'The Boy from Bangalore': Born Vasanth Kumar Shivashankar Padukone on July 9, 1925, in Bangalore, Guru Dutt grew up in a conservative middle-class family. His name got changed to Gurudatta Padukone after an incident in his childhood with a belief that it will bring him good fortune. His father was a headmaster and a banker while his mother was a teacher and writer. Dutt spent part of his early childhood in Bhowanipore, Kolkata where he learnt to speak fluent Bengali.
'Early training in classical dance':
In 1942, he opted to study at Uday Shankar’s School of Dancing and Choreography in Almora. After that, he got a job as a telephone operator in Kolkata. However, it soon turned out to be disenchanting for him and he quit.
'First tryst with the movies':
After this, Dutt stayed with his parents in Mumbai for some time before his uncle got him another job at the iconic Prabhat Film Company in Pune. He worked there as a choreographer and assistant director on films like 'Lakhrani' (1945) and Dev Anand’s acting debut, 'Hum Ek Hain' (1946). It was during his time here that he befriended Dev Anand and on came a promise: If Anand were to produce a film, he would offer it to Dutt for direction.
'The coveted directorial debut':
Dev Anand kept his promise when he hired Dutt to direct his production house, Niketan Films’ second movie, 'Baazi' (1951). Written by Balraj Sahni, the film marked the beginning of a new genre, ‘Bombay Noir’ and its eventual success led to more noir films being made in the 1950s and 60s in Hindi cinema.
'Dutt meets Geeta':
It was also during the filming of 'Baazi' that Dutt met playback singer Geeta Roy Chowdhuri. They fell in love and got engaged. However, they could only marry in 1956 after dealing with opposition in the family. After marriage, the two moved together to a bungalow in Mumbai’s Bandra and eventually had three children, Tarun, Arun and Nina.
'The Guru Dutt Team':
Dev Anand and Guru Dutt collaborated again for another crime-thriller, 'Jaal' in 1952 which became the third-highest grossing films of the year. After this, Dutt directed and starred in 'Baaz' (1953), an action-adventure film set on a ship. Although the film turned out to be a failure, it brought together a team with whom Dutt worked frequently in his later films, including actor-comedian Johnny Walker, cinematographer VK Murthy, writers Abrar Alvi and Raj Khosla and actor Waheeda Rehman among others.
'Guru Dutt, the Producer':
In 1954, Dutt launched his own production banner, Guru Dutt Films Pvt. Ltd. The first film from his production, 'Aar Paar' (1954) turned out to be a success and is known for its catchy music album. It was also directed by him and he starred in the lead. This was followed by the romantic-comedy 'Mr. & Mrs. ’55' (1955) (also director) and the iconic crime-thriller 'C.I.D' (1956), which was directed by Raj Khosla and produced by Dutt. Being a producer gave him the creative freedom to experiment both narratively and visually.
'The artist laments':
Turning away from the boundaries of genre filmmaking, Dutt turned into his own inner turmoil in his most personal film, 'Pyaasa' (1957). It told the story of a struggling poet disillusioned with society, a character many saw as a reflection of Dutt himself. The film’s socio-political themes found a release in the lyrics of Sahir Ludhianvi with music by S.D. Burman. Dutt followed it up with, 'Kaagaz Ke Phool' (1959) which told the story of a director who falls in love with a woman, creating problems in his marriage. While 'Pyaasa' was a success, 'Kaagaz Ke Phool' turned out to be a box-office disaster.
'Growing bond with Waheeda Rehman':
Dutt’s tumultuous personal life mirrored his on-screen expression. Over the years, he started growing closer to his co-star Waheeda Rehman, which created tensions in his marriage with Geeta. Dutt also smoked and drank heavily, being out till odd hours which further created hassles in his life. Eventually, he started living alone and got separated from Geeta.
'Chaudhvin Ka Chand':
After the failure of 'Kaagaz Ke Phool', Dutt was discouraged and decided not to direct films further. He continued to act and produce and it was the success of the romantic-drama 'Chaudhavin Ka Chand' (1960) which helped him recover the losses of 'Kaagaz Ke Phool'. The film features a song, ‘Chaudhavin Ka Chand Ho’, which was filmed in a special colour sequence.
'Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam':
'Chaudhavin Ka Chand' was followed by Abrar Alvi’s Sahib 'Bibi Aur Ghulam' (1962) where Dutt played the quiet, observant Bhootnath, who empathises with the pain in the life of Meena Kumari’s iconic Chhoti Bahu. The film wasn’t a success at the box-office but is remembered for Guru Dutt and Meena Kumari’s performances and Murthy’s stunning cinematography.
'His last film':
Guru Dutt’s last film as an actor turned out to be Hrushikesh Mukherjee’s 'Sanjh Aur Savera' (1964), where he starred alongside Meena Kumari. By this time, the actor was struggling with alcoholism and sleep disorders along with depression.
'A life cut short':
Guru Dutt died in his sleep on October 10, 1964 at the age of just 39. It is contested whether the nature of his death was suicide or accidental. He had attempted to kill himself two times before this. His son, Arun, called it an accident, saying that Dutt had popped sleeping pills and overdosed on it after being drunk. Twelve years after his death, his mother, Vasanthi Padukone, published his biography in Kannada titled 'My Son Gurudatta: Life-Story'.
'Incomplete projects':
Guru Dutt had multiple projects lined up before his untimely death. Just on the next day of his death, he had an appointment with actor Mala Sinha and Raj Kapoor for the film 'Baharen Phir Bhi Aayengi', which was produced by Dutt. Along with that, he was also involved with Picnic, starring Sadhana and K. Asif’s epic, 'Love and God'. The former was shelved but the latter had to be completely reshot and it was ultimately released in 1986 with Sanjeev Kumar in the lead.
'His legacy lives on':
Whether it is through the melodramatic display of societal inequalities in 'Pyaasa' or the complexities of love in 'Kaagaz Ke Phool', Guru Dutt’s memory stays alive in his films. Through these deeply personal films, he created a certain aesthetics of tragedy which captured the turbulence of existence in a stark way. Along with that, his other films, 'C.I.D', 'Baazi', 'Chaudhavin Ka Chand' and 'Saheb Bibi Aur Ghulam' brought a new sensibility to Hindi cinema.
