Guru Dutt was famous for his quicksilver temper on the movie sets but he was equally good at winning over people, says Devi Dutt while remembering his elder brother on the filmmaker's 100th birth anniversary.
Devi Dutt witnessed every shade of his brother’s temperament -- the man who gifted Indian cinema timeless classics like "Pyaasa", "Kaagaz Ke Phool", and "Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam".
“He was lovely. He would get angry a lot. He would speak his heart out, but within some time, he would make the other person feel as if nothing had gone wrong. He would win over a person’s heart,” Devi Dutt told PTI, recalling how he has still kept the wrist watch that his brother gifted him on his wedding day.
"I still have the watch with me. But I don’t wear it anymore," he added.
Guru Dutt, who died at the age of 39 in 1964, was 13 years elder to Devi Dutt.
“He would treat me like a child. He was 13 years older than me. I would cry a lot as he would insult me in front of everyone. I would tell my mother, ‘What kind of a brother is he?’ "My mother would confront him, and he would say, ‘I do so because he is my brother, and he should become a good producer’,” Devi Dutt, who worked as production manager on movies like “Aar Paar”, “Mr and Mrs 55”, “CID”, “Sailaab”, “Kaagaz Ke Phool”, “Chaudhvin Ka Chand”, “Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam”, and “Baharen Phir Bhi Aayengi”, said.
Asked if Guru Dutt was receptive to ideas and suggestions from others, Devi Dutt said he never mustered the courage to speak up in front of his brother.
“I would stay away from him because I would fear he would shout at me. Whenever he would not see me around, he would yell, ‘Where is Devi?’ He taught me almost everything about the making of a film. Initially, he put me in the sound department, then he shifted me to production, and then I was in charge of the studio. He had a lot of trust in me,” he said.
One remarkable anecdote that stands out in Devi Dutt's memory is related to the climax of Guru Dutt's seminal movie “Pyaasa”.
The film, which Guru Dutt wrote, directed, produced and starred in, was initially supposed to star Dilip Kumar but the actor instead opted to work on B R Chopra's "Naya Daur".
It was their mother, Vasanthi, who suggested Guru Dutt to star in the movie.
Devi Dutt recounted that “Pyaasa” was met with scepticism as both Kumar and Chopra expressed doubts about its commercial viability at a trial screening.
“After the film got released, we learnt after four shows that the movie is a flop. The movie was playing in Minerva cinema and Guru Dutt ji would often go to watch 3 pm and 6 pm shows regularly at this theatre, right from 'Aar Paar' days. Minerva was his favourite cinema.
"The theatre was close to the red-light area, and most women used to come to see the film. One day, a lady, who was a prostitute, told Guru Dutt ji, ‘Show a happy ending, and your film will run in theatres’. So, we reshot the portion with Waheeda Rehman and then it ran for 25 weeks," Devi Dutt said.
The new ending worked wonders for the film, which became a box office hit and is today considered one of the greatest films in Indian cinema.
While “Pyaasa” and “Kaagaz Ke Phool” dominate conversations about his brother’s legacy, Devi Dutt believes people often overlooks films such as “Baaz”, “Aar Paar”, and “Mr. and Mrs. 55”.
"He was not just ‘Kaagaz Ke Phool’ and ‘Pyaasa’, director,” he said.
The thematic elements of Guru Dutt's films often led many to view them through an autobiographical lens, particularly “Pyaasa” and “Kaagaz Ke Phool”, and Devi Dutt acknowledges this.
“‘Pyaasa’ was in parts, but ‘Kaagaz Ke Phool’ was kind of that (autobiographical), but he made certain changes to the story. SD Burman had told Guru Dutt ji not to make a film on his life, and if he still wanted to make it, then ‘Kaagaz Ke Phool’ would be his last movie with him.
"‘Kaagaz Ke Phool’ flopped miserably; the songs were so good, but the film did not do well. SD Burman never gave music to Guru Dutt ji’s movies after this and we went with OP Nayyar.” Guru Dutt loved his children --Tarun, Arun and Nina. “He was fond of kids, especially his daughter. He was fond of Nina a lot. Besides, he loved animals,” Devi said, adding that Guru Dutt was also a sports enthusiast.
“He would back the Kolkata football team. He would watch football matches often, and even Tennis matches; he would watch a lot,” he said.
A day before his demise in 1964, Guru Dutt was discussing his new film “Baharen Phir Aayengi” (1966) with writer Abrar Alvi. Guru Dutt had produced the movie and was set to headline it as well.
“While we were working on ‘Baharen Phir Bhi Aayengi’, it happened (he died). It (film) was almost complete, only the climax was left. We took Dharmendra for this film; he charged only Rs 1.50,” he said.
What if Guru Dutt was alive today? Devi Dutt said his brother would have continued to champion stories about a “struggling” protagonists.
“He liked portraying his protagonist as a struggling man; if you look in most of his films, the hero struggles. He was a struggler in the beginning, and after a lot of hard work, he reached where he did. Today, if he were alive, he would’ve narrated the story of a struggling protagonist,” Devi Dutt said.
