An Obsession Called Guru Dutt article
Guru Dutt created grey characters throughout his film making. His characters were imperfect people, with dilemmas, they were weak people, compromising people or uncompromising people who stuck to their ideals impractically, writes Smriti Mudgal
It took me some time to believe that Guru Dutt was not Bengali. I do no wish to invite any ire from Maharashtrians - by saying this first. I feel the magic that he created through superb camera work can be safely attributed to his being Marathi.
I have seen through the credit rolls of good hindi films, most technicians are Maharashtrians. So, why did I think that he is Bengali - one because the surname was misleading. Also, his film aesthetics were extremely Bengali. That is perhaps because he spent his adoloscent years in Bhawanipur in Calcutta. That is the time one perhaps absorbs the most of his/her surroundings.
The first film of Guru Dutt that I saw, also happened to be his directorial debut - Baazi.
Here I must mention Baazi carried no signs of Bengali milieu. In fact the film had this really good looking Dev Anand who staggered like Gregory Peck, who dressed like Gregory Peck and Guru Dutt seemed more than encouraging. I never liked Geeta Bali but for the breezy look of the film, the shadowy effects and a very handsome hero I gave the film a keen watch. It paid - I liked the film. This was Guru Dutt's first effort at creating a grey protagnist.
Guru Dutt created grey characters throughout his film making. His characters were imperfect people, with dilemmas, they were weak people, compromising people or uncompromising people who stuck to their ideals impractically.
People reading about Dutt would look at his characters in more than one way. So what I think may not necessarily be correct.
Going ahead I want to speak about how he translated his sensibility of characters in film. I wish to speak about three of his films - Pyaasa, Sahib Biwi aur Ghulam and Kaagaz Ke Phool.
Pyaasa is the story of a cynic Vijay a poet who is loved by none in his struggling days except Gulabo a prostitute. Now look at the contrast. Here is a poet, an idealist who is a cynic. And on the other hand is a prostitute who despite her circumstances has the ability to trust. Their dillemas are also so captivating.
Vijay who cannot cope with the hypocrisy of society wants to run away. He is an escapist. But Gulabo does not want to shun the society. She lives in it with aplomb...till she falls in love.
There is a song in the film "Aaj sajan mohe ang laga lo". Guru Dutt was a choreographer before he turned to full fledged film making. Perhaps, that is why each song is so complete in itself. Please watch the song. Dutt with his back towards the audience is listening to this baul song. Waheeda Rehman has come to return his poems. She worships the man. The song is a bhakti song - pleading God to embrace the devotee. Now, throughout the song Waheeda is in two minds whether she can fall in love with this man whose poems she has revered. She is scared to even tread on his shadow. Guru Dutt plays with shadows here also. He focusses on his characters, their faces, their eyes. His characters don't talk aloud, but their faces shriek.
Another beautiful film is Sahib, Biwi aur Ghulam for which Guru Dutt never took the credit. I never liked Meena Kumari. I found her histrionics over the top. But, you have to see the way Meena Kumari or Chhoti Bahu is introduced in the film.
Bhootnath played by Guru Dutt (very unconvincing!) is sitting at her feet. He dare not look at her. The camera also keeps looking at the beautiful feet of Chhoti Bahu. Chhoti Bahu asks Bhootnath his name. Bhootnath is embarassed about his name but replies. He has always been taunted and laughed at for his funny name. But Chhoti Bahu is a kind woman and she doesn't laugh and says "Ye to bhagwaan ke teen namo mein se ek hai". He is shocked and for the first time raises his eyes to look at this woman. And the camera tilts up to show you a long shot of Chhoti Bahu. And then the camera moves back slightly to a mid shot and then a close up of eyes and lips. This scene is a master piece. That one scene completely establishes the pathos, the character of Chhoti Bahu.
And finally, Kagaz Ke Phool. This was Guru Dutt's obsession with himself. He frowns, frowns and frowns to no end. He looks handsome, mysterious and terribly pathetic. But this time unlike the idealistic Vijay of Pyaasa, Suresh does not evoke sympathy. I wanted to love this film because I was in love with Guru Dutt. He never looked better, he never acted better.
Technically this film is no less than the others. But his obsession reflects in the fact that he wallowed so much in self pity that he forgot to snip.
This film failed at box office. This film failed his expectations.
But Guru Dutt was an adamant man. He lived the role of Suresh, he played the character all along till he left singing:
Are, dekhi zamaane ki yaari
Bichhade sabhee, bichhade sabhi baari baari
Kya le ke milen ab duniya se, aansu ke siva kuch paas nahi
Ya phul hi phul the daaman men, ya kaanton ki bhi aas nahi
Matalab ki duniya hai saari
Bichhade sabhee, bichhade sabhi baari baari
Comments( 11 )
liked your analysis...comes straight
liked your analysis...comes straight from the heart...
Hello, I want to correct another
Hello,
I want to correct another mistake here. He was not a bengali - true. But he was not a maharashtrian either. He was a Kannada. This technical skills had nothing to do with Maharshtra or maharashtrian technicians.
Dear Sonali, Guru Dutt was born in
Dear Sonali, Guru Dutt was born in Mangalore but he was actually a Goud Saraswat Brahmin. Saraswat Brahmins are a Konkani or Marathi speaking Hindu Brahmin community in India and a part of the larger Saraswat Brahmin community. They are popularly referred to as GSBs.
Guru Dutt is one of the most thoughtful
Guru Dutt is one of the most thoughtful actors who had glorified bollywood cinema during the 50s and 60s. Although he had impressed the viewers with films like Aar Par and Mr. & Mrs.55,
A final correction: Guru Dutt's mother
A final correction: Guru Dutt's mother tongue was neither Bengali nor Marathi as rightly pointed out by many before me! But it certainly was not Kannada either. His mother tongue was KONKANI ( the dialect spoken in coastal Karnataka). In fact, his surname was not Dutt at all, but Padukone!
I must correct you further, Smriti!
I must correct you further, Smriti! Guru Dutt did not belong to the sect called Gowd Saraswat Brahmins, although he was a Saraswat. He belonged to a very tiny community called the Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmins, which one finds mainly in the North and South kanara Districts. The mother tongue of this sect in NEVER Marathi, but ALWAYS Konkani.
Smriti, It is always enjoyable to read
Smriti,
It is always enjoyable to read a straight-from-the-heart piece like this one. Guru Dutt's films are a class apart and one discovers something new on every viewing.
I would like to respond to this observation of yours:
"Pyaasa is the story of a cynic Vijay a poet who is loved by none in his struggling days except Gulabo a prostitute. Now look at the contrast. Here is a poet, an idealist who is a cynic. And on the other hand is a prostitute who despite her circumstances has the ability to trust. Their dillemas are also so captivating."
Looking closely it seems Pyaasa is pretty much influenced by Devdas - the derelict hero (Vijay) wallowing in unrequited love, his beloved (Meena) married off to rich older man and the big-hearted prostitute (Gulabo) who falls in love with Vijay and gives up everything she has to save him and his creations.
The differences with Devdas lie in basically two basic respects:
(1) It is not that Meena doesnt love Vijay. She just doesnt have the courage to go ahead and settle down with her love who is immersed in poetry without much interest in earning a living. Paro on the other hand, has tremendous courage to approach Devdas in the dead of night to ask him to marry her.
(2) While Devdas pushes himself to his death pining away for his lost love, Vijay's anguish at losing his love takes on a macrocosmic dimension as he vents his ire on the meanness and superficialities of society at large. Noticeably, in Pyaasa, Vijay is shown to be sports loving, romantic regular college goer who dreams of waltzing with his beloved on cloud nine (a beautifully shot dream sequence has the song Hum aapki aankhon mein is dil ko basa dein to). It is only after Meena leaves him for a life of comfort that Vijay becomes the jobless poet writing soul stirring poetry.
Vijay's agony is reflected in this comment he makes about Meena, "Apne shauk ke liye pyaar karti hai aur apne aaram ke liye pyar bechti hai ".
Vijay's cynicism towards society is deepened further when in shocked disbelief he witnesses the raw, shameless exploitation of the popularity of his poetry by the society (represented by Ghosh Babu, Vijay's brothers and another small time publisher), the same people who had earlier ridiculed and humiliated him.
A classic film, no doubt.
Antara, thanks for underlining and
Antara, thanks for underlining and elaborating on Smriti's observations. Your analysis is enlightening and calls for a separate post ( I know you would say, it's all said here already!)
Maybe getting back to two films will throw further light on this and a post titled "Was Pyasa Inspired from Devdas?" would emerge :smile:
And Smriti, while writing this comment,
And Smriti, while writing this comment, it just occured to me, why aren't we getting to read such "Straight from heart" posts anymore :?:
Dear Antara, Uday and Bikas, Thank
Dear Antara, Uday and Bikas,
Thank you so much. I am glad the post provoked you guys enough to write back.
Uday, I fully accept your corrections simply because your corrections look better researched than mine.
Antara, thanks for liking my post. Might sound like a mutual fan club but I truly loved your analysis. I fully endorse Bikas's suggestion - a seperate post must be considered by you.
My friend Bikas, last film I watched was Ugli aur Pagli and that film didn't evoke enough detest in me to write a review, it was so bland that I watched it and forgot it. But I promise you a post on Bachna Ae Hasino because one it has my latest musr ranbir and two, I was wondering if Ranbir is avenging for Raj Kapoor of Mera Naam Joker...just a thought, I'll see the film and tell you :roll:
Thanks very much Bikas and Smriti, I
Thanks very much Bikas and Smriti,
I am glad my interpretation of Pyaasa found such appreciation from you people that you are asking for another one on the subject from me! Well, as Bikas has rightly pointed out, most of the points have already been mentioned here, so where do I begin? :grin:
But come to think of it, Devdas has dug its roots deep into the psyche of the Indian loverboy (at least on screen) that in a number of films you may find its shades, though pale but nevertheless there. For instance (now this may sound far-fetched to you guys!) I find the mega hit Muqaddar Ka Sikandar also carrying some threads of this love triangle. Amitabh Bachchan (I forget their screen names, possibly Vijay) pines for Rakhee although she does not reciprocate (a departure from Paro). He hits the bottle, finds refuge in the generous and self-respecting tawaiff Rekha who sacrifices her all to save him (a la Chandramukhi).
Somehow, perhaps the complete surrender in love as personified by Devdas, Paro and Chandramukhi touches a chord with Indians across generations which is why we find the echo of this classic novel set in the thirties, in films made even today.
Antara
Antara