Guru Dutt?(born - July 9, 1925, died - October 10, 1964): The story of a genius

Today is the 82nd birth anniversary of Guru Dutt, one of the most poetic directors that the Hindi film industry has ever seen. One would not err in calling him a genius. But a genius probably with a death wish which ultimately consumed him. But more of that later.

Born as Guru Dutt Padukone in Mysore on July 9, 1925, his first introduction to the world of arts was through Uday Shankar and his dance academy. He underwent some kind of training under the maestro before joining Prabhat Studios and his first break was as a choreographer with the film Hum Ek Hain (1946). The film starred Dev Anand, who went on to become a close friend and associate. In the period that followed, Guru Dutt hopped studios, from Prabhat to Famous to Bombay Talkies. His friend Dev Anand meanwhile become a star and launched his own banner, Navketan, and naturally invited Dutt to direct a film for him.

The year was 1951 and Baazi was released. It heralded the start of a tumultuous career as director for Guru Dutt. Baazi, starring Dev Anand and Kalpana Kartik, was a forerunner of the new-found urban genre of films. Dev Anand fitted in very easily as the protagonist in this genre. He typified the suave, slick city gentleman. Director Guru Dutt created a grey world of urban crime and a spate of films in the same genre followed like, Baaz, (with Dutt as the leading man), Jaal (1952) and Aar Paar (1954). He also met and fell in love with the mellifluous Geeta Dutt duing a song recording for Baazi. The duo got married in 1953.

Guru Dutt was now ready to move on to the next phase of his career. This was one of the most exciting phases in his career. By now, he had honed his skills to perfection and was a master of the medium. What followed were classics like Mr & Mrs 55 (1955), Pyaasa (1957) and Kagaz Ke Phool (1959). Pyaasa, was of course, ?the ultimate masterpiece' of all times. The film portrays the story of a poet, played to perfection by Dutt himself, trying to make a place for himself in society. The film is remembered today for its outstanding music by SD Burman and lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi, who became the voice of the anguished poet, Vijay. In this film, the director in Guru Dutt had perfected the art of playing with light and shade. His shot taking was marvelous and show a rare sense of lyricism. It was not just pure grammar but the poetry as well. With his next film, Kagaz Ke Phool, Guru Dutt took film making to a new height. It is technically his best work - the camerawork, the frames. The film deals with the relationship between a director and his prot?g?. Many say, it is a reflection of the directior's relationship with his prot?g? Waheeda Rehman. But the film bombed at the box office and broke Guru Dutt's heart. He would never direct a film again. But he continued to produce films. It is, however, said that he directed Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962), even though it is credited to writer Abrar Alvi. This film saw one of the best performances ever by Meena Kumari as the Chhoti Bahu. It also went on to win many awards and was India's official entry to the Oscars that year.

Guru Dutt's story is perhaps the ultimate tragedy. His personal life with Geeta Dutt was a mess. His prot?g?, Waheeda Rehman, too deserted him, and his passion, which was Kagaz Ke Phool crashed at the box office. A very sensitive personality, Guru Dutt was unable to cope. And finally, on October 10, 1964, he is believed to have taken an overdoes of sleeping spills and died. Accident or suicide? That still remains a mystery. Besides his many movies as an actor and director, he gave us Waheeda Rehman, one of the most graceful actresses to have adorned the Hindi film screen and the comedian Johnny Walker.

The man may have died but his soul lingers on in his films. Guru Dutt's films are that rare combination of soul and grammar, a combination which has rarely been duplicated since.