Roundabout | Bouquets to Guru Dutt & glory for Peshawar boys
It is to the golden era of cinema this weekend with grand centenary tributes to filmmaker Guru Dutt and appreciation of the homes of Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor being turned into museums
Vasanth Kumar Shiv Shankar Padukone, whom we know and revere as Guru Dutt(July 9, 1925 to October 10 1964), the finest filmmaker in the golden era of Indian Cinema. Remembered as the master of light and shade, Dutt turned into a legend following his death in 1964 due to consumption of alcohol mixed with sleeping pills. The debate continues whether it was suicide over his sadness if his relationship with the actor he had introduced to cinema, the great performer Waheeda Rehman, or accidental as he had sleep disorders yet it was seen and mourned as a great tragedy of one of the exceptional talents of Indian cinema. A poet of the talent of Kaifi Azmi had burst out in one of the finest memorial poems of loss which I can still recall my mother reading it out to us with sighs when I was just nine then: ‘Tum jaise gaye aise tao jaaya nahi karate, Ik baar tao khud maut bhi ghabra gayi hogi, Yoon maut ko seene se lagaya nahi karate’ (The way you went is not the way to go, For a moment death too would have trembled, This is not the way to embrace death). Yet after his passing away, his stature as a filmmaker-actor became immortal, passing as he did from life to legend. God may or may not love those who die young, but the human species certainly do so. He directed some eight Hindi films and gained a cult status that was unparalleled. His directorial debut came with a close friend, Dev Anand, in 1951 with Baazi to be followed by Jaal (1952) with Geeta Bali playing the female lead and Geeta Dutt, the amazing singer and Dutt’s wife singing soulful numbers. The film was a huge success and there was no looking back for the two friends who had promised one another to be together in their days of struggle.
Tributes to the legend
As the film industry is celebrating the centenary of Dutt, leading film personalities have come forward to salute his genius with the chorus of ‘he taught us to make films’. Sudhir Mishra, a filmmaker to recon with who has made memorable films in in the times of parallel cinema, like Dharavi, Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, and Chameli, says: “There is nothing in my life that I have done which isn’t influenced by Guru Dutt. I haven’t measured up to him, but I am trying to. Every film I have made, every scene I have written, every shot I have taken I can’t imagine it without Guru Dutt. He taught us how to make films. He taught us how to see films.” Javed Akhtar, who gave his special stamp to Indian cinema, says his dream was to assist Dutt: “My dream was that after graduation, I ‘ll go to the film industry and assist Guru Dutt for some years. It is so unfortunate that I came to Bombay (now Mumbai) on October 4,1964 and he passed away on October 10, so I could never ever see him.”
Dutt, with his classic cinema including Pyasa, top of the charts, Sahib Bibi aur Gulam and his autobiographical Kagaz ke Phool, which did not reach out to the people then but is considered a marvel now. Dutt died young but ensured his immortality in his passionate art. I get a funny feeling that 100 years ahead of now some scribe like me will be celebrating his legend with a line from Kaifi Azmis’s poem to him: ‘Kyon mar ke bhi hothon pe hasi khel rahi thi/ Sab jaanate hain aur bataya nahi karate (Why was he smiling even in death/ Everyone knows it but keeps silent).
{{/usCountry}}Dutt, with his classic cinema including Pyasa, top of the charts, Sahib Bibi aur Gulam and his autobiographical Kagaz ke Phool, which did not reach out to the people then but is considered a marvel now. Dutt died young but ensured his immortality in his passionate art. I get a funny feeling that 100 years ahead of now some scribe like me will be celebrating his legend with a line from Kaifi Azmis’s poem to him: ‘Kyon mar ke bhi hothon pe hasi khel rahi thi/ Sab jaanate hain aur bataya nahi karate (Why was he smiling even in death/ Everyone knows it but keeps silent).
{{/usCountry}}The tragedy king & the showman
{{/usCountry}}The tragedy king & the showman
{{/usCountry}}Before one goes onto the talk of the great actor and the greatest showman of the golden era, both hailing from Peshawar, Dilip Kumar’s regret on turning down a role offered to him by Dutt in Pyaasa. Kumar had been the filmmaker’s first choice for the leading role of the dejected poet and lover in the film. Kumar, however, turned down the offer and Dutt stepped into the role himself making rare film history. Later, Kumar regretted having the role of Vijay- the poet which Dutt portrayed in such intensity that it is considered one of the landmark performances of Indian cinema. It is said that later he regretted it. He is reported to have said that he had just played Devdas and felt this role had similarity but later he felt that he should have done it because the film was made with great depth.
{{/usCountry}}Before one goes onto the talk of the great actor and the greatest showman of the golden era, both hailing from Peshawar, Dilip Kumar’s regret on turning down a role offered to him by Dutt in Pyaasa. Kumar had been the filmmaker’s first choice for the leading role of the dejected poet and lover in the film. Kumar, however, turned down the offer and Dutt stepped into the role himself making rare film history. Later, Kumar regretted having the role of Vijay- the poet which Dutt portrayed in such intensity that it is considered one of the landmark performances of Indian cinema. It is said that later he regretted it. He is reported to have said that he had just played Devdas and felt this role had similarity but later he felt that he should have done it because the film was made with great depth.
{{/usCountry}}And now to the joyous news of the ancestral homes of Kumar and Kapoor in Peshawar to be turned into museums and more so when it came after what could have been a sad war between the two countries. And this is something that Donald Trump has played a role in but a matter of roots and love for Indian cinema . When I shared this news with historian and peace activist Ishtiaq Ahmad, political scientist, chronicler of Partition and a voice of peace between the two countries as well as a great fan of Indian cinema, his response: “This is something good. Pakistan often surprises me.” Interestingly, the two actors were friends from the Peshawar days. Yet they co-starred in just one 1949 film Andaz, directed by Mehboob Khan with Nargis playing the female lead. It had great music by Naushad and Kapoor played the dejected hero. Their camaraderie lasted long but for a mild rivalry over the celebrated Vyjayanthimala from the South, who had co-starred with both. Well boys will be boys and more so when they are from Peshawar.
nirudutt@gmail.com
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