Guru Dutt

Profession	Actor, Filmmaker
Date of Birth	9 July 1925
Age (when died)	39 Years
Birthplace	Mumbai, Maharashtra
Father Name	Shivshanker Rao Padukone
Mother Name	Vasanthi
Wife Name	NA
Nationality	Indian

Guru Dutt, whose real name was Vasanth Kumar Shivashankar Padukone and who lived from 9 July 1925 to 10 October 1964, was an Indian cinema director, producer, actor, choreographer, and writer. In 2012, he was ranked as one of CNN’s “Top 25 Asian Actors.”

Some of Dutt’s most notable artistic achievements include the close-up shots, lighting, and sad characters he portrayed. He oversaw the production of eight feature-length Hindi films, some of which have now become international classics. Among these are the classics Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960), and Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962), as well as Pyaasa (1957), which was included in Time magazine’s list of the 100 Greatest Movies.

EARLY LIFE

On July 9, 1925, in Padukone, in the modern Indian state of Karnataka, Vasanth Kumar Shivashankar Padukone was born to a family of Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmins. After a tragic mishap as a toddler, his parents decided to give him the auspicious new name of Gurudatta Padukone. His mother, Vasanthi, was a teacher and writer, while his father, Shivashanker Rao Padukone, worked as a banker and school principal. My parents’ families had previously lived in Karwar but eventually moved elsewhere. As a result of his upbringing in Bhowanipore, Kolkata, Dutt is proficient in Bengali.

Atma Ram (a director), Devi (a producer), and Vijay (also a filmmaker) were his younger brothers. He also had a younger sister, the Indian painter Lalita Lajmi. His second cousin Shyam Benegal is also a filmmaker and screenwriter, and his niece Kalpana Lajmi was a prominent figure in the Indian cinema industry as a director, producer, and writer. Because Amrita Rao’s grandpa and Dutt were both second cousins, he is likewise a second cousin twice removed from Rao.

BIOGRAPHY

Name : Vasanth Kumar Shivashankar Padukone (Guru Dutt)

DOB : 09 July 1925

Age : 39 (died)

Father : Shivashanker Rao Padukone

Mother : Vasanthi

Siblings : Lalita Lajmi, Atma Ram, Devi and Vijay

Profession : Actor, Filmmaker

Nationality : Indian

Height : 1.73 m

Weight : 75 kgs

CAREER

He enrolled at Almora’s Uday Shankar’s School of Dancing and Choreography in 1942 but was expelled the following year after developing romantic feelings for the star dancer. Dutt then secured a job as a telephone operator at a Lever Brothers plant in Calcutta (now Kolkata), and he sent word back to his family that he had been successful in his job search. Unfortunately, he quickly became dissatisfied with the position and resigned.

Shortly after visiting his parents in Bombay, Dutt’s uncle arranged for him to begin work for the Prabhat Film Company in Pune on a three-year contract. Before V. Shantaram left to start his production firm, Rajkamal Kalamandir, this once-dominant production business had lost its top talent. At Prabhat, Dutt met Rehman and Dev Anand, two actors who would become longtime friends, the latter producing Dutt’s first directorial effort.

Dutt made his film debut in the supporting role of Lachman in Vishram Bedekar’s Lakhani (1945). In 1946, he helped P. with direction and choreography. Dev Anand’s first film role was in L. Santoshi’s Hum Ek Hain.

Dutt relocated to Bombay when his tenure with Prabhat failed in 1947. He went on to work with two of the city’s most acclaimed directors: Amiya Chakravarty in Girls’ School (1949) and Gyan Mukherjee in the Bombay Talkies film Sangram (1951). (1950). At this time, Dev Anand offered Dutt a position as a director at his new firm, Navketan. When they were both very new to the film industry and working together at Prabhat, Anand and Dutt made a pact that if Dutt ever became a director, he would cast Anand as his hero. If Anand ever became a producer, he would cast Dutt as the director of his picture. The two actors delivered on their promise by collaborating on consecutive blockbuster movies.

PERSONAL LIFE

Dutt met his future wife, the famous playback singer Geeta Roy Chowdhuri (later Geeta Dutt), on the set of Baazi in 1953. (1951). After three years of engagement and many struggles over family resistance, the pair finally tied the knot. They were married in 1956 and shortly after settled in a home on Pali Hill, Mumbai. After the deaths of Guru and Geeta, their three children, Tarun, Arun, and Nina, were raised by Guru’s brother Atma Ram and Geeta’s brother Mukul Roy.

Dutt’s marriage was strained. Atma Ram described him as “a strong disciplinarian as far as work was concerned, but entirely undisciplined in his personal life,” citing his heavy smoking, heavy drinking, and erratic schedule. Furthermore, the fact that Dutt was seeing actress Waheeda Rehman did not help matters either. He had recently ended his relationship with Geeta and lived independently when he passed away. Geeta Dutt passed away in 1972, at 41, from liver failure brought on by her heavy drinking.