The legend of Guru Dutt: A rebel without a cause

"He did not even leave a note to tell us why he was doing it.”

Film still of actor Guru Dutt and Waheeda Rehman, from the Hindi film Chaudvi Ka Chand (1960/1960) by Kamat Foto FlashMuseum of Art & Photography

The Unquenching Thirst

The idea of critical thinking and introspection lingered forever in his upcoming films.

Guru Dutt was born on July 9th, 1925 as Vasant Kumar Shiv Shankar Padukone in Bangalore. Soon his parents shifted to Bhowanipore, Calcutta. Dutt spent a fair amount of time in the city, picking up the ethos and pathos of the culture and people around him. The Rediff.com reports that the name ‘Guru Dutt’, was considered auspicious at the time in Bengal and was hence picked up by him. Thus, the influence of Bengal lingered upon him.


Dutt has been often remembered as the inquisitive kid. His mother recounted in the documentary In search of Guru Dutt (1989) that if young Dutt wanted to know something, he would pester her till the time she could answer all his questions. These questions would range anything from the pieces of machinery and the world around little Dutt to the myriad of phenomena in nature. His interest in dancing took him to Almora, where he trained himself under the guidance of the luminaire, Udayshankar.

Eminent Actors of the Golden Era of Indian cinema (2018-06/2018-06)Art Deco Mumbai

In 1944, Dutt joined the Poona Film Company as an assistant director. It is this job at the Film Company that sowed the seeds of film-making in him. He learned many things like the different styles of storytelling, the art of performing and the nuances of the genre of film noir. It is this learning that Dutt would later apply extensively in his films. The idea of critical thinking and introspection lingered forever in his upcoming films.
Dutt is known today in the world, for his stark commentary on the hypocrisy of the social mores and moral decadence. His eloquent acting and meaningful screen directions brought his stories to life.


While India was soaring high with the fervour of its long due independence, Dutt’s representation of the society did not limit itself to a world of gimmicks, where dreams could turn into realities overnight. Rather, he chose to scratch off the surfaces and expose the hollowness lying within. Instead of projecting a utopian bliss, he told stories of unemployment, poverty and societal stigmas in a free-India.

Film poster for 'Bahurani' by UnknownMuseum of Art & Photography

Dutt’s exposé was threatening enough for the dreams and aspirations of the masses at large, and thus, many of his films like Kagaaz ke Phool became commercial disasters. Nevertheless, he would be remembered as “an Orson Welles-like figure, only fully appreciated after his death in 1964,” in the words of Kavita Amarnani.

Dutt at the core was a performer, and would never shy away from acting out most of his scenes to his actors. In the end, the actors were just placed in a scheme of things that the director had already staged for them.

Dutt was not a native speaker of Hindi, and had always been skeptical about his diction and delivery of dialogues. But it is this craze for authenticity that led to his finding actors like Waheeda Rahman and Johnny Walker.

Dutt’s love for exploring the character sketches of minor or secondary characters came through the depiction of different foibles and idiosyncrasies of various communities. Be it through the dialects of a Parsi community or mannerisms of a fisherman community in Goa.

Photographic still of actor Guru Dutt, from the Hindi film PyaasaMuseum of Art & Photography

Dutt is also remembered as a socialist and reformist when it comes to storytelling. Films like Aar Paar (1954) and Pyaasa (1957) paved the way for modern screenwriters to integrate real-life authenticity into fiction plots.

Dutt chose to represent the women of his time in a very different light. He developed a feminist approach to question the legacy of the patriarchal society through his strong female characters. He was actually representing the reformist attitude of the nation which was heading towards a society of equal representations, where the economic empowerment of women was as important as the economic upliftment of the entire country. In Guru Dutt’s films, the economically independent woman was positioned higher than the unemployed group of female characters. For example in his 1953 feature, Baaz, the courageous princess, Nisha enslaves a ship to become a rebellious queen; clearly overshadowing the character of Queen Regent in the film, who held her title as a gift of legacy.

The women in his films were always representative of the workforce of the new age. From Rajani in Baazi (1951), to Juliet in Kagaaz ke Phool (1959) he had time and again presented lady doctors in his films. His female characters have a strong focus in the overall narrative of the story and they are not just placeholders. The birth of feminism and Dutt’s film might not have any correlation but the way he had set the stage for future directors to experiment on the much-underutilized heroines of the industry is exemplary.

It is also interesting to note that Dutt critiques the existing conventions of our society like marriage. In Mr. & Mrs. 55 (1955), marriage is not a grand affair but something which becomes a farce, a mockery of existence at the cost of other’s happiness. Many would find that his marriage with Geeta Roy and finding his Chaudhvin ka chaand (1960), Waheeda Rahman actually arcs the trail of him finding the free-willed wonder girl of his generation.

Photographic lobby still for the film 'Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam' by Possibly Kamat Photo FlashMuseum of Art & Photography

The Great Indian Idealist

Dutt was an idealist by nature. He believed that the pompousness around his celebratory success was all but permanent.

The self introspection around his own work and doubts on how much of a difference could his films actually make to the society became an ethical crisis which was maintained throughout his oeuvre. His personal life was crumbling with the complications and the enigmatic nature and scope of his life at work. The rumors around Waheeda Rahman and Dutt's romantic foibles were taking a toll on his marriage.

With Kagaz Ke Phool in 1959, Dutt crossed the fourth wall of the narrative form to become a world-class director of all times, by mirroring a recount of his personal life; torn between his wife and a beautiful actress. Considered to be an autobiographical masterpiece, this film actually came four years earlier than Fellini’s 8 ½ which garnered global success in the same genre. But, Dutt failed to make a mark in the box office with his film.

This film was uncannily similar to his love-life with Geeta, which despite having a steamy beginning, ended up in separation. Though the movie failed to make an effect, it regarded Dutt as an auteur, and the movie survived through ages to tell the story of his craftsmanship.

Guru Dutt’s passion for cinema and his eager portrayal of the ideals or the erosion of it in his movies had affected his soul to a point of restlessness. As his writer friend Abrar Alvi points out in the May edition of Filmfare (1966):

…That night (after filming a depressing scene for Baharein Phir Bhi Aayengi), he just approved of the last scene; bade me good-bye, and then, after locking himself up in his room, quietly quit this world when dawn was just round the corner. That cruel night spirited away his restless soul. He did not even leave a note to tell us why he was doing it.”

Dutt would often drown himself out of his senses to tune out from the grueling pain of being impregnated to share and tell too many stories too soon. This balance between the repressed and expressed (his cinema) was finally set off out of the balance.

Eminent Actors of the Golden Era of Indian cinema (2018-06/2018-06)Art Deco Mumbai

Finally, he gave up his life to a deadly concoction of alcohol and sleeping pills, perishing at the meager age of 39. He was hosting an audience who were largely awaiting a change in the way of things. From the employability situation of free India, to the socio-economic conditions of the middle class, people were looking forward to some kind of a breathing space.

A space where they hear and see the genuine enthusiasm of the New India, over the passion of the ideals. This New India comprised of those souls who longed for the lost grandeur of the nation and romanticized a world in the future without the hypocrisies of the pseudo-utopian present. Dutt stood on the forefront of these pensive romantic souls of the times. The only difference is that of the optimism, the ability to tell the stories he wanted, no matter what.

Credits: Story

-Biography of Guru Dutt
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guru_Dutt
-Why Guru Dutt's Black and White Existential Poetry is Relevant in the Glossy India of Today
https://thewire.in/film/guru-dutts-black-white-existential-poetry-relevant-glossy-india-today
-Remembering Guru Dutt
https://www.filmfare.com/features/remembering-guru-dutt-16025-1.html
-Guru-Dutt: Portrait of a ‘split-personality’
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/Guru-Dutt-Portrait-of-a-%E2%80%98split-personality%E2%80%99/article17204461.ece
-Was Guru Dutt India's Orson Welles?
https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2008/mar/14/wasguruduttindiasorsonwel
-Women, the forgotten symbol of Guru Dutt's progressive ideas
https://www.cinestaan.com/articles/2016/jul/9/1305/women-the-forgotten-symbol-of-guru-dutt-s-progressive-ideas
-What made actor-director Guru Dutt the master of feelings
https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/news-makers/story/20170925-pyaasa-guru-dutt-kaifi-azmi-kaagaz-ke-phool-waheeda-rehman-hyderabad-1044759-2017-09-16
-In Search of Guru Dutt
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Search_of_Guru_Dutt

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
Explore more
Related theme
Hindi Cinema
Your ticket into the magical world of Indian cinema
View theme
Google apps