anand left his hometown for Bombay in the early 1940s. He began his career in the military censor's office at Churchgate, for a monthly salary of Rs. 65. Later, he worked as a clerk in an accounting firm for a salary of Rs. 85. He joined his older brother, Chetan, as a member of the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA). Anand aspired to become a performer after seeing Ashok Kumar's performance in films such as Achhut Kanya and Kismet. Anand quoted in an interview that "I remember when I gate-crashed into the office of the man who gave me the first break, he kept looking at me – Babu Rao Pai of Prabhat Film Studios. At that time he made up his mind that this boy deserves a break and later mentioned to his people that 'this boy struck me because of his smile and beautiful eyes and his tremendous confidence.'" Then he was soon offered the lead role in Prabhat Films' Hum Ek Hain (1946), a film about Hindu-Muslim unity, where Dev Anand played a Hindu boy and was paired opposite Kamala Kotnis. While shooting the film in Pune, Anand befriended the actor Guru Dutt. Between them, they agreed that if one of them were to become successful in the film industry, he would help the other also to be successful. They formed a mutual understanding that when Anand produced a film, Dutt would direct it and when Dutt directed a film, Anand would act in it.

In the late 1940s, Anand was offered a few roles starring as the male lead opposite singer-actress Suraiya in woman-oriented films. While shooting these films, they became romantically involved. The two of them were paired in many films: Vidya (1948), Jeet (1949), Shair (1949), Afsar (1950), Nili (1950), Sanam and Do Sitare (1951). In these films, Suraiya was always the first biller in the credits, indicating that she was a bigger star than Anand. She fell in love with him during the shooting of the song Kinare Kinare Chale Jayen Ge from the film Vidya— while shooting the scene, the boat they were in capsized, and Anand saved Suraiya from drowning. Initially, Suraiya's family used to welcome Anand at home, but when her maternal grandmother found out that the two were in love, and even planned an actual marriage on the set of Jeet, she started monitoring them. The two shared love letters and messages through their co-actors, like Durga Khote and Kamini Kaushal, who went out of their way to engineer secret rendezvous. During the shooting of the film Afsar (1950), Anand finally proposed to Suraiya and gave her a diamond ring worth Rs 3,000. Her maternal grandmother opposed the relationship as they were Muslim and Anand was Hindu, so, Suraiya remained unmarried. They stopped acting together after her grandmother opposed their partnership, and Do Sitare was the last film in which they appeared together. Although the films he starred in with Suraiya had been successful, the producers and directors of those films attributed their success to the acting prowess and screen presence of Suraiya. Anand began looking for an opportunity to play the main male lead in a film where his acting skills could be demonstrated, so as to dispel scepticism about his acting abilities.