Guru Dutt: Ek Adhuri Dastan (Hindi)

Guru Dutts films have long been considered among the best ever made in India. His immortal film, Pyaasa (1957), was included in Time magazines 100 Greatest Films of All Time in 2005. His films are still watched and appreciated by audiences, critics, and cinema students worldwide, praising not only their technical quality but also their eternal romanticism and their exploration of the emptiness of life and the shallowness of material success. He was a fusion of Don Juan and Nietzsche for Indian cinema. While much has been said and written about him and his art, little is known about his life behind the scenes. This detailed account traces the journey of a lonely, troubled man who faced adversity throughout his life. Child prodigy Guru Dutt began his career by learning dance from the legendary Uday Shankar and later, as an unconventional filmmaker, he achieved the desired commercial success without compromising on artistic satisfaction. A self-made entrepreneur who disliked the numbers game, he still single-handedly ran a film studio and played all the roles of producer, director, actor, and financier. All this while, he silently struggled with a personal life, centered on his turbulent marriage with Geeta Dutt. Guru had everything: love, family, money, fame, and audience recognition. His untimely death by suicide, after several failed attempts, shocked the entire film industry. What exactly happened that night when he finally gave up on life? Bestselling Bollywood biographer Yasser Usman explores Guru Dutts life in this authentic biography of a remarkable star, unravelling the extraordinary lives of the rich and famous, and providing incredible insights into the emotional and mental well-being of a man. Dev Anand, Waheeda Rehman, Johnny Walker, S.D. Burmans short but compassionate, ambitious, and ultimately tragic life is recounted in this book, narrated by close friends and colleagues, and most importantly, by his gurus sister and renowned painter, Lalita Lajmi. It is a riveting, meticulously researched, and poignant portrait of an unfinished life marked by unrequited love, unresolved relationships, and unparalleled cinematic talent.