Kabhi Aar Kabhi Paar Cast

Ten Years with Guru Dutt

Guru Dutt Is Probably The Only Indian Film-Maker Who, Within The Parameters Of The Box Office, Made A Personal Statement With His Cinema. His Films Stand Testimony Not Only To His Own Genius But Also To The Creativity Of His Team, Comprising Stalwarts Like Cameraman V.K. Murthy, Music Director S.D. Burman, And Writer Abrar Alvi, Among Others. In Ten Years With Guru Dutt: Abrar Alvi&Rsquo;S Journey, Sathya Saran Looks At The Tumultuous Yet Incredibly Fecund Relationship Between The Mercurial Director And His Equally Talented Albeit Unsung Writer, A Partnership That Evolved Over A Decade Till Guru Dutt&Rsquo;S Tragic Death In 1964. Starting His Career As A Driver And Chaperone To Guru Dutt&Rsquo;S Producer On The Sets Of Baaz, Abrar Soon Caught The Attention Of The Director With His Sharp Ear For And Understanding Of Film Dialogue. With Aar Paar In 1954, Abrar Rewrote The Rules Of Dialogue Writing In Hindi Cinema, Till Then Marked By Theatricality And Artificiality. He Followed It Up With Mr And Mrs &Rsquo;55, Pyaasa And Kaagaz Ke Phool&Mdash;All Veritable Treatises On The Art Of Scriptwriting&Mdash;Before Donning The Director&Rsquo;S Mantle With Great Success In Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam. Full Of Anecdotes&Mdash;About How Abrar Honed His Skills By Writing Over 300 Love Letters; How An Accident Involving A Buffalo Led To The Discovery Of Waheeda Rehman; Guru Dutt&Rsquo;S Visit To A Kotha To Get The Ambience Right For Pyaasa&Mdash;Ten Years With Guru Dutt Is A Warm And Insightful Look At Two Remarkable Artistes Who Inspired Each Other To Create Movie Magic. It Is, At The Same Time, An Intimate Account Of The Ecstasy And The Agony That Marked The Making Of Some Of The Enduring Classics Of Indian Cinema.

Thank You, Guru Dutt!

Guru Dutt’s first name couldn’t have been more apt—he was a guru for all those who worked with him in his pathbreaking cinema. Guru Dutt was a hard taskmaster when he was shooting; he would mercilessly reshoot scenes even a hundred times until he felt satisfied with the result. Later, when the film’s cast and crew saw the excellent result of their hard work in the cinema hall, they understood: they had worked with a genius and, had together, created a cinematic miracle. The ace film director Raj Khosla observed, “For Guru Dutt, characters were not merely talking and acting, what worried him was, ‘What is my artist thinking at the moment in the story?’” Whether it was VK Murthy, OP Nayyar, Mala Sinha, Raj Khosla, Waheeda Rehman, Johnny Walker or Abrar Alvi, they were grateful to Guru Dutt because, through his cinema, he had sprinkled his golddust on them. He had brought out the best in them and had made their careers. ‘Thank You, Guru Dutt!’ is a biographical study which leaves no stone unturned in its effort to understand a man who spoke very little in person but a lot through his creations. Cinema was Guru Dutt’s voice

India Today International