It has been over six decades since Guru Dutt passed away on October 10, 1964, but his works remain timeless, with filmmakers still getting inspired by his films, his visual sense and that unmistakable play of light in his cinema. On his 100th birth anniversary today, lyricist and writer Javed Akhtar opens up on Guru Dutt.
Javed Saab, I can’t think of anyone more qualified than you to speak of Guru Dutt as we observe his 100th birth anniversary.
Is it really a hundred years? His films are timeless. They are celebrated to this day as masterpieces. And rightly so. His visual sense, the way he framed his characters in a song. Aap Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam mein dekh lijiye…Na jao saiyyan chuda ke baiyyan..Eighty per cent of the song is shot on a bed. Who could do that except Guru Dutt?
Did you ever get a chance to meet Guru Dutt?
I came to Mumbai with the dream of becoming another Guru Dutt. Sadly, he passed away a few weeks after I came to the city. But his legacy follows and haunts me, as it follows every thinking filmmaker and artiste. I don’t think there is any major filmmaker in Hindi cinema who is not influenced by Guru Dutt.
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Mala Sinha and Guru Dutt in Pyaasa. (Express archive photo)
His reputation hinges mainly on two films?
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Yes, Pyaasa and Kaagaz Ke Phool. But even if you look at his lighter films like Mrs & Mrs 55, Jaal or Aar Ya Paar, the songs, the way he shot them was simply unbelievable! A whole song in Mrs & Mrs 55 was about a car. He didn’t need to go to Switzerland to find aesthetic visuals. They were all in his mind. His visuals and the lighting of the songs. Every frame is a masterpiece in “Waqt ne kiya kya haseen situm”, “Yeh raat yeh chandni phir kahan” or “Dekhi zamane ki yaari” in Pyasa. How did he do it ? There is no identifiable location. It’s all in his mind. What he imagined is what we see.
‘Guru Dutt didn’t really need a screenplay to make a great film’
How would you rate Guru Dutt as compared with the other greats?
There were many other great directors like Raj Kapoor, Bimal Roy and Mehboob Khan. But none could match Guru Dutt’s visual sense. I would say he went beyond the screenplay.
Please explain.
All other great directors needed a strong screenplay to make their classics. Guru Dutt didn’t really need a screenplay to make a great film. His cinema went far beyond the written word. It was all there in his mind. He could put on screen exactly what he visualized in his mind. From among his two most celebrated classics, I have a problem with Kaagaz Ke Phool. But in Pyaasa, the visuals and lighting will be talked about for as long as cinema exists.
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Waheeda Rehman and Guru Dutt in Kaagaz Ke Phool. (Express archive photo)
What are your problems with Kaagaz Ke Phool?
I feel when a filmmaker allows his personal life to impinge on his cinema, the work becomes self-indulgent. This, according to me, was the case with Kaagaz Ke Phool. That said, no one can deny Guru Dutt’s place among the greatest visionaries of Indian cinema, if not the greatest.
