July 9 marks Guru Dutt's 94th birth anniversary. Called the Orson Welles of Indian cinema, the Indian filmmaker, producer and actor, is known for cult films Pyaasa, Kaagaz Ke Phool, Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam and Chaudhvin Ka Chand. In a short life span on only 39 years, he wrote 4 films, produced 7 and directed 8. As lovers of cinema remember the legend, here's looking at 5 films by Guru Dutt one must watch.
Pyaasa
The 1957 film starring Guru Dutt, Waheeda Rehman and Mala Sinha is set in Calcutta, West Bengal and tells the story of Vijay, a struggling poet trying to make his works known in post-independence India, and Gulabo, a prostitute with a heart of gold. In 2005, Pyaasa was rated as one of the 100 best films of all time by Time magazine.
Kaagaz Ke Phool
The 1959 film starring Guru Dutt and Waheeda Rehman was considered to be a box office dud at the time of its release but later became a cult classic. The film has the eternal Waqt ne Kiya Kya Haseen Situm, sung by Geeta Dutt and tells, in flashback, the story of Suresh Sinha (Guru Dutt), a famous film director whose subsequent failed marriage and affair leads to his untimely death.
Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam
The 1962 film produced by Guru Dutt is based on a Bengali novel, Saheb Bibi Golam by Bimal Mitra, and is a look into the tragic fall of the haveli-dom and feudalism in Bengal during the British Raj. The film starred Guru Dutt, Meena Kumari, Rehman, Waheeda Rehman and Nazir Hussain. While the film was chosen as India's official entry to the Oscars, it was not accepted as a nominee, with the academy writing a letter to Guru Dutt saying a woman who drinks was not permissible in their culture.
Chaudhvin Ka Chand
The 1960 film was a box-office hit, one of the top-grossing films of its time, and centres on a love triangle between Guru Dutt, Rehman and Waheeda Rehman.
Mr & Mrs '55
Contrary to the kind of films Guru Dutt was better known for, the 1955 romantic comedy is a socially critical film set in contemporary Mumbai.
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