Cinematic Genius, Tragic Life

Guru Dutt was born Gurudutt Padukone in Bangalore on 9 July 1925. His father, Shivshankar Rao Padukone, had married Vasanthi in 1923. The family, part of the Saraswat Mangalorean community, later moved to Bombay, where Dutt spent his early years in a modest Matunga flat. Shivshankar changed jobs often, and the family struggled financially. Dutt, the eldest of five, was followed by Atmaram, Lalitha, Devi, and Vijay. His name was eventually shortened to Guru Dutt.

In 1929, Vasanthi moved to Calcutta with the children; Shivshankar joined later and spent 30 years with Burma Shell. In Bhowanipur, Dutt became fond of jatra performances and soon spoke fluent Bengali. Vasanthi’s cousin, cinema-hoarding artist B.B. Benegal, also influenced the children. After school in 1940, Dutt briefly worked as a telephone operator before turning to dance. From 1942 to 1944, he trained in Oriental dance at Uday Shankar’s Almoracentre on a Rs 75 monthly scholarship but had to leave when it shut down.

His sister, Lalitha Lajmi, became one of India’s finest artists, while her daughter, Kalpana Lajmi, became a noted filmmaker. ShyamBenegal was a close family relative.

Dutt moved to Pune, then known as Poona, and joined Prabhat Studios on a three-year contract as a dance director, occasionally acting in B-grade films and assisting directors. There, he learnt the craft of filmmaking. He met Dev Anand on Hum Ek Hain (1946)—Dutt as dance director, Anand as lead—and they became lifelong friends. Returning to Bombay in 1947, Dutt remained unemployed for a year due to the post-Partition slump, later joining Gyan Mukherjee as an assistant.

Dutt debuted as a director with Baazi (1951), produced by Dev Anand’s Navketan Films. During its recording, he met singer Geeta Roy; they fell in love and married in 1953. The marriage, with three children, soon turned turbulent.

Baazi is remembered for S.D. Burman’s experimental ghazal Tadbeer Se Bigdi Hui Taqdeer Bana Le, set to Western music, and the choreography of SunoGajar Kya Gaaye. Dutt then launched his production house and made Baaz, acting opposite Geeta Bali. Jaal (1952), reportedly inspired by De Santis’s Bitter Rice (1948), broke clichés of Christians as carefree caricatures, portraying fishermen as hard-working and honest. Though framed as a thriller, it resonated as a love story with memorable songs. Its black-and-white visuals, shot by V.K. Murthy—who shot all of Dutt’s films—evoke deep nostalgia.

His first major hit was Aar Paar (1954), a stylish thriller with polished production. This was followed by Mr. & Mrs. 55 (1955), a breezy romance that hinted at women’s rights, and C.I.D. (1956), a gripping thriller that launched Waheeda Rehman’s career. His films stood out for their music, lyrical depth, and striking visuals.

Pyaasa (1957) was the first of Dutt’s tragic masterpieces, followed by KaagazKe Phool (1959) and Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962). In Pyaasa, Meena and Gulab—Vijay’s former lover and a compassionate prostitute—serve as emotional contrasts, amplifying the film’s impact without weakening its core message.

KaagazKe Phool remains one of Indian cinema’s finest self-reflexive films—a tribute to the studio era of the 1930s–40s. In one scene, Suresh, the director-protagonist, watches Vidyapati (1937), a classic of the time. The films he’s shown directing are real titles from Indian archives.

India’s first CinemaScope film, featured stunning cinematography by V.K. Murthy, who captured the studio mood using lighting and shadow. He balanced the narrative with the ‘film-within-a-film’ structure, using chiaroscuro to separate illusion from realism. The sets reflected two moods—success, with bright lights and bustle, and decline, as a solitary Suresh wanders through an empty studio.

The film also bears autobiographical undertones—Dutt’s elegy to himself, conveyed through script, imagery, and rhythm. A strained relationship with a leading lady reportedly caused rifts with Geeta Dutt. Battling insomnia, he drank during shoots and suffered depression. His premature death seemed tragically foretold in the film.

With Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962), Duttimmortalised a Bengali classic, drawing a landmark performance from Meena Kumari. Told in flashback, the story is framed by a decaying mansion and an ageing Bhootnath. It’s been compared to The Magnificent Ambersons and shares Viscontian qualities in its detail and quiet mourning of a lost world.

Shortly before his death, Dutt moved into a new flat, living alone with a servant. In October 1964, he died of a sleeping pill overdose, leaving behind his wife, three children, his banner, and the unfinished BahareinPhirBhiAayegi, which had to be re-shot.

His films—among the finest of the 1950s—gained international acclaim posthumously, screened at festivals in France, Italy, and the US, aired on British TV and were released in Paris. Pyaasa was also featured at a Tokyo festival. Ironically, it was death that brought Dutt the recognition he seemed to foresee in Pyaasa—that true artists are often valued only after they’re gone.

(The author is a film scholar. Views personal)