Guru Dutt

by Yasser Usman

  Inside the bungalow there were animal skins (bear skin, leopard skin) displayed to their full natural glory on the walls. The conversation began casually about the film industry and films. Then it veered towards his novel, Saheb Bibi Golam, when Geeta entered the room and asked Mitra, ‘What would you like to have for dinner, Bimal Da?’

  ‘Please make something light and bland for me. I can’t have spicy food.’

  Guru who was having tea asked, ‘Tell me, who should be cast for the character of Jaba? Do you have someone in mind?’

  ‘I don’t know much about the artists here…’ replied Bimal Mitra.

  Guru said, ‘I was thinking, I should give that role to Waheeda.’

  ‘Who is she?’ asked Mitra.

  ‘One of my artists—Waheeda Rehman. Very impressive and proficient actress.’

  ‘I realised Geeta Dutt’s face turned serious,’ wrote Bimal Mitra.

  At that time, Bimal Mitra did not have a clue that more than being a part of an iconic Guru Dutt film Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962), he was going to closely witness the disintegration of their lives.

  37

  MAN OF IDEAS

  ‘If I had thought about benefit [profit] and loss, I would have been some other kind of person. For me, my ideas are more important than any profit or loss.’

  —Guru Dutt

  Guru Dutt took Bimal Mitra to his studio where a song sequence of Chaudhvin Ka Chand was being shot. It was the first time Mitra had seen a film shooting. He got bored after Guru Dutt took the twelfth ‘take’ of a shot. The sequence finally got okayed after three long hours.

  Later, the conversation again turned towards Saheb Bibi Golam. Guru Dutt said, ‘Bimal Babu, everyone is discouraging me from making this film. Even my wife is stopping me. But come what may, I am going to make this film. Actually I am a very stubborn person. If I decide something, I don’t listen to anybody.’

  ‘But such behaviour harms you a lot,’ said Bimal Mitra.

  ‘Yes, but I don’t care.’

  ‘It is better to seek the opinion of others. It can only benefit.’

  Guru Dutt replied, ‘If I had thought about benefit [profit] and loss, I would have been some other kind of person. For me, my ideas are more important than any profit or loss. That’s why I have a request.’

  ‘What request?’

  Guru Dutt requested Bimal Mitra to write the script of the film based on his novel. Bimal Mitra agreed. Guru Dutt suggested that Mitra could shift to the Lonavala farmhouse the very next day to write in peace.

  But before that Geeta wanted to speak with Bimal Mitra.

  After breakfast the next morning when Guru Dutt went to his room to get ready, Geeta Dutt asked Bimal Mitra, ‘Ok, so do you know finally who has been cast for the role of Jaba?’

  ‘Yes, that girl Waheeda Rehman.’

  ‘Why? Is there no other actress in the Bombay film industry?’ asked Geeta Dutt.

  ‘Why do you say so? That girl seems nice. Guru Dutt introduced me to her. He had great faith in her talent. Guru was telling me…’

  ‘Do you know, because of the same Waheeda Rehman, there is so much disturbance in my family life/household,’ said Geeta.

  Section Nine

  BUILDING OF A DREAM

  1955–56

  ‘Guru Ji was a different man;

  another like him I haven’t met again.’

  38

  WAHEEDA COMES TO BOMBAY

  ‘They are they and I am me.’

  —Waheeda Rehman

  Towards the end of 1955, Waheeda Rehman landed in Bombay with her mother. She had been summoned by Guru Dutt for his next production after the success of Mr. & Mrs. ’55.

  After directing a not-so-successful independent film, Milap, Raj Khosla came back to assist Guru Dutt who asked him to direct his next production—the crime thriller C.I.D. starring Dev Anand and Shakila. C.I.D. is now known for another crucial milestone for Guru Dutt films. The debut of Waheeda Rehman.

  While discussing names from the Bombay film industry for a supporting female role, Guru Dutt remembered the girl he had met few months ago in Hyderabad while on a road trip there to meet his South India distributor. He thought of casting Waheeda Rehman in the role. Though there was some resistance within the team about the casting—for such roles normally went to glamorous actresses while Waheeda had traditional, plain looks. But Guru Dutt had made up his mind. The film distributor, Manubhai, who used to handle the distribution of Mysore and Hyderabad territories for Guru Dutt films, was asked to get in touch with Waheeda.

  Waheeda recalled, ‘One afternoon a fat man who called himself Manubhai Patel wanted to meet me at my residence. He said Mr Guru Dutt would like to see me and I should go to Bombay.’

  When Waheeda Rehman landed in Bombay with her mother, they were taken to the Ritz Hotel in Churchgate and told that Guru Dutt would meet them the next day in the studio for talks and the signing of the contract. It was surely a golden chance for a young girl from the south of India to work in a Guru Dutt film opposite the big star Dev Anand. Any actress would be more than excited to sign on the dotted line. But Waheeda Rehman was different.

  What followed in the meeting the following day surprised Guru Dutt and his team. This was something a young girl getting her golden chance in the film world never does.

  It was the Famous Studios in Mahalaxmi where Guru Dutt had an office on the first floor. Guru Dutt, Raj Khosla, Abrar Alvi, V.K. Murthy, Guruswamy and assistant director Niranjan were waiting there for Waheeda. ‘He [Guru Dutt] was quietly sitting and watching me while most of the talking was done by director Raj Khosla, production controller Guruswamy and writer Abrar Alvi,’ Waheeda remembered. They were ready with a contract that had to be signed by Waheeda’s mother as Waheeda was still a minor (not yet eighteen years of age).

  Before anything could be decided, Raj Khosla said that her name is too long and it had to be changed. This startled Waheeda ‘I asked them why. So they said that everyone does it, Madhubala’s name wasn’t Madhubala. Nargis’ name isn’t Nargis. So I said, “They are they and I am me.”’92

  The meeting had started on a wrong note. Guru Dutt tried to convince Waheeda to change her name but she was adamant. Raj Khosla got irritated. ‘So they told my mother: “Mrs Rehman, do one thing. Take your daughter back and make her study further and make her a lawyer. Because the way she argues—not like this, not like that.” Raj Khosla said, “Guru, just think about what you are getting into,”’ recalled Waheeda.

  Guru Dutt as usual was silently sitting with his hand under his chin and his elbow resting on the table, observing everything with a smirk on his face. He politely told Waheeda and her mother that he needed time to think. The contract signing was postponed for a few days.

  Waheeda was unfazed. As a young girl in a new city surrounded by seniors who looked shocked at her behaviour, she displayed enormous grit and a will to live a life on her terms.

  Her demeanour had made Raj Khosla very angry. But perhaps Guru Dutt was impressed.

  Their next meeting was to be even more dramatic.

  39

  KAHIN PE NIGAHEIN,

  KAHIN PE NISHANA

  ‘He was a different man; another like him I haven’t met again.’

  —Waheeda on Guru

  Guru Dutt agreed to her demand of going ahead with her real name. The contract was ready. For the first year she was to be paid Rs 1200/- per month. Waheeda’s mother was asked to sign the contract. But before she could sign, Waheeda interrupted again saying she would like to add something to the contract. Raj Khosla was astonished.

  A surprised Guru Dutt asked, ‘Are you not happy?’93

  ‘I will be happy when I am satisfied with my costumes,’ said Waheeda

  ‘Don’t worry, all the costumes will be to your satisfaction and you won’t be forced to put on the dress which you don’t like…is that alright?’ asked Guru Dutt.

  ‘It will be alright, if this is mentioned in the contract,’ replied Wahee
da.

  ‘Don’t you believe me?’ he asked.

  ‘Well, it is not that. But don’t you think it would be better if you put this in the agreement?’

  Raj Khosla was stunned at the demands of the new girl. He had begun wondering if she was going to create problems on his sets.

  But Guru Dutt relented. The clause about the costumes was added to the contract. Finally her mother Mumtaz Begum signed the contract. Waheeda smiled. This was the beginning of a new chapter in Guru Dutt’s filmography.

  Meanwhile, the shooting of C.I.D. had begun and was already on full steam. Waheeda had shifted to Bombay and was given a flat near Guru Dutt’s house where she lived with her mother Mumtaz Begum, her elder sister, Sayeeda, and brother-in-law Rauf. People close to Guru Dutt remember that Waheeda and her mother were regular at Guru Dutt’s house during get-togethers.

  Guru Dutt’s younger brother and film producer, Devi Dutt, who was an integral part of Guru Dutt Films Pvt. Ltd, said, ‘Waheeda Ji was simple looking; she was not like Meena Kumari or Madhubala. For black and white films, the make-up would be heavy. So her features looked sharp. She was reserved and sober and had an endearing way of saying “aadab”.’

  They were shooting the song ‘Kahin pe nigahen kahin pe nishana’ when director Raj Khosla’s fear about Waheeda came true. In the sequence, Waheeda’s character had to sing a seductive song and there was a glamorous dress she had to wear but she flatly refused. ‘I was too shy. And there was a lace blouse. So I told them that I’m not going to wear the dress. It’s too lacy. It has to have some lining, or give me a dupatta. So he [Khosla] said: “No. You are a vamp and you are trying to seduce the villain.” So I said: “No, I don’t care. I’m not going to wear a dress like that. I won’t come to the sets.”’

  It created a flutter. Dev Anand was waiting, the entire team was ready to can the song. The choreographer, Zohra Sehgal, tried to convince her. The costume designer, Bhanu Athaiya, explained her vision behind the costume and tried to make Waheeda understand her point but Waheeda was adamant.

  Remembering the day Waheeda says, ‘He [Guru Dutt] was out of Bombay. Writing the script of Pyaasa. Raj Khosla said, “Dev Anand is waiting.” So I said, “I wait for him every day, let him wait.” I put my foot down. I thought that if it didn’t work out, I would go back. I wanted to work. I was dying to work. But I had certain limitations.’

  Raj Khosla reached out to Guru Dutt over a phone call and told him about the drama unfolding on the sets.

  Guru Dutt rushed back from Khandala. ‘He came back and asked me and my mother, “What’s happening?”

  ‘So I said, “I have that clause written in my contract. I don’t like this costume.”

  ‘So he said, “But it’s not vulgar.” It had full sleeves.’

  Waheeda told him that she would not wear a lace blouse. She wanted a dupatta to cover it or a lining so that it was not transparent. It would have taken a day to put the lining but Dev Anand had to leave for Switzerland the next day.

  An irritated Guru Dutt said, ‘God, what kind of a woman is this?’

  Finally, they had to oblige and give her a dupatta. Raj Khosla was very unhappy. The unit members were surprised and wondered why Guru Dutt was tolerating this behaviour from a newcomer. They had seen Guru Dutt losing his patience with other actors and senior technicians. But he seemed like an entirely different person when talking to Waheeda.

  Remembering those days Waheeda later said, ‘Yes I did create quite a few problems for him and perhaps any other producer would have never tolerated it. But he was a different man; another like him I haven’t met again.’94

  40

  THE LOSS OF GEETA’S STARDOM

  ‘The artist’s first love is his work. It is as simple as that.’

  —Geeta Dutt

  Geeta and Guru Dutt were expecting their second child. Every new project at Guru Dutt Films used to excite Geeta for the possibilities it would bring for her as a singer. She never tired of listening to Guru Dutt talking passionately about the stories he wanted to create on celluloid. The creation of music in his films. Those were the moments in which she loved her life as ‘Mrs Guru Dutt’ and felt alive. ‘The artist’s first love is his work. It is as simple as that, really, when everything boils down to the essentials. It appears to be the final explanation of the mystery of all artistic and creative endeavours, be it painting, writing, film-making, dancing or singing,’ said Geeta.

  Geeta was regularly singing with music composers like O.P. Nayyar, Sardul Kwatra, Chitragupt, Hemant Kumar, N. Dutta, Anil Biswas, etc. but top composers like Naushad, S.D. Burman, Shankar-Jaikishan were generally not approaching her. She was ousted by reigning playback singer Lata Mangeshkar who had become the first choice for every big film-maker and leading composer. She had also realised that one popular album of a Guru Dutt film every year was not enough to secure her a place in the list of top singers. In 1955–56, except the very successful songs of Mr. & Mrs. ’55, Geeta Dutt sang in B-Grade films like Society, Son of Ali Baba, Teen Bhai, Tees Maar Khan, Aawara Shahzadi, Arab Ka Saudagar and a few more. But no one really remember these films or her songs in them. Yet, whenever she got a chance with a music director of calibre who came with a tripping tune, Geeta Dutt always delivered.

  The music of the 1956 film Bhai Bhai was composed by the ace composer Madan Mohan. The album was dominated by Madan Mohan’s favourite singer, Lata Mangeshkar, who gave her vocals for eight songs in the film (out of eleven). Geeta Dutt just had one song: ‘Ae dil mujhe bata de tu kis pe aa gaya hai’, which became a humongous hit. Picturised on Shyama, this happy song conveys the innocence and feelings of the first flush of love. The album is still remembered for Geeta’s lone chart-buster. Music critic Raju Bharatan had remarked, ‘The first thing that strikes one when you hear Geeta Dutt sing was that she never sang. She just glided through a tune. Of all her contemporaries her musical training was perhaps the sketchiest but what she lacked in training and technique, she more than made up with her ability to breathe life and emotion into any song she was singing.’

  Madan Mohan composed about ten songs for Geeta between 1955 and 1957, in films like Pocket Maar (1956), Fifty Fifty (1956) and Samundar (1957). Though none could match the success of ‘Ae dil mujhe bata de tu kis pe aa gaya hai’. It was also obvious that Geeta was never Madan Mohan’s first choice as the lead female singer. Lata Mangeshkar had taken an unprecedented lead as far as voice, technique, discipline and stardom was concerned. She was followed by the then struggling Asha Bhosle who was now getting the kind of songs Geeta specialised in. In fact, music directors like O.P. Nayyar and S.D. Burman who had successfully worked with Geeta Dutt were drifting towards Asha Bhosle.

  It was clear that focus on her family life, her marital problems and her inaccessibility for song rehearsals and recordings had affected her career greatly.

  Geeta had lost her stardom. While this constantly bothered Geeta, Guru took it as a natural sacrifice for a happy family life.

  Section Ten

  DESTRUCTION OF A DREAM

  1960–61

  ‘I think I’ll go mad.’

  41

  TWO TORMENTED SOULS

  ‘The film magazines, film newspapers are the same. People used to propagate such spicy stories about Guru Dutt and an actress that I was ashamed to read them. I felt like committing suicide.’

  —Geeta Dutt

  The disastrous result of Kaagaz Ke Phool at the box-office changed everything in Guru Dutt’s professional and personal life.

  Till Kaagaz Ke Phool, in the films produced by Guru Dutt Films Pvt. Ltd, the female playback voice had been predominantly Geeta Dutt. Geeta’s booming voice was instrumental in the success of Guru Dutt’s films. Diving neck deep into producing Chaudhvin Ka Chand, without talking about the financial and emotional turmoil that he was going through, Guru Dutt drowned himself in the story sittings, song recordings, shoot planning and, of course, alcohol.

  With Chaudhvin Ka Chand, as most of the A-
team of Guru Dutt moved on, the norm for the lead female playback singer changed too. The predominant female voice used was that of Asha Bhosle (for three songs) while Lata Mangeshkar too sang a song, and Shamshad Begum’s voice was also used in one qawwali. Geeta Dutt’s vocals were restricted to only one song: ‘Balam se milan hoga’, a sweet song that played in the background.

  With this movie Geeta stopped singing for Waheeda Rehman altogether. It was clear that she wasn’t the lead singer even in her husband’s films any longer.

  The gossip magazines were all out saying that with the entry of ‘rivals’ Lata Mageshkar and Asha Bhosle in the ‘Guru Dutt camp’, Geeta Dutt had lost even at her home turf. The conversations in the industry clearly hinting that her personal life’s crisis was affecting her already precarious professional life.

  The shooting of Chaudhvin Ka Chand was fast progressing. Guru Dutt was aware that to make a successful film, it was crucial to have chart-busting songs. He had handed over the reins of direction to M. Sadiq but he himself was directing the songs of Chaudhvin Ka Chand. The music sittings for finalising the lyrics and tunes of the songs were intense. Music composer, Ravi, recalled that Guru Dutt would listen to everyone. Suggestions were welcome. Never did he discourage anyone from coming up with new ideas, even if they opposed his conception.

  Ravi said, ‘That was a great thing. He always meant what he said. That night, three songs were tuned in fact. Johnny Walker’s “Yeh duniya gol hai” and “Mili khaak mein mohabbat” were also created that night. In fact, Guru Dutt liked the last song so much that we sat up the whole night and I must have sung it at least five hundred times then.’

  However, music composer Ravi also explained why Asha Bhosle featured prominently in the album. ‘Two mujras were to be composed for this film. We, that is, Guru Dutt, Shakti Samanta, writer S.H. Bihari and myself, went to listen to a noted singer in the city. Guru Dutt wanted the typical style and manner of the original mujras and not something filmi. Next day we composed a tune and I played it to him. He asked me gently whether Geeta, his wife, could sing it. I said I would do a riyaz with her and called her up. It was a difficult tune and Geeta had a particular style and limitations of her own. Yet, how could I tell her anything? She herself realised this and even before I could say anything, she rang up Guru Dutt and told him it was a difficult, classical number which she could not do full justice to. Asha Bhosle was finally taken to render it.’