Guru Dutt looked and behaved every bit a Bengali during his life-time. It came as quite a shock to me when I read about a book on Guru Dutt by his screen writer and director, Abrar Alvi. Not only did he marry Geeta Roy, the renowned playback singer of that era, but Guru Dutt showed profound Bengali sensibilities. You only need to watch his epic Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam to understand what I am talking about. The film was directed by his close associate Abrar Alvi but it had Guru Dutt’s finger prints all over.
The legendary Hindi film maker Guru Dutt was born Vasanth Kumar Shivashankar Padukone on July 9, 1925 in Bangalore, India. His parents, Shivashankar Rao Padukone and Vasanthi Padukone were both academics and of very modest means. His parents were Chitrapur Saraswats from South Kanara and had a strained marital relationship. Initially, Guru Dutt was named Vasanth Kumar but was later changed to Gurudutt Padukone. His father moved to Bhawanipore near Calcutta and Guru Dutt finished his schooling there. Guru Dutt spoke fluent Bengali.
Gurudutt Shivashankar Padukone moved to Bombay in 1944 and dropped the Shivashankar Padukone part off his name, and was known simply as Guru Dutt. Same year, he found a job with the Prabhat Film Company in Poona. This is where Guru Dutt met actors Rehman and Dev Anand. The three of them remained friends till Guru Dutt died on October 10, 1964. Dutt was hired by Prabhat Film Company as a choreographer but often had to step-in as an actor. He even worked as an assistant director. Prabhat Film Company failed in 1947 and Guru Dutt moved back to Matunga, Bombay, with his parents. Dev Anand offered him a job as a director for ‘Navketan’ films.
Na Jaao Sayyian – Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam – Rehman & Meena Kumari
Pyaasa – Jaane Woh Kaise Log – Guru Dutt
Filed under: Bollywood Tagged: | Abrar Alvi, Assistant Director, Bangalore India, Bengali, Bhawanipore, Calcutta, Chitrapur Saraswats, Choreographer, Dev Anand, Geeta Roy, Guru Dutt, Gurudutt Padukone, Gurudutt Shivashankar Padukone, Hindi Film Maker, July 9th 1925, Meena Kumari, Na Jaao Sayyian, Navketan, October 10th 1964, Poona, Prabhat Film Company, Rehman, Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam, Shivashankar Padukone, Shivashankar Rao Padukone, South Kanara, Vasanth Kumar, Vasanth Kumar Shivashankar Padukone, Vasanthi Padukone
And this is the reason I like pavanlog.com. Nice post.