Considered to be a man ahead of his time, Guru Dutt was one of the
greatest icons of commercial Indian cinema. Although he made less than
ten films, they are believed to be the best to come
from Bollywood's Golden Age, known both for their ability to reach out
to the common man and for their artistic and lyrical content, and they
went on to become trend-setters that have influenced Bollywood ever
since. But for all his genius, there was a shroud of tragedy that
overshadowed his career and life.
Dutt was born in Mysore on July ninth, 1925, the eldest son of a headmaster
and a housewife who was a part-time writer. As a child, he had to deal with a strained relationship between his
parents, hostility from his mother's family, and the death of a
close relative. He received his early education in Calcutta, and in
1941, he joined the Uday Shankar India Culture Center, where he
received basic training in the performing arts under dance maestro
Uday Shankar. Afterward, in 1944, he had a
short stint as a telephone operator.
Dutt entered the Indian film industry in 1944, working as a
choreographer in Prabhat Studios. There, he became friends with
Dev Anand (whom he met when they worked on the
film Hum Ek Hain (1946)) and
Rehman Khan. These early friendships helped
ease his way into Bollywood. After Prabhat went under in 1947, Dutt
moved to Mumbai, where he worked with the leading directors of the
time: Amiya Chakrabarty in
Girls' School (1949) and
Gyan Mukherjee in
Sangram (1946).
He got his big break when Dev Anand invited
him to direct a film in his newly formed company Navketan Films. Dutt
made his directorial debut with
Baazi (1951), which starred
Dev Anand. The film was an urban crime
thriller that paid homage to classic film noir. However, it also
carried its own elements that ensured it was not a remake of a
Hollywood film: notably, songs were used to further the story's
narrative, and close-up shots were used frequently. The film was a
success and became a trend-setter for future crime films. On the
personal front, Dutt met his wife, playback singer
Geeta Dutt (née Roy), during the
song-recording sessions of Baazi (1951),
and they married May twenty-sixth, 1953.
Dutt's next releases were Jaal (1952) and
Baaz (1953). Dutt made his acting debut in
the latter film, which he also directed. But while they were average
successes, he finally tasted success with
Aar-Paar (1954), another crime thriller,
but with a far more polished story and look. Then came
Mr. & Mrs. '55 (1955), a frothy
romantic comedy focusing on women's' rights; and
C.I.D. (1956), yet another crime thriller
in which Waheeda Rehman made her debut.
His next films, Pyaasa (1957) and
Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), are
regarded as his best work. Pyaasa (1957)
was his masterpiece, about a poet trying to achieve success in a
hypocritical, uncaring world. It was a box-office hit and is ranked as
his greatest film ever. In contrast,
Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959) was a
miserable flop at the box office: the semi-autobiographical story of a
tragic love affair set against the backdrop of the film industry was
deemed too morbid for the audience to swallow and went right over
audience's heads. Although in later years the film received critical
acclaim for its cinematography and has gained a cult following, Dutt,
who had put his soul into the film, was devastated over its failure and
never directed another film.
Although he had sworn off directing, Dutt continued to produce and act
in films, notably the period dramas
Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960) and
Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962).
The latter film, interestingly, is controversial because it is debated
whether Dutt had ghost-directed the film. Dutt's
personal life had become complicated: he had gotten romantically involved with his
protégé Waheeda Rehman and his wife Geeta
Dutt had separated from him as a result. Rehman too had distanced
herself from him. Also, Dutt, an ambitious person, felt he had achieved
too much too soon professionally - there was nothing better to be
achieved, and this caused a vacuum in his life. Unable to cope with all
the trauma and emptiness, he took to heavy drinking.
On October tenth, 1964, Dutt was found dead in his bed. The cause of death
was deemed a combination of alcohol and sleeping pills, although a
debate still lingers over whether his death was by accident or a
successful suicide attempt. Geeta Dutt suffered a nervous break-down as
a result of his death and also took to alcohol, eventually drinking
herself to death, dying in 1972 as a result of cirrhosis of the liver.
His death was an irreplaceable loss to Indian cinema. And it was a
tragic twist of fate that his films, most of which were discounted in
his life-time, would be regarded as cult classics after his death. Guru
Dutt would always be known, even if posthumously, as the Guru of
Bollywood's Golden Age and one of the world's most important
international auteurs.
