Vasanth Kumar Shivashankar Padukone (Konkani:

}) (9 July 1925 10 October 1964), popularly known as Guru Dutt, was an Indian
Iilm director, producer and actor. He is oIten credited with ushering in the golden era oI Hindi
cinema. He made quintessential 1950s and 1960s classics such as Pyaasa (Thirsty), Kaaga: Ke
Phool (Paper Flowers), Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (The King, the Queen and the Jack) and
Chaudhvin Ka Chand (The Fourteenth Day Moon). In particular, Pyaasa and Kaaga: Ke Phool
are now included among the greatest Iilms oI all time, both by Time magazine's "All-TIME" 100
best movies
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and by the Sight & Sound critics' and directors' poll,
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where Dutt himselI is
included among the greatest Iilm directors oI all time.
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He is sometimes reIerred to as "India's
Orson Welles".
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In 2010, he was included among CNN's "top 25 Asian actors oI all time".
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He is most Iamous Ior making lyrical and artistic Iilms within the context oI popular Hindi
cinema oI the 1950s, and expanding its commercial conventions, starting with his 1957 Iilm,
Pyaasa. Several oI his later works have a cult Iollowing. His movies go Iull house when re-
released; especially in Germany, France and Japan.
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The latest book on him is Ten Years with
Guru Dutt. Abrar Alvis Journey by Sathya Saran based on the recollections oI his chieI
scriptwriter and Iriend.
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ontents
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O 1 Early liIe and background
4 1.1 Bengali connection
4 1.2 Early Inspirations
O 2 Career
4 2.1 Early career
4 2.2 As choreographer, actor, assistant director
4 2.3 Dev Anand and Guru Dutt's promise
4 2.4 Baazi's other contributions
4 2.5 As director
4 2.6 Guru Dutt's last productions
O 3 Death
O 4 Personal liIe
O 5 Legacy
O 6 Memorable quotes
O 7 Selected Iilmography
4 7.1 Actor
4 7.2 Director
4 7.3 Producer
O 8 Further reading
O 9 See also
O 10 Notes
O 11 ReIerences
O 12 External links
edit] Early life and background
Guru Dutt was born to Shivashanker Rao Padukone and Vasanthi Padukone. His parents were
Konkani speaking Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmins, originally settled at Panambur, a village in
South Kanara district oI present day state Karnataka (then Madras Province).
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His Iather was
initially a headmaster, and then a bank employee. His mother Vasanthi, while initially a
housewiIe, later taught in a school, gave private tuition and also wrote short stories and
translated Bengali novels into Kannada. Vasanthi was only 16 when Guru Dutt was born.
Guru Dutt had a tough childhood with Iinancial diIIiculties, and a strained relationship between
his parents. As a child he had some bad experiences; the hostility Irom his maternal uncle's
Iamily, a Irightening encounter with his insane maternal adopted uncle, and the death oI his
seven-month old brother (Shashidhar).
|citation needed|

Guru Dutt was initially named Vasanth Kumar at birth at the suggestion oI his mother's elder
brother, but aIter a childhood accident, he was renamed Guru Dutt, which was Ielt to be a more
auspicious name. He was joined by three younger brothers, Atmaram, Devidas and Vijay and a
younger sister, Lalitha. The Indian Iilm director, Kalpana Lajmi, is his sister's daughter.
He spent a great deal oI time with his mother's cousin, Balakrishna B. Benegal (known to the
Iamily as Bakutmama) who was a painter oI cinema posters. The Indian Iilm director, Shyam
Benegal, is the son oI Sridhar B. Benegal, Balakrishna's younger brother.
edit] Bengali connection
Guru Dutt's Iather was initially a headmaster at Panambur and later a bank employee at
Bangalore. He moved jobs to work as an administrative clerk at the Burmah Shell company and
began living at Bhawanipore in Calcutta, where Guru Dutt Iinished his schooling. Hence, Guru
Dutt spoke Iluent Bengali, and carried a distinct stamp oI Bengali culture in his work
|citation needed|
.
Later, when he moved to Bombay (now called Mumbai) in the 1940s, he dropped the
Shivashankar Padukone part oI his name, and was known simply as Guru Dutt. Because Dutt is a
common Bengali last name, many people assumed that he was a Bengali.
edit] Early Inspirations
His sister recalls that at age 14 Guru Dutt would use his Iingers to shape images on a wall lit up
by the Ilickering light oI their grandmother`s diya (candle) as she perIormed the evening arathi
(prayer). Though untrained, he could produce inspired movements as he did when he persuaded
his uncle, Benegal, to photograph him perIorming a snake dance, based on a painting by the
latter. The snake dance was later perIormed at a gathering oI Saraswat Brahmins at Calcutta Ior
which Guru Dutt was even given a cash prize oI 5 Rupees.
He was a good student, but never went to college, partly because oI Iinancial troubles at home.
Instead, he joined the perIorming arts troupe oI Uday Shankar, the older brother oI the better-
known Ravi Shankar.
The Uday Shankar India Culture Center at Almora taught dance, drama, and music. It aimed at
combining the best oI the Gurukula system with a modern Arts University, and tried to turn out
well-rounded students, at home in many disciplines. A young Guru Dutt joined the center at age
16 in 1941 on a Iive-year scholarship oI Rs. 75 annually (a lot oI money then), and studied at
Almora until 1944, when the advancing World War II Iorced the closing oI the center.
edit] areer
edit] Early career
Guru Dutt wired home to say he had got the job oI a telephone operator at a Lever Brothers
Iactory in Kolkata. But soon he disengaged himselI Irom the job, and joined his parents in
Mumbai in 1944.
However, his uncle Iound him a job under a three-year contract with the Prabhat Film Company
in Pune (then called Poona) in 1944. This once premier Iilm producing centre had already seen
the departure oI its best talent, V. Shantaram, who had by then launched his own Kala Mandir. It
is here that Guru Dutt met two people who would remain his good Iriends - actors Rehman and
Dev Anand.
Guru Dutt acted in a small role as Sri Krishna in Chand in 1944. In 1945, he acted as well as
assisted director Vishram Bedekar in Lakhrani, and in 1946 he worked as an assistant director
and choreographed dances Ior P. L. Santoshi`s Iilm, Hum Ek Hain.
This contract ended in 1947, but his mother got him a job as a Ireelance assistant with Baburao
Pai, the CEO oI the Prabhat Film Company and Studio. However, aIter that, Ior almost ten
months, Guru Dutt was unemployed and stayed with his Iamily at Matunga, Mumbai. During
this time, Guru Dutt developed a Ilair Ior writing in English, and wrote short stories Ior The
Illustrated Weekly oI India, a local weekly English magazine.
It is during this time that he is supposed to have written the script Ior the almost autobiographical
Pyaasa (Hindi: the thirsty one). Its original name was Kashmakash (Hindi: struggle), which was
changed later to Pyaasa and was written at his home in Matunga.
|citation needed|

It is in this phase oI his liIe that Guru Dutt was married twice! The Iirst time he eloped with a
girl called Vijaya Irom Pune, and later his parents had him married to his maternal niece,
Suvarna, Irom Hyderabad.
edit] As choreographer, actor, assistant director
While Guru Dutt was hired by Prabhat Film Company as a choreographer, he was soon pressed
into service as an actor, and even as an assistant director. At Prabhat, he met Dev Anand and
Rehman, who both became stars. These early Iriendships helped ease his way into the Iilm
world.
AIter Prabhat Iailed in 1947, Dutt moved to Mumbai, where he worked with two leading
directors oI the time, with Amiya Chakravarty in Girls School, and with Gyan Mukherjee in the
Bombay Talkies Iilm Sangram. Then, Dev Anand oIIered him a job as a director in his new
company, Navketan, aIter the Iirst movie had Ilopped.
Thus, Guru Dutt's Iirst Iilm, Navketan's Baa:i, was released in 1951 . It was a tribute to the
Forties' Film Noir Hollywood with the morally ambiguous hero, the transgressing siren, and
shadow lighting.
edit] Dev Anand and Guru Dutt's promise
There exists a very interesting anecdote behind this new job. Guru Dutt and Dev Anand used the
services oI the same laundry man when they were at Prabhat in Pune in 1945. One day Anand
Iound that one oI his shirts had been replaced with a diIIerent one. On arriving at work as the
hero oI Hum Ek Hain, he Iound the Iilm's young choreographer (Guru Dutt) wearing his shirt.
On being questioned, Guru Dutt admitted that it was not his shirt, but since he had no other, he
was wearing the replacement. This developed into a great Iriendship, since they were oI the same
age. They promised each other that, iI Guru Dutt were to turn Iilmmaker, he would hire Anand as
his hero, and iI Dev were to produce a Iilm then he would use Guru Dutt as its director.
Dev Anand IulIilled his end oI the bargain with Baa:i, but still regrets that his Iriend Guru Dutt
did not. Guru Dutt indirectly did IulIill his promise. His studio, Guru Dutt Movies Pvt. Ltd.,
produced "C.I.D." which starred Dev, but the Iilm was directed by Raj Khosla (an assistant
director to Guru Dutt). Thus, technically, Guru Dutt never directed Dev Anand under his
production company.
Guru Dutt and Dev Anand would make two super-hit Iilms together, Baa:i, and Jaal. Creative
diIIerences between Guru Dutt, and Chetan Anand (Anand's elder brother), who was also a
director, made Iuture collaborations diIIicult.
Remembering his old Iriend Guru Dutt, Anand quotes, 'He was a young man he should not have
made depressing pictures.
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Recently, Anand quotes, "my only true Iriend in the Iilm industry. We got close to each other
while working Ior Prabhat, one oI the big banners oI those days. I gave him his big break in
Baazi and he cast me in some oI his movies like C.I.D."
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edit] Baazi's other contributions
Baa:i also highlights two early key technical developments in Indian movie-making that are
attributed to Guru Dutt. The use oI close-up shots with a 100 mm lens - there are over 14 in the
movie - which became known in Indian movie-making as the "Guru Dutt shot", and the use oI
songs to Iurther the narrative in the movie. Guru Dutt also introduced Zohra Sehgal (whom he
met at Almora) as the choreographer in the movie, and he also met his Iuture wiIe, Geeta Dutt
during the making oI the movie.
edit] As director
Baazi was an immediate success. Guru Dutt Iollowed it with Jaal and Baaz. Neither Iilm did well
at the box oIIice, but they bring together the Guru Dutt team that perIormed so brilliantly in
subsequent Iilms. He discovered, and mentored, Johnny Walker (comedian), V.K. Murthy
(cinematography), and Abrar Alvi (writing and directing), among others. He is also credited Ior
introducing Waheeda Rehman to the Hindi cinema. Baaz was notable in that Guru Dutt both
directed and starred, not having Iound a suitable actor Ior the principal character.
Fortune smiled on Dutt's next Iilm, the 1954 Aar Paar. This was Iollowed by the 1955 hit, Mr.
and Mrs. 55, then C.I.D., Sailaab, and in 1957, Pyaasa - the story oI a poet, rejected by an
uncaring world, who achieves success only aIter his apparent death. Guru Dutt played the lead
role in three oI these Iive Iilms.
His 1959 Kaagaz Ke Phool was an intense disappointment. He had invested a great deal oI love,
money, and energy in this Iilm, which was a selI-absorbed tale oI a Iamous director (played by
Guru Dutt) who Ialls in love with an actress (played by Waheeda Rehman, Dutt's real-liIe love
interest). Kaagaz Ke Phool Iailed at the box oIIice and Dutt was devastated. All subsequent Iilms
Irom his studio were, thereaIter, oIIicially helmed by other directors since Guru Dutt Ielt that his
name was anathema to box oIIice.
Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, a critically and commercially successIul Iilm, was directed by his
protege, writer Abrar Alvi, which won him the FilmIare Best Director's award. The Iilm's star
Waheeda Rehman denied rumors that the Iilm was ghost-directed by Guru Dutt himselI.
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Guru
Dutt also has his inIluence on his last box oIIice smash hit Chaudhvin Ka Chand.
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His legacy to direction oI Hindi cinema is unmistakable and accepted by many leading Hindi
directors oI the day, including another oI his protege, Raj Khosla.
edit] Guru Dutt's last productions
In 1964 he acted in his last Iilm Sanfh Aur Savera opposite Meena Kumari.
|citation needed|

edit] Death
On 10 October 1964, Guru Dutt was Iound dead in his bed in his rented apartment at Pedder
Road in Mumbai. He is said to have been mixing alcohol and sleeping pills. His death may have
been suicide, or just an accidental overdose. It would have been his third suicide attempt |1|.
Guru Dutt's son, Arun Dutt, said that he views this as an accident in an interview with India
Abroad in October 2004 on the 40th anniversary oI his Iather's death. Guru Dutt had scheduled
appointments the next day with actress Mala Sinha Ior his movie Baharen Phir Bhi Aayengi, and
Raj Kapoor to discuss making colour Iilms. According to him, "my Iather had sleeping disorders
and popped sleeping pills like any other person. That day he was drunk and had taken an
overdose oI pills, which culminated in his death. It was a lethal combination oI excessive liquor
and sleeping pills."
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At the time oI his death, Guru Dutt was involved in two other projects - Picnic starring actress
Sadhana, and director K. AsiI's epic, Love and God. Picnic remained incomplete and Love and
God was released two decades later with Sanjeev Kumar replacing Dutt in the leading role.
The extra-Ieature on DVD oI Kaagaz Ke Phool has a 3 part Channel 4 produced documentary on
the liIe and works oI Guru Dutt titled In Search oI Guru Dutt.
Most people, including Abrar Alvi, seem to suggest that it was a suicide. Abrar and Guru Dutt
sat late that night discussing a movie, and according to Alvi, during thier conversation, Guru
Dutt was very morbid in his thinking and conversation.
He was, according to many, distressed by his personal situation - his wiIe, Geeta Dutt, had
distanced herselI Irom him. He had a sleeping disorder that made him take sleeping pills, and he
had been drinking since 5:00 pm that evening.
According to Asha Bhonsle, Guru Dutt called her at midnight beIore his death to ask whether
Geeta, his wiIe was with her to which she replied in negative. She was the last person who spoke
with Guru Dutt.( Doordarshan Documentary on Guru Dutt aired on Oct 10 2011)
edit] Personal life
In 1953, Dutt married Geeta Dutt, a well-known playback singer. They had been engaged Ior
three years and had to overcome a great deal oI Iamily opposition to marry. They had three
children, Tarun, Arun, and Nina.
Dutt had an unhappy marital liIe. According to his brother Atmaram, Guru Dutt was "a strict
disciplinarian as Iar as work was concerned, but totally undisciplined in his personal liIe" (Kabir,
1997, p. 124). He smoked heavily, drank heavily, and kept odd hours. Guru Dutt's relationship
with actress Waheeda Rehman also worked against their marriage. At the time oI his death, he
had separated Irom Geeta and was living alone. Geeta Dutt herselI died in 1972 at age 41, aIter
excessive drinking which resulted in liver damage. According to an interview with Abrar Alvi,
one oI Dutt's close Iriends and his assistant director in Iilms, Dutt did not "open up" to discuss
his thoughts and problems, even though they were spending many hours together.
|citation needed|

edit] Legacy
Guru Dutt was at Iirst mourned as a matinee idol but as the years passed, it became ever clearer
that it was as a director that he would be remembered. Starting in 1973, his Iilms were shown at
Iilm Iestivals throughout India and the rest oI the world. Despite being a commercial director, he
appealed to the same intelligentsia who made Satyajit Ray an international Iavorite. He also has a
place in the hearts oI many ordinary Indians Ior his song picturisations and the many vivid
characters sketched in his Iilms.
Contrary to a general belieI about the viability oI his Iilm projects, Guru Dutt more or less
produced commercially successIul Iilms.
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Over the years the commercial nature oI his projects
saw a trade-oII with his creative aspirations. Movies like C.I.D., Baazi, Pyaasa, Kaagaz Ke
Phool, Chaudhvin Ka Chand and Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam were rightIully the Iirst oI their kind in
Hindi cinema. The only movie produced by Guru Dutt and termed a box-oIIice disaster was
Kaagaz Ke Phool, now a cult classic. He lost over 17 Lacs producing that movie, a large amount
by the standards oI the time, which was more than recovered by his next project, Chaudhvin Ka
Chand. He never lost Iaith in his team or in the distributors oI his Iilms. Once a project was over,
he would begin anew - with little concern about the commercial success oI the previous project.
He was part oI an exclusive school oI Indian Iilm directors, including the likes oI Raj Kapoor,
Mehboob Khan and Bimal Roy, who were able to achieve a healthy blend oI artistic and
commercial success between the mid-1950s and mid-1960s.
Pyaasa was rated as one oI the best 100 Iilms oI all time by Time Maga:ine.
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In the 2002 Sight
& Sound critics' and directors' poll, two oI his Iilms, Pyaasa and Kaaga: Ke Phool, were among
the top 160 greatest Iilms oI all time.
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The same 2002 Sight & Sound poll ranked Dutt at #73 in
its list oI all-time greatest directors, thus making him the eighth highest-ranking Asian Iilmmaker
in the poll.
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edit] Memorable quotes
O On Iailure oI Kaagaz Ke Phool and success oI Chaudhvin Ka Chand : "LiIe mein, yaar,
kya hai? Do hi toh cheezen hai kamyaabi aur Iailure. There is nothing in between."
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("What is there in liIe, Iriend? There are only two things - success and Iailure. There is
nothing in between.")
O While scouting Ior locations in Baroda Ior Chaudhvin Ka Chand : "Dekho na, mujhe
director banna tha, director ban gaya; actor bana tha, actor ban gaya; picture achche
banane thay, achche banay. Paisa hai, sab kuch hai, par kuch bhi nahi raha."
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("See, I
wanted to be a director, I became one. Wanted to be an actor, I became one. Wanted to
make good pictures, I have done that too. Have money, have everything. But I have
nothing leIt.")
edit] Selected filmography
edit] Actor
O Picnic (1964)-Incomplete
O Sanfh Aur Savera (1964)
O Suhagan (1964)
O Bahurani (1963)
O Bharosa (1963)
O Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962)
O Sautela Bhai (1962)
O Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960)
O Kaaga: Ke Phool (1959)
O OClock (1958)
O Pyaasa (1957)
O Mr. & Mrs. 55 (1955)
O Aar Paar (1954)
O Baa: (1953)
O Hum Ek Hain (1946)
O Lakha Rani (1945)
O Chand (1944)
edit] Director
O Kaaga: Ke Phool (1959)
O Pyaasa (1957)
O Sailaab (1956)
O Mr. & Mrs. 55 (1955)
O Aar Paar (1954)
O Baa: (1953)
O Jaal (1952)
O Baa:i (1951)
edit] Producer
O Aar Paar (1955)
O C.I.D. (1956)
O Pyaasa (1957)
O Gauri (1957) Incomplete
O Kaaga: Ke Phool (1959)
O Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960)
O Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962)
O Baharein Phir Bhi Aayengi (1966)