Biography

Born on July 9, 1925, he was a Maharashtrian by birth. His parents were Vasanthi Padukone and Shivshankar Padukone. His parents belonged to Mangalore’s Saraswat community a Brahmin caste, originally from north India.[br /]
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Shivshankar Padukone was from a modest, educated family and studied English [br /]
literature. His father was a school headmaster at Panambur, near Mangalore before the birth of Guru. Within a year, at the time of Guru’s birth, he worked with a bank at Bangalore. Vasanthi gave private tuitions in Kannada or Hindi, to support her family. Vasanthi supplemented the family income by teaching at Sitaram Poddar School. She also wrote short stories and translated Bengali novels into Kannada. [br /]
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[b]Christening [/b] [br /]
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When Guru was born, his mother was 16. Astrologers had predicted that her son would become world famous before his birth. Vasanthi’s elder brother, Vitthal had suggested two names for Guru - Vasanth Kumar and ‘Gurudutt’. ‘Gurudutt’ was suggested as he was born on a Thursday, which is considered to be a day of the ‘Guru’ (teacher). [br /]
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On his second birthday, he was dressed in redand decorated with ornaments and was sent to their landlord to get blessings. By midday, when he returned home running, he fell near a well, and got hurt severely on the forehead. He was taken to the doctor. By nightfall he had a high fever, which continued for two weeks. A few people said that Guru had fallen ill because the spirit of a man who had drowned in the well had haunted him. They called a shaman to remove the evil spirit. He told Guru’s family that he should not be called by the name Vasanth Kumar, which was the name that they had given him. Since then he was called Guru Dutt.[br /]
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[b]Family Background[/b][br /]
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In 1927, when Mahatma Gandhi visited Bangalore, his mother was deeply moved by his speeches. Vasanthi wrote to Gandhiji, expressing her wish to leave her family and join his ashram. Gandhiji wrote back, discouraging her, and said that her duty lay with her family. His father resigned from his bank job and moved to Mangalore. His mother joined her cousin at Calcutta for a short while with her son, Guru Dutt. Shivshankar joined as a Manager with the Sadananda Co-operative Printing Press at Mangalore that published the Kannada weekly ‘Rashtrabandhu’.[br /]
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Guru Dutt’s parents had an unhappy marriage and it worsened as time passed. Shivshankar resigned from his job at the printing press when Vasanthi was expecting [br /]

her second child. Being under an economic crisis, she requested her brother Ramnath to send her money to visit him at Ahmedabad. Ramnath and his family also suffered from a financial crisis. Ramnath could not be hospitable, as a result Vasanthi and Guru Dutt were not welcomed. Vasanthi and Guru Dutt were a hindrance, which was reflected in their hostility. Ramnath had an adopted uncle, who suffered from bouts of insanity. Watching him, when he cried out, Guru Dutt was frightened and clung to his mother. He wanted to go somewhere else. This paranoia he experienced was reflected in his work.[br /]
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They left for Calcutta, soon after this incident. Shivshankar found a job there and joined them at Calcutta. Later, he found a job as an administrative clerk, at the Burmah Shell Company where he worked for 30 years.[br /]
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In 1929, Vasanthi gave birth to their second son Shashidhar, who died when he was only seven months old. Being moved by the death of his brother, Guru Dutt suffered from a high fever for several days. In 1930, the family moved to a new flat on Paddapukur Road, where Vasanthi gave birth to her third son, Atmaram, followed by the birth of their daughter Lalitha in 1932. In 1938 and 1941, they had two other children - Devi and Vijay. Owing to a growing family, they moved from there to a new flat at Ashton Road and then to Bolai Mansions in Bhowanipur.[br /]
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[b]Childhood Days[/b][br /]
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Guru Dutt studied at David Hare’s School run by the Jesuits. Earlier he had studied in a South Indian School where he had not done well. He started studying in an English medium school later, where he performed well. He was creative and a self-motivated person. Though his uncle was strict and he didn’t permit him, he still took his uncle’s camera with the permission of his aunt. Later, Guru Dutt presented his uncle a 16mm Bolex Paillard from London. He had a natural inclination for dance and was an ardent fan of music. He loved Bengali and Hindi film music, specially folk film music directed by the famous music director S D Burman. It was his mother who fired his ambition.[br /]
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Guru Dutt was not an outstanding student at school. He did not go to college after finishing his matriculation. He spoke good Hindi and he was fluent with English and Bengali. He spoke Konkani at home, but English was so imbibed in him that he thought in English and wrote in English. Guru Dutt was active and played a lot. His childhood friends were Ratilal and Naveen. Atmaram, his younger brother wanted to enjoy the company of his brother but he would go leaving Atmaram behind. Atmaram, being quiet in his childhood, had to contend with his rough brother.[br /]
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[b]Early Artistic Influences[/b][br /]
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There was an open space next to their house in Bhowanipur where Bengali dramas were staged. Being interested in it, Guru Dutt never missed a performance and had by that time learnt to speak Bengali. Guru Dutt used to amuse his siblings by powdering his face, tying a cloth around a dhoti and imitating the actors he had seen. Guru Dutt used to watch dramas from the Ramayana and the Mahabharat, and others all night long. He even used to watch puppet shows and always carried a book with him to read. Though not highly qualified, he had acquired a comprehensive body of knowledge which made him firm in his decisions.[br /]
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Vasanthi and Guru Dutt were on a holiday to Mumbai in 1935. Uday Shankar’s troupe performed there. Vasanthi wanted to watch the performance without Guru Dutt. Guru Dutt wanted to go and as he was not allowed, he became angry and didn’t eat for three days. After his mother convinced him to take food, he ate it. On that very day, he vowed that he too would perform on the stage in the future.[br /]
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Guru Dutt was influenced in his artistic endeavors by his uncle, B B Benegal. He was Vasanthi’s cousin and a great moral as well as a financial support to the family. He was also a great influence over the Padukone children. He worked long hours, designing and painting cinema hoardings. His painting of a young half-clad man with a snake coiled around his body impressed Guru Dutt and he even composed a dance number inspired by it.
Uncle Benegal owned the Jyoti Cinema, the oldest cinema in Calcutta, on Dharamtalla Street. Their father was only a clerk, so they couldn’t afford to go out and see films, but their uncle used to get free passes. At times, they saw two or three foreign and Indian films in a day.[br /]
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[b] Support and Formative Years[/b][br /]
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Atmaram in his 20s had worked as Guru Dutt’s assistant on four films - Baaz, Jaal, Aar Paar and Mr. & Mrs. 55 and later produced Baharen Phir Bhi Aayengi. After the death of Guru Dutt, Atmaram made a 20-minute documentary called Shraddhanjali (Tribute) on Guru Dutt. This documentary has many stills of Guru Dutt on various film locations and features a number of film excerpts with a commentary by Abrar Alvi. Late in life, Atmaram became a director and producer and had his office at Natraj Studio in Andheri. It was near Guru Dutt’s old studio where Chaudhvin Ka Chand and Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam were filmed.[br /]
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Their house at Calcutta was very small. It had a bedroom, a living room and a kitchen in the middle. Their grandmother used to do her puja (prayers) in their bedroom. She used to light a lamp when she said her prayers every evening. On the other side of the room where the light was reflected, Guru Dutt used to create shadow figures with his fingers and hands. Guru Dutt was very fond of keeping parrots. Every morning he used to feed them and also talked to them. He was also fond of paper kites and making Diwali sparklers. Guru Dutt used to make the sparklers in the outhouse that they had.[br /]
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Baul singers used to perform on the streets where they stayed in Calcutta. The singers walked by their house in Bhowanipur, walking along with their ektara (a single stringed musical instrument) singing devotional songs. Guru Dutt has used the Baul style of singing in Pyaasa with the only difference that he has picturized it with a woman singing, “aaj sajan mohe”, whereas in Calcutta the Baul singers are usually men. He used to spend most of his spare time with his elder cousin, Sudarshan Benegal.[br /]
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Guru Dutt passed his matriculation exam in 1941. Finance, still remained a great problem. Finding a way to supplement the family income was more pressing than acquiring further education. He took up his first job as a telephone operator at the age of 16 in a mill on a monthly salary of Rs. 40.[br /]
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[b]Encounter at Almora[/b][br /]
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He wanted to be introduced to Uday Shankar at the age of 15 to join his Dance Centre at Almora. His uncle, who was working on Uday’s souvenirs and advertisements didn’t support him. As a result he secretly met Uday Shankar and also gave an audition with the help of a few friends. Guru Dutt danced before Uday Shankar, which made him extremely [br /]
enthusiastic. Uday Shankar didn’t mind Guru’s joining at Almora, but its administrator, Mr. Burse had to agree. Benegal’s friend Hemmad, a leading film distributor from Calcutta talked to Mr. Burse, who agreed to Guru’s joining without any fees. Guru Dutt was overjoyed to hear that he had been accepted at Almora. The criterion for selection of students in the academy was that, they should be genuinely interested in dance.[br /]
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Uncle B B Benegal and a family friend S R Hemmad helped Guru Dutt win a five-year scholarship of Rs 75 a month to study at the Uday Shankar India Culture Centre in Almora. Mohan Sehgal, a reputed film director and producer was one of Guru Dutt’s contemporaries at the center. He said, “Guru Dutt was not a good dancer, but he knew the technique”. Guru Dutt initially joined films as a[br /]
choreographer, but that was just for an opening in the industry. Uday Shankar never aimed to produce dancers, but developed as an all-round artist. He said, “I want to develop your creative faculties so that you can be better human beings.” Sumitranandan Pant, a leading Hindi mystic poet, taught them literature and Professor Mattrami gave lectures in psychology. They were given situations around which they had to create a dance that were criticized by their colleagues. [br /]
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Uday Shankar liked him and lent him his camera because Guru Dutt knew how to use it properly, and he could be seen taking photographs all the time. Guru Dutt with his curled jet-black hair, with a calm loveable face was considered the most handsome young man at the center. He was also a little shy. He was soft spoken.[br /]
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[b]Stage Waiting for Him[/b][br /]
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The Uday Shankar Culture Center staged Ramlila, were Guru Dutt played the part of Lakshman. The whole drama was performed as a shadow play.[br /]
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In December 1941, Uday Shankar promoted his stage creation, the shadow play version of the Ramlila, starring Sachin Shankar and Guru Dutt at Bombay. He lived at his family flat in Matunga. Dutt’s family was proud to see him with his long flowing hair at the age of seventeen with the troupe. Guru Dutt performed his own composition, The Swan Dance along with Sundari Shridharani. Each morning he used to garland Uday Shankar’s photograph as a sign of reverence to his Guru before lending a helping hand around the house.[br /]
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In 1944, Guru Dutt returned to Bombay accompained by three of his Almora friends - Moni, Ghanshyam and Anandi. His uncle BB Benegal introduced him to a friend Baburao Pai who was chief Executive of the Prabhat Film Company and Studio after his dance training at Almora. Later he was responsible for distributing Prabhat’s films through his company ‘Famous Pictures’. [br /]
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[b]Guru Dutt[/b] met Pai once when he visited to discuss a film project, which never materialized with Uday Shankar. On Pai’s recommendation, Guru Dutt was employed on a three-year contract as a dance director at Prabhat. Though Guru Dutt was in the studio’s pay roll as a choreographer, he also worked as an assistant director and even as an actor. He appeared in minor roles in a few B-grade Prabhat films.[br /]
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In 1944, the film Chand, a Prabhat production, directed by D D Kashyap and starring Begum Para and Sapru, was released. Guru Dutt allegedly had a small role in it as Lord Krishna.[br /]
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In 1945, he appeared in Lakhrani in the role of Lakshman where he was beaten up and tied to a pole. In the same film he also assisted director Vishram Bedekar.[br /]
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In 1946, Hum Ek Hain, a film promoting national unity, and directed by P L Santoshi was released. Guru Dutt choreographed dances to the music of Husnlal Bhagatram and worked as an assistant to the director.[br /]
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During his stay at Poona, he enjoyed on and off the sets, the friendship of actors Ramsingh, Rehaman and Dev Anand. His friendship with Rehman resulted in his being cast in Guru Dutt’s most important films. Ramsingh too acted in Guru Dutt’s early films. In 1951, Guru Dutt’s friendship with Dev Anand led to a first break in film direction. [br /]
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[b]Guru Dutt[/b] first met Dev Anand at Prabhat. They shared a common laundry man who by mistake exchanged Guru Dutt’s shirts with that of Dev Anand’s. Then, Guru Dutt worked with Bedekar in Hum Ek Hain. Being of same age and like minded, they could develop into great friends. Dev Anand had also promised him a director’s role in his films when he made them.[br /]
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Turning Point

His uncle’s painting called ‘The Struggle for Existence’ inspired Guru Dutt. The painting showed a man holding a snake coiled around his body. His uncle had painted it, when he himself was a student, and had received an award for it. When Guru Dutt saw the painting, he said, “Uncle, I feel like dancing to this.” He performed the dance in front of their Brahmin Association, and was applauded during his first stage performance. His actions were graceful and yet at the same time impulsive. He was playing with the snake - trying to hold it, and the snake was trying to get away. Benegal’s painting of the man suggested a combat, whereas Guru Dutt’s interpretation of the painting was playful and fearless. Mr. Bhandarkar, a friend impressed by his performance, gifted him Rs 5. That friend later became the distributor for ‘Guru Dutt Productions’ in the 1956 film, CID. This dance was instrumental for his admission to Uday Shankar’s troupe.[br /]
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First Love - A Negative Experience
During his stay at Poona, Guru Dutt had fallen in love with a young dancer, Vijaya who was also involved with a married man. That man’s wife wanted her husband to stop the affair with Vijaya. As a result, she tried her best to force the 19-year-old Guru Dutt to marry her. Somehow, Guru Dutt realized the facts and all the matter was over. With an idea to save him from such further calamities his mother choose a Hyderabadi cousin’s daughter Suvarna, for his marriage. Both met each other and agreed to get married. They also wrote to each other. Suddenly, all correspondence was stopped, and the family broke connections with Guru’s family. They arranged the girl’s marriage with another boy. The reason behind such a decision was a letter written by Guru Dutt to his uncle, informing him about the Vijaya incident. Guru Dutt wanted to avoid a misunderstanding developing after marriage. His uncle remained unmoved by the honesty of Guru. But, Guru never ever expressed his disappointment or his sadness towards his unfulfilled desire of marring Suvarna.[br /]
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In 1947, Pai gave up his partnership with the Prabhat Film Company and developed the Famous Pictures and Studios at Bombay. Here Guru received a job as an assistant to director Anadinath Banerjee for the film Mohan. Dev Anand starred in the film Mohan. Guru Dutt spent two years at Prabhat and then returned to his family home in Matunga.[br /]
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[b]Difficult Times[/b][br /]
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The family passed through a financial crisis. At the end of 1947, after his contract with Pai was over, he found himself out of work for almost a year. Guru Dutt submitted his short stories to the British editor of The Illustrated Weekly of India C R Mandy. The stories always came back accompanied by a rejection note. Guru and Atmaram were so disillusioned by the lack of opportunities to find work that they contemplated opening a bookshop near King’s Circle in Matunga. The depression and despondency of being aimless made its mark on Guru Dutt. He went deep into self-analysis and became aware of a real artist not valued in a materialistic world. He also realized that personal talent was not sufficient to satisfy a creative mind. It was at this time that he wrote his first draft of Pyaasa, which was originally called Kashmakash (conflict). [br /]
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Financial problems and developing tensions in the family resulting from his parents’ difficult relationship added to his desire to succeed and being recognized.[br /]
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After some time, he finally managed to get a job as an assistant to Amiya Chakravarty, a leading director of forties. By 1949, Amiya Chakravarty left Bombay Talkies and was working under an independent banner when he made Girls School. On the sets of Girls School, where Guru assisted, he came in close contact with the film’s leading actress, Geeta Bali. After that in 1950, Guru became an assistant to Gyan Mukherjee on Bombay Talkies’ film Sangram, a crime thriller starring Ashok Kumar and Nalini Jaywant. In 1950, Dev Anand kept his promise of giving a film produced by him to Guru for direction. Guru, who was then working as Gyan Mukherjee’s assistant, was asked to direct Navketan’s second production. Guru Dutt’s first film Baazi was released on June 15, 1951 at the Swastik Cinema in Bombay.[br /]
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[b]Director on Sets[/b][br /]
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Guru Dutt gave artists a lot of liberty for developing themselves. He never compromised on quality, whatever the costs. It was always difficult for him to find the first shot of a scene, as he wanted a perfect beginning. He never liked to wear costly or flashy clothes. He was a simple man and pleasant by heart, but he turned a tiger on sets. Raj Khusla said, “I’m known for my song picturizations. It’s Guru Dutt’s skill that I have learnt - the use of the face and eyes more subtle than body movements”. Sailaab was a big flop. Sailaab turned out to be a financial disaster. The movie left Geeta Dutt bankrupt and insolvent, which meant that she would never hold any shares in Guru Dutt’s film company.[br /]
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[b]Marriage and An Expanding Family[/b][br /]
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On May 26, 1953, three years after their engagement, he married Geeta Roy. Guru Dutt took her to Haji Malang Baba shrine in Kalyan before her marriage, to inquire whom did she want to marry - Guru Dutt or the Bengali boy, whom her family favored. They got married in the traditional Bengali style at Geeta’s mother’s home in Santa Cruz, Mumbai. Dev Anand, Vyjayantimala, Nutan and Motilal attended the wedding. Though they had a love marriage and a long engagement, the differences in Guru Dutt’s and Geeta’s background and social standing caused difficulties.[br /]
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Geeta Dutt was a leading playback singer at the time while Guru Dutt had yet to establish himself as a director. The press said that Guru Dutt had married Geeta only for money and the big name she had in industry. Geeta was very social and enjoyed attending parties, while Guru Dutt preferred staying alone or working without moving around in parties.[br /]
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A leading actress of the Hindi film industry Shyama said, “Guru Dutt was a romantic really, and Geeta was very possessive. She would come to the sets and used to keep an eye on him.” He never felt any responsibilities towards his family or towards society. When he was in his 20s and 30s, he worked round the clock. Geeta was also a very good person, but they could not meet intellectually. Guru Dutt was also very pleasant natured. His brother Atmaram said, “The way Guru Dutt lived ! I don’t think that he was meant for a normal married life.[br /]
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He should have lived like someone in France, where you live with someone and you are not necessarily married to them.” Guru Dutt never liked family matters on the dining table, when he was eating his food. He would leave his plate, wash his hands, take his packet of Gold Flake cigarettes and go out for a walk. In 1954, he and his family moved to a five-room flat in an apartment block - Seth Nivas on 16th Road of Khar. [br /]
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On July 9, 1954, Geeta Dutt gave birth to Tarun his first son. Fortunately Tarun’s birthday coincided with Guru Dutt’s birthday.[br /]
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On July 10, 1954, Guru Dutt’s second son Arun was born in Mumbai when Guru Dutt and his family were living at the Seth Nivas flat on 16th Road, at Khar. Soon after his birth, Guru Dutt bought a large bungalow at 48, Pali hill in Bandra and moved there with his family.[br /]
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Being a lover of nature, Guru Dutt bought many pets including cats, dogs, birds, hares and a monkey. Guru Dutt didn’t talk much to his sons. He was so occupied with his work that there were times that his children were sleeping when Guru Dutt left in the morning, and when he returned, his children were sleeping.[br /]
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His relationship with Geeta had normalized for a short while. After the release of Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, Geeta and Guru Dutt along with Tarun and Arun went to Kashmir for a brief holiday. He always dreamt of having a daughter, and his wish was fulfilled in August 1962, when Geeta gave birth to Nina, their third child. In the summer of 1963, they decided to pull down their old bungalow in Pali Hill, Bandra, to build an apartment block in its place. Geeta was keen to see the bungalow destroyed, as she believed that the house was haunted and the ghost who lived in the garden tree was destroying their marriage.[br /]
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In 1963, Guru Dutt and his family moved to Pali Naka, where they rented a flat in an apartment block, which was called Ashish. It was just opposite Dilip Kumar’s house in Bandra and they stayed there for six months. They brought a flat at Peddar Road. They gradually shifted to smaller and smaller dwellings. By early 1964, Guru Dutt moved out of Ashish to live in Ark Royal on Peddar Road. He lived there alone, looked after by his valet, Ratan and his cook, Ibrahim.[br /]
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[b]Later Years[/b][br /]
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In order to supplement his earnings and to keep his studio running, Guru Dutt acted in outside productions released during 1963/64. In 1963, he acted in Bahurani with costar as Mala Sinha, directed by T. Prakash Rao. In 1963, he also worked for Bharosa directed by K. Shanker with his costar being Asha Parekh. In 1964, he acted in Suhagan, which was directed by K S Gopalakrishnan with Mala Sinha as his costar, and Sanjh Aur Savera, directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee with Meena Kumari. He was also cast in K. Asif’s film Love and God, story of the legendary Arabian lovers, Laila and Majnu. The movie was almost abandoned with the death of K. Asif in 1971, but his wife completed it in 1986 with Sanjeev Kumar.[br /]
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Around 1962/63, Guru Dutt wanted to make a film in the ‘Arabian Nights’ style called Kameez. Simi and Randhir were to be in the lead roles but somehow the project was dropped out. Guru Dutt was impressed by Raj Kapoor’s Sangam in 1964 and planned to make a color film. It was during this time that the production of Baharen Phir Bhi Aayengi (The Spring Will Return) was started. The film was based on President in 1937 under the titles Didi and Badi Bahen. Guru Dutt asked Shahid Lateef to direct Baharen Phir Bhi Aayengi and O P Nayyar to compose its music. During the recording of the film’s score, Guru Dutt commented that, “OP Nayyar composed feelings, not words.” Many lyricists including Kaifi Azmi and Anjaan wrote a number of lyrics for Baharen Phir Bhi Aayengi. Guru Dutt picturized the film’s most famous song, Aap ke haseen rukh pe aaj naya noor hai (your beautiful face glows today with a new light). It was written by Anjaan.[br /]
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[b]Invited Death[/b][br /]
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Atmaram said, “Sometimes he (Guru Dutt) used to say that an astrologer had predicted that he would go mad at the age of 32 and he believed it.” Then onwards he drank heavily, but never when he was shooting. He was a strict disciplinarian as far as work was concerned, but completely undisciplined in his personal life.[br /]
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On October 10, 1964, Guru Dutt committed suicide. His servant Ratan was the person to discover his death at the Ark Royal flat. He was 39, when he died with the deep psychological disturbances that provoked his repeated attempts of suicide, which ultimately led to his death due to an overdose of sleeping pills. Success and fame achieved in his life could not overcome his inner turmoil. During the making of Baharen Phir Bhi Aayengi, he drank and smoked heavily, but there was no one who could stop him.[br /]
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On the day previous to his death, he wanted his children to be with him. They lived with his wife after their separation. Geeta refused to send them. He talked to Mala Sinha and called his friend Asif to see him. Alvi lived for some weeks with him at Ark Royal, as Guru Dutt was lonely. Abras Alvi stated, “He (Guru Dutt) used to take sleeping pills - Sonarils. So he must have had a lethal dose.” The postmortem results stated that he died around 5:30 to 6:00 am on Saturday, October 10, 1964.[br /]
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On the day Guru Dutt died, a sitar recital by Abdul Haleem Khan was organized at his sister Lalitha Lajmi’s home. Guru called her earlier and informed, “Lali, I’m not coming for the party - I feel lost when I’m in a crowd. I’d prefer to come on a day when we are just by ourselves.” Tarun was too young, so his brother Atmaram performed the last rites at the Sonapur crematorium.[br /]
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After about 15 years of his death, Firoze Rangoonwala had written a monograph on Guru Dutt in 1978 and sporadic morning screenings of his films in major Indian cities. Interest increased in Guru Dutt’s films in late ’70s and early ’80s, when a French critic, Henri Micciollo, wrote an excellent study of his films. On watching Pyaasa, Micciollo was deeply moved and intrigued by the film and its director.[br /]
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[b]Recognition of His Works[/b][br /]
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In early 1980s, International Film Festivals held in France, Italy and America highlighted the work of Indian directors of the ’50s, and among the many films screened were, Guru Dutt’s works. Few films as Pyaasa and Kaagaz Ke Phool were shown on British television and were released in Paris cinemas. In 1988, a Japanese librarian who had seen Pyaasa, at a Festival of India cinema held in Tokyo wrote, “Guru Dutt’s films made me realize that a film is a world in itself. If Pyaasa was not in the selection, I would never have been as committed as I am now to Indian Cinema.”[br /]
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Alfred Hitchcock and Guru Dutt appeared in their films on the premises that the director also has a star status. Guru Dutt, unknown to audiences at the release of Baazi, appeared not as a forgettable passer-by, but precisely as the screen character that he developed in his later films - the young man at the doorway could easily be Vijay of Pyaasa and Suresh Sinha of Kaagaz Ke Phool, withdrawn and defeated.[br /]
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He used to go to the Famous Cine in Mahalaxmi where Dev Anand had his offices by bus, when he was working for Baazi. Later, during the making of the film, Dev Anand’s van used to pick him up every morning. Music by S D Burman as well as lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi both were highly appreciated in the film. The song Tadbeer se bigdi hui taqdeer bana (Find a way to correct your damaged fate) created a tremendous stir in audiences and the song made them return again and again to the cinema hall. It was a ghazal set to music in the western style and sung by playback singer Geeta Roy.[br /]
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Baazi’s screenplay was formulaic. The tone of the film follows the conventions of the lightweight thriller. The diman of the song Suno gajar kya gaaye (Heed the cry of the bird) is a remarkable example of Guru Dutt’s use of close-ups and rhythm in editing. He used his songs as a natural instinct that not only hold attention for their own poetic and artistic merit but also advance the story. The effects of Baazi’s success on Guru Dutt’s life were multiple and included an excited Guru Dutt buying the first ceiling-fan for the family flat in Matunga. He was 26 years old and was in love with the playback singer, Geeta Roy, whom he had met at the recording of Tadbeer se bigdi hui. She had a star status when Guru Dutt and his family first met her during the mahurat of Baazi.[br /]
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Despite her success and fame, she visited Guru Dutt’s family frequently and showed humility. They both were too much in love and were anxious to marry, but Geeta’s family was reluctant to lose the breadwinner of the household. Thus, the wedding was postponed for two years.[br /]
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Raj Khosla worked as Guru Dutt’s assistant in Baazi, Baaz, Jaal and Aar Paar. Despite the success of Baazi, rumors of tension between producer Chetan Anand and Guru Dutt brewed. Chetan Anand believed that Guru Dutt could not direct address Kalpana Kartik competently, so he took over the filming himself for three short days. Guru Dutt considered resigning but Dev intervened and made sure that Guru Dutt was left alone. After Baazi, working again for Navketan was improbable and he found a new producer - T R Fatechand of Filmarts, a refugee from Sind, to back his second film Jaal (The Net).[br /]
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Jaal was released at the Kamal Theatre in Mumbai on September 12, 1952. It included praise for his authentic portrayal of the Christian fishing community. The Filmfare review said, “Slick direction, competent narration, naïve quality about narration. Guru Dutt has done, on the whole, a fairly good job in wielding the megaphone”. [br /]
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Though Guru Dutt did not manage to make Jaal work as a thriller, he did achieve success in his picturization of its songs. Guru Dutt had always wanted to see Hindi films without songs to appeal to audiences and had even asked Waheeda Rehman to pray for the success of B R Chopra’s Kanoon (Law, 1960), an early attempt of a songless film. Though Guru Dutt might have wanted to break away from this important convention of Hindi cinema, Shyam Benegal, Guru Dutt’s cousin believes that the way Guru Dutt filmed songs was one of his greatest talents. He said, “In terms of film technique what he has left behind is the way he picturized songs. It was his contribution to Indian cinema, and it has had a tremendous impact on anybody who has made films after him. He was very much part of the tradition of Indian cinema, but he had a young man’s romantic vision.”[br /]
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Though he clearly had an instinct for choosing talented people to work with him, he was always said to be a man of few words. He could not make Dev Anand work long with him. Dev Anand had his own style, and therefore an irritated Guru Dutt couldn’t bring him to do what he wanted. Unable to work with each other, Guru Dutt decided to become an actor. Raj Khosla said, “Guru Dutt was not a good actor to begin with. He was very awkward and self-conscious in Baaz, but he had an iron will. Any other man would have been broken after the failure of Baaz. The film flopped. Any other man would have just broken down, abandoned acting and gone back to direction, but he stuck it out.”[br /]
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Guru Dutt moved to a flat in an apartment block Sunder Villa on 12th Road in the Mumbai suburb of Khar with his family, which included his mother, brother and sisters. On September 5, 1952 Guru Dutt started a production company in partnership with Haridarshan Kaur, Geeta Bali’s elder sister. Baaz was a great flop. They jointly prepared Baaz, Aar Paar, and planned Geetanjali, which never materialized. They separated due to heavy financial loss after Baaz. Yet the public popularly uplifted its songs. Har zabaan ruki ruki, har nazar jhuki jhuki (Silent tongues and lowered eyes) sung by Geeta Dutt and Mujhe dekho hasrat ki tasveer houn main (Look at me, I am the very picture of desire) were very popular. With Abrar Alvi he found a writer who understood the cinema medium and who approached film writing with a new energy and originality.
Mr & Mrs 55 opposed the corrupt influence of westernization on India’s urban rich by reaffirming traditional Indian values. The heroine of the film is a woman struggling for independence and her rights. There is a great use of intelligent repartee rather than usual buffoonery and slapstick prevalent in most Hindi comedies. It has a pace, mood and feel of the American comedy.[br /]
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Though Aar Paar and Mr & Mrs 55 are often categorized as his comedies, the films have little in common. Fluid camera movements excellent use of light and shade, long tracking shots, brilliant use of close-ups, good intellectual dialogues, non-predictable plots, perfect sense of music, naturalistic performances and a psychological depth to his characters are the hallmarks of his works. S Guruswamy, not only his colleague but also a good friend said, “I had the feeling that Guru Dutt was much ahead of his times.[br /]
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Then came his CID his first movie with Waheeda Rehman. In 1955, Guru Dutt met her first at a silver jubilee performance of a Telugu film Rojulu Marayi (Times have changed) in which Waheeda played a small role. The highlight of the film was a dance by Waheeda Rehman and Guru Dutt was also impressed by her dance, hence he offered her a role in CID and many moves thereafter. The film was released on August 17, 1956, in Mumbai. The movie is a crime thriller where Shekhar (Dev Anand), a Criminal Investigation Department officer is framed for the murder of a prisoner. The movie earned him lot of money. It had popular song a duet, Leke pehela pehela pyar (With my very first love) sung by Mohammed Rafi and Shamshad Begum.[br /]
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Guru Dutt worked on Sailaab (The Flood). It was not his own dream. It was a film produced by Geeta Dutt’s brother Mukul Roy. Guru Dutt was persuaded to complete it when the film’s director, Ravindra Dave, left the production on it halfway. Sailaab was released at the Imperial Theatre in Mumbai on April 13, 1956.[br /]
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Despite the financial loss in Kaagaz ke Phool, he produced and directed Chaudhvin ka Chand (Moon of the 14th day) within 10 months in 1960. He used color photography for the songs in the film. It is a movie based on the Muslim culture at Lucknow. Guru Dutt got the movie directed by Sadiq Sahib as the movie was based on an Islamic mode of life. During the making of the movie Guru Dutt also looked after his household expenses. The movie became a great financial success. It also happened to be the first of Guru Dutt’s films to be entered in an international film-festival, held at Moscow in 1962.[br /]
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Along with making films, Guru Dutt also took up roles in other productions. Out of the other productions, Sautela Bhai (Stepbrother) is his most remembered film released in 1962. [br /]
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The year 1962 was a mixed year for Guru Dutt. On January 22, 1961, Guru Dutt’s, father Shivshankar Padukone died at his bungalow in Pali Hill. His death was caused by an allergic reaction to an injection of antibiotics. Guru Dutt was busy with shooting at Mehboob Khan Studio’s in Bandra. Guru Dutt visited Haji Malang Baba’s shrine in Kalyan after his father’s death as he did whenever he was depressed. His brother Atmaram said, “Guru Dutt acquired my father’s sense of perfection and my mother’s great abilities, her love for art and her everlasting zest for life.”[br /]
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Guru Dutt had said to Raj Khosla, “80 per cent of acting is done with the eyes of the actor, and 20 per cent the rest.”[br /]
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