Guru Dutt, the sagacious Indian film director, producer, and actor, whose real name was Vasanth Kumar Shivashankar Padukone was a legend and it is, for this reason, we would like to pay him a tribute by remembering him on his birthday.
Born on July 9, 1925, in Bangalore, the handsome personality spent his early childhood in Bhowanipore. He gave the audiences watch the thrill of their lives in stellar movies like Pyaasa, Kaagaz Ke Phool, Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam and Chaudhvin Ka Chand. Not only this, his movies Pyaasa and Kaagaz Ke Phool was counted as the best films of all time. In 2010, he was included among CNN’s “top 25 Asian actors of all time”.
While Dutt had his Bollywood business going strong, his personal life was disturbing. He smoked heavily, drank heavily, and even had an alleged relationship with popular actress Waheeda Rehman. He had a failed marriage with Geeta and their close friends blamed it on Dutt’s habit of being an introvert and not sharing his feelings, thoughts and problems.
His wife, Geeta died at the age of 41 due to liver damage and at the time of Gutt’s death, he was alone. Although Dutt had three children with Geeta – Tarun, Arun, and Nina, they stayed not with Dutt himself but his brother Atma Ram and Geeta Dutt. Guru Dutt died painfully young, at the age of 39, from an overdose of alcohol and sleeping pills. His colleagues also reported that Guru Dutt attempted suicide thrice. Thye said he was furious. People used to rush to his home whenever they got a call from his home. While his team ran to his place twice and saved him, the third time, he actually died.
Nasreen Munni Kabir said: “He was in an increasingly disillusioned and fractured state of mind. Guru Dutt’s personal life was in turmoil, and he smoked and drank heavily.”
