Guru Dutt, my idol

Guru Dutt is today renowned as one of the greatest directors of Indian cinema, to such an extent that he is often touted as the greatest ever in the Bombay world. It is a curious reflection of the sentiments he so unforgettably evoked in his masterpiece, Pyaasaa. The sole difference is that the real Guru Dutt did not live to see the steady rise in his popularity with time and also that he did not have a Gulabo to fade into the horizon with. He died a lonely man caught in the web of his own dark artistry.

Watching Guru Dutt's films is an experience. My exposure to Guru Dutt started unforgettably. In 1984, when I was touching 10, I went to Dubai with my parents a die-hard Amitabh Bachan fan. Like any youngster then, I did not know that cinema existed beyond him. My father was a Guru Dutt fan and he used to enact sequences from "Pyaasaa" to us. In my imagination, I visdualized Guru Dutt to be a turbaned man, rather old, perhaps thick spectacles. I was not too enthused by the image, especially when I had Amitabh Bachan to admire. Then Dad got "Mr & Mrs 55" saying that was a good, lighter introduction to Guru Dutt. "Lets not jump in directly to Pyaasaa", he said. I enjoyed the film immensely. It was a ncice, light-hearted satire. Of course, it is rather cliched but that didnt matter then. The stage was set for "Pyaasaa". It was on a week-day that Appa got the film. We watched the film right through.. I didnt budge through the film and it was all I could do to keep from crying at the end of the film. My life was changed forever.. everything about the film clicked with me. The brilliant performances by one and all, the vivid images, even at that age I could admire the suicide scene which goes on for almost 3 minutes without a dialogue, the music.. it was unforgettable.

I have since then lapped up all Guru Dutt's films multiple times. While his serious films are his best, his lighter efforts like "Mr & Mrs 55" are thoroughly enjoyable for their sophisticated humour, something uncommon in our films. Pyaasaa continues to wow me whenever I give it a see and Kaagaz ke phool has only improved with time. I saw it again a week ago and was again bowled over by the sheer mastery of the camera work and the story-telling. Though morose, the film actually moves at a fast pace and is overall very enjoyable.

I can honestly say that Guru Dutt changed my taste in cinema and music in Indian cinema forever. His films opened the window to the music of S.D.Burman and O.P.Nayyar from where I have slowly graduated to Anil Biswas and Pankaj Mallick. Through his films, I learnt to appreciate the finer points of cinema and have acquired the taste to enjoy the films of Orson Welles, Bergman, Satyajit Ray etc. He remains my favorite, and I hope future generations would continue to be inspired by his art and films.

"Lage raho Munnabai".. and "Jaagriti"

Yesterday, I with my parents and wife watched the next instalment of "Lage raho Munnabhai" on the IMAX screen at Hyderabad's Prasadz theatre. Its another very good film that has come out this year. I liked "Rang de basanti" for the message of "Do something for your contry rather than just whining" but while it went over the top in the manner in which youngsters went about it, Munnabhai extols Gandhism without ever being preachy. The relevance of Gandhiji in today's world and how "Gandhigiri" could be used to solve today's day-to-day problems is brought out very nicely. The film also has a jingle of a remade version of the "Jaagriti" classic "aao bachcho.n tumhe dikhaaye.n" which takes my mind to Hemant Kumar's top-notch and evergreen music in that 1955 classic.

The literal Gandhiji-anthem was the most popular song at the time - the Asha rendered "de dii hame aazaadii". Asha also had the soft, melancholic "chalo chale.n maa.N". Rafi sang the climax song beholding the children to create a new and happy India.. "ham laaye hai.n tuufaan se". And to round off the track, Pradeep's afore-mentioned song "aao bachcho.n tumhe dikhaaye.n jhaa.Nkhii hi.ndustaan kii". Pradeep also wrote the lyrics for all the songs in the film. Abhi Bhattacharya delivered an excellent performance as the reformist teacher and should have won the Best Actor award that year but for Filmfare's reluctance to look beyond stars. Dilip Kumar won the award for an ordinary turn in "Aazaad".

"Lage raho Munnabai" captures the spirit of "Jaagriti" and Gandhiji very nicely. Full credit to the director for such a very innovative and refreshing use of Gandhiji and bringing back Gandhiji's relevance into our India of today.