EDITORIAL
Guru Dutt was a man of all seasons, and always strove for perfection
As the world of cinema celebrates the birth centenary of the iconic filmmaker Guru Dutt, one cannot but wonder at his body of work achieved during a limited career – 1946 to 1964 – less than two decades. His celluloid masterpieces still appreciated by global audiences are universal and timeless. Born in a Chitrapur Sawarsat family as Vasanth Kumar Padukone on July 9, 1925, he was a man of all seasons – an accomplished actor, a passionate producer and a visionary director. In fact he lived many lives in his short existence of just 39 years.
Born in Bangalore and brought up in Calcutta – which made him fluent in Bengali – Guru Dutt as a teenager studied dance at Uday Shankar’s Almora-based school. Then quitting his short-time employment as a telephone operator in Calcutta, he went to Pune and signed a three-year contract with Prabhat Film Company, where he met struggling actors Rehman and Dev Anand. In fact, he and Dev Anand reached an agreement that if Dutt were to become a filmmaker, he would hire Anand as his hero, and if Anand were to produce a film, he would use Dutt as its director. After doing minor jobs like choreographer and assistant director in ‘Hum Ek Hain’, in which Dev Anand made his acting debut, Guru Dutt returned to Bombay. Soon true to his promise, Dev Anand hired him to direct ‘Baazi’ (1951) made under his Navketan banner, which was a tribute to Hollywood’s film noir genre. The film was a success and the duo then made ‘Jaal’ (1952), yet another commercial hit.
Guru Dutt then founded Guru Dutt Films and made one blockbuster after another including ‘Aar Paar’ (1954), ‘Mr. & Mrs. 55’ (1955) and ‘CID’ (1956), and even acted in some of them. He, like his contemporary filmmaker Raj Kapoor, created his own team that had comedian Johnny Walker, cinematographer VK Murthy, writer Abrar Alvi, director Raj Khosla, and actress Waheeda Rehman.
‘Pyaasa’ (1957) – a reworked version of ‘Devdas’ – witnessed the filmmaker shed skin and rise to the new heights. He himself enacted the lead role of a long-suffering poet, after Dilip Kumar rejected it, and gave the production new dimension with Sahir’s poetry and Murthy’s cinematography. The innovative song picturisations, fascinating close-ups, unique tracking shots, play of light and shades and pensive sadness, were some of the many characteristics of ‘Guru Dutt touch’. The success of ‘Pyaasa’ made him direct his magnum opus ‘Kaagaz ke Phool’ (1959), the first Indian film shot in Cinemascope. Unfortunately, the story of a failed movie director as narrated in this film, turned true for Guru Dutt. The film flopped!
Later, the filmmaker did produce successful films like ‘Chaudhvin ka Chand’ (1960) and ‘Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam’ (1962) but never directed any. He did act in films for other producers, but seemed to have no interest in life. His alleged failed affairs with Waheeda Rehman, drinking habit and break-up with his singer wife Geeta Dutt all combined to lead him to his suicide. His third attempt to give up life succeeded on October 10, 1964.
Guru Dutt is often cited as a filmmaker ahead of his time. He made brilliant films, as also shelved many others. He was rarely satisfied with his own work. It was as if he was striving for perfection. Guru Dutt, who tried to achieve a healthy blend of artistic and commercial success, is today globally considered a filmmaker of high reputation. Only if he had lived longer, many of his unborn classics would have seen the light of the silver screen.
