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Jul

JULY 9: DEATH ANNIVERSARY

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GURUDUTT: TO FORGET_HIM_IS DIFFICULT

Kalpana Mathur

 

New Delhi, 9 July 2024

It is long since he is gone but it is difficult to forget him. His memory still haunts us. And to remember him you need not see his films time and again. What you saw long, long years ago has been enough to leave a lasting, lifelong impression on your mind.

 

There was always an enigmatic quality about Guru Dutt. He looked and behaved neither like an actor nor a filmmaker and yet he was both. Even in his greatness, there was a strange gentility, in his eyes compassion and understanding. He rarely appeared in film journals and lived as simply as the man next door. This man was never aggressive or loud in his ways, yet did more for Hindi films than any of his contemporaries. He gave films a new artistic honesty, a new style. He evolved his style of film creation, a deeply personal approach to the art, which came to be known. as "The Guru Dutt Style." Countless people loved and admired him, although he had few friends.

 

When Guru Dutt died a great sense of loss pervaded the film industry. It was the untimely death of a good man he was just 39. From him and his films, people had come to expect a meaningful freshness, a rare artistic excellence. And suddenly they realized they could expect nothing anymore. His life and his work were but half finished when he expired his films "Baharen Phir Bhi Aayengi" and K. Asifs' "Love And God" in which Guru Dutt had the lead role of the eternal lover, Majnu, were both incomplete. Also, he had plans, there were always his plans and dreams, for the future. Just hours before his death he had been in the studios in the din of a film unit, lights, set properties costumes all the make-believe from which Dutt created his reality.

 

Article at a Glance
Guru Dutt, a renowned Indian filmmaker, left an indelible mark on the film industry. Despite his untimely death at 39, his legacy continues to haunt us. With a unique style, he brought artistic honesty and excellence to Hindi films.
His films, such as "Pyaasa", "Kaghaz Ke Phool", and "Sahib, Bibi Aur Ghulam", are still remembered for their depth and beauty. Guru Dutt's journey was not easy; he faced hardships and rejections, but his passion for filmmaking kept him going. He was a voracious reader and drew inspiration from literature.
His dedication to his craft was unwavering, and he was known for his perfectionism. Guru Dutt's memory lives on, and his films continue to inspire generations of filmmakers and audiences alike.

 

Today it seems strange indeed that Guru Dutt entered films as a dance That was soon after his matriculation and a start of studying dance at Uday Shankar's dance academyra. Guru Dutt went from there to Poona where he joined Prabhat Talkies. For him, there were no luck breaks, no sudden success. For 14 years he worked at the bottom suffering hardships and learning all about films and filmmaking.

Suffering a sharpened edge of his sensitivity, increased his understanding of the ding of life and made him immensely humane. There were tears in those years when Guru Dutt despaired of ever being a success, of ever getting the chance to make his artistic dreams come true.

 

But those fears were unwarranted. He got his chance at last when he had to direct 'Baazi', a crime film. It was a theme with limited artistic possibilities, but Guru Dutt's handling of the crime story transformed it into an absorbing and powerful film. 'Baazi' became immensely successful and with its success Guru Dutt too found himself known and talked about.

 

Guru Dutt, during his short career, was connected with only 15 films but most of them were memorable as artistic works. Among them were 'Pyaasa', 'Kaghaz Ke Phool', 'Chandhvin Ka Chand' and 'Sahib, Bibi Aur Ghulam'. The film 'Kaghaz Ke Phool' was India's first cinemascope film.

 

Guru Dutt gave all his life to film and filmmaking. When someone once told him that the evening time was meant for play, he said in his characteristically soft voice. "Now this is the only play left in my life. If the work is well done.... something really good... then I feel I have enjoyed myself." He was a voracious reader and delved deep into Hindi, Urdu, and English literature. He took a special interest in Hindi novels because when he liked any novel or story very much he thought of making a film out of it. "I have read the Hindi writings of Ilachandra Joshi, Vrindavanlal Varma, and countless others. All I feel was that they have the beauty of language and that all, some have interesting incidents.... but it is rare to find depth," Guru Dutt said once to an interviewer.

 

Even after choosing a story, Guru Dutt worked hard on it and almost always slept late at night. With the true artiste's liking for perfection, he changed and re-shot the scene until he was satisfied. Once he scrapped a film that was almost complete. He did not think it was good enough.

 

On the day before his death, Guru Datt was working on the shooting of 'Baharen Phir Bhi Aayengi.' The artists took a little break because some work had to be done on the studio lighting. Actor Rehman and Guru Dutt came out in the garden and started doing some practice shooting with an airgun. Guru Dutt kept missing shots but then he took the other gun and hit bulls-eye. Right then he saw a doze sitting on a window ledge and pointed his gun at it. "What is it?" asked Rehman. "It's a dove," replied Guru Dutt. Then the dove hopped from its perch to a tree. Guru Dutt followed it with his gun. "The poor thing does not know that death is following it," Guru Dutt said.

One of the men standing nearby said something that became meaningful in the light of events. "Man also cannot know when death is following him," said the gentleman. Guru Dutt at that time merely smiled.

 

Guru Dutt usually worked in his office and during the day was kept busy with the functions of a film producer. Even so, he did not like to be tied down by routine. He let his manager handle most things and signed papers often without even looking at them. Once this was pointed out to him. He said, "By trusting my staff I save myself from many routine problems..... And I am happy that I have never had to suffer a loss because I trusted in them. The fact is that filmmaking in India today has become such a complicated business that few other men have to face the worries that trouble a filmmaker." Guru Dutt ran a hand through his hair and continued. "Worries never leave a man. And someone has rightly said that when worries come they make a man bold."

 

 

Guru Dutt himself was, of course, far from bold, but his sensitive mind was never free of worries. "The mind is trapped by so many worries that sometimes I cannot sleep for entire nights," he said once to a friend. "I try everything to sleep, but it is useless. That is why I can't get up early in the mornings. When I was a young man, I used to be up and about soon after down."

 

In spite of his talent and deep understanding of the film medium, Guru Dutt was always keen to bear criticism of his work. Once he was sitting in a projection room to see three shots that had been taken the same day with his brother, Atma Ram, and writer Abrar Ali. After the screening Guru Dutt turned to the other too and wanted their true opinion on the shots. Abrar Ali pointed out one or two places where improvements could be made and at once Guru Dutt admitted that his conception of the scene lacked something. That scene in the film was done again.

 

Guru Dutt was a quiet man and did not make friends quickly. But those who were close to him loved him sincerely. For them, Guru Dutt can never die.

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