
Guru Dutt @ 100: The cinematic genius who made the camera sing
Avijit Ghosh
TNN
Jul 8, 2025, 19:54 IST IST
The director of 'Pyaasa' and 'Kaagaz Ke Phool', whose 100th birth anniversary falls on July 9, brought a lyricism to his craft that shone through in some unforgettable tracks
Songs are bookmarks of mainstream Hindi films. Long after a movie disappears from theatres and memories, they suddenly waft over a cabbie's FM radio or emerge on an algorithm-driven app. They become a movie's reference point, keeping them alive. In Guru Dutt films, the songs are more eloquent. Works of care and empathy, they not only take you on a guided tour of his art and aesthetics, but also offer a peep into his emotional world.
The songs also carry his signature. Dutt, who spent his early years in Kolkata, loved dance, having trained at visionary dancer-choreographer Uday Shankar's centre in Almora and performed with his troupe. The films he made had a dance director but his contribution to their picturisation is well-acknowledged.

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