![]() Baazi was an immediate success and Guru Dutt followed it with films like Jaal and Baaz. Although neither of the films did well at the box office, but they brought together the Guru Dutt team that performed so brilliantly in his subsequent films. He discovered, and trained actors like Johnny Walker (comedian), V.K. Murthy (cinematography), and Abrar Alvi (writing and directing), among others. Guru Dutt is also credited for introducing the gorgeous and talented actress Waheeda Rehman to the Hindi cinema. Guru Dutt both directed and starred in the film Baaz, since he did not find a suitable actor for the principal character. Fortune was on Guru Dutt's side in the year 1954, when Aar Paar released that was followed by the 1955 hit, Mr. and Mrs. 55, then C.I.D., Sailaab, and in 1957, Pyaasa - the story of a poet, discarded by an heartless world, who achieves accomplishment only after his evident death. Guru Dutt played the lead role in three of these five films. ![]() Guru Dutt's legacy to direct Hindi cinema is distinctive and established by many leading Hindi directors of the day. Guru Dutt is probably the only Indian filmmaker who dared to make a personal statement with his cinema. His films stand testimony not only to his own brilliance but also to the ingenuity of his team, comprising stalwarts like cameraman V.K. Murthy, music director S.D. Burman, and writer Abrar Alvi, among other personalities. As a director Guru Dutt was a perfectionist and never compromised on quality. He was a genius born to create a unique atmosphere through his sense of music, unique picturization of songs, delicate but smart dialogues, original themes, profundity of his characters, excellent use of lighting with light and shade, and splendid shots sometimes followed by close ups of actors thus emphasizing their expression which go beyond their narrative function and creates an notion of their own. Guru Dutt was also the one to introduce the use of long focal-length lenses, and 100 mm as 75 mm for close ups in Indian films. The decade of the 50's and early 60's witnessed him as a director as well as an actor and producer for several critically acclaimed films. ![]() He was the one credited with applying tighter and close up shots of his actors. Pyaasa arguably one of his finest films in the Indian film industry that deals with the clash between the worldly and the unsophisticated nature of human beings. The talented poet in this film, acted by Guru Dutt himself, at the end, retires to secrecy leaving the materialistic world behind. Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam equally deals with a revolutionary idea and disturbing narrative. The film is a touching tale of loveless ness in the life of a high society people, especially in the lives of those women. Kaagaz ke Phool however manifested the end of the directorial genius of this gifted director. The miserable performance of this film made Guru Dutt quit the direction field. He also produced a film titled C.I.D in 1956, casting his friend Dev Anand as the lead hero. |