Guru Dutts birth anniversary: 5 best films of his career

Guru Dutt is one of the legends of Hindi cinema and was an iconic actor, director and producer. He was born as Vasanth Kumar Shivashankar Padukone in Bengaluru.

Dutt made his acting debut in the year of 1945 with a minor role in the film ‘Lakhrani’. In the same year he served as an assistant director and also did choreography for the film ‘Hum Ek Hain’. Guru Dutt made his directorial debut with the film ‘Baazi’ and thereafter he had contributed in making many popular films of his time. He was married to Geeta Dutt who was also a prominent singer in the Hindi film industry.

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On the occasion of his 97th birth anniversary, let’s have a look at the films directed by this legend of Hindi cinema.

Baazi

Baazi was released in July 1951 as an Indian film that replicated the noir genre of Hollywood. It was a huge hit at the box office and it starred Dev Anand in the lead along with Geeta Bali and Kalpana Kartik. It was the first crime noir that was made by any director in the country. ‘Sharmaaye Kaahe Ghabraaye Kaahe’ and ‘Aaj Ki Raat Piya’ were two of the best songs from the film.

Jaal

The film Jaal was considered a noir classic. The film also starred Dev Anand and Geeta Bali. SD Burman’s music and the counterpart sung by Lata Mangeskar added to the appeal of the film. The evergreen “Yeh Raat Yeh Chandni Fir Kahan” was one of the songs from the film. This film became one of the third highest grossing films in that year.

Sailaab

It was an epic love story starring Geeta Bali and Abhi Bhattacharya. This was another blockbuster film of the legendary filmmaker. This film revolved around Gautam who visits Assam to see his father’s tea plantation. Gautam was traveling by a plane that was forced to make an emergency landing and he suffered from various injuries. With time he developed amnesia and slowly fell in love with a young woman. She responds to him despite the disapproval of society that was against their marriage. It is a film that was made on the insistence of Geeta Dutt in order to provide financial assistance to Mukul Roy.

Pyaasa

This 1957 film was directed and produced by Guru Dutt himself. Dutt also played the lead character in the film. This film is regarded as one of the milestone films in Hindi cinema. The film showcased job insecurities of a newly independent India and also upheld the pulse of a nation after Independence. “Ye Duniya Agar Mil Bhi Jaaye To Kya Hai” is the eerie and haunting cult song from the film. Guru Dutt wanted to make the film in the red light locations in Kolkata but failed in that and later recreated the sets in Bombay on the basis of photos taken at Kolkata.

Kaagaz Ke Phool

It is a 1959 Indian Hindi romantic drama film produced and directed by Guru Dutt. Guru Dutt acted in the film along with Waheeda Rehman. It is considered as one of the most iconic films in Bollywood even today. The film initially didn’t do well at the box office. But with time the film was considered a “world cinema cult classic”. This was the last film of Guru Dutt.