dekhi zamaane ki yaari - A tribute to Guru Dutt (and Mohammed Rafi)

 So lamented Mohammed Rafi, arguably the best playback singer India has ever produced (I know, I know, I am going to make some enemies with this statement). Well, for all those who are looking for a rock to hurl at my head which cradles this thought, let me ask you to pause for a second and listen to the song I quoted from. Minimal music, as Rafi pours his soul into singing about a time in a man’s life where everything he held dear is lost. Even if you were not to understand the powerful lyrics, I bet that you would be moved by the despondency in Rafi’s voice. If you are lucky enough to watch the video with it, it will be the cherry on the top as we see an aged Guru Dutt (another genius) stumble around in a studio where he was a revered filmmaker not too long ago. People running behind him to get a glimpse of him, begging for his autograph as he looks at the crowd of people milling around him with pride. However, there is one aspect missing from his persona - I didn’t see joy. Not then when he’s smoking a pipe in style as people clap for him and not when he’s literally tottering off the edge of a catwalk. What’s scary about this is the fact that this was considered Guru Dutt’s biopic. A very successful filmmaker whose personal life is in shambles. A single dad who falls in love with his beautiful heroine and plans to marry her. His daughter sabotages the relationship and from that time his downfall starts, the girl merrily goes her away in a few years and his heroine goes on to become a big star. He, on the other hand, never recovers from the heartbreak, makes some insipid movies and soon everyone (except his heroine) forgets him. His failure gets to him, and he quietly disappears and only surfaces years later, ill and takes a final walk around his famous studio which is about to be dismantled.

Guru Dutt was super successful; he was a much-married man who fell in love with his extremely beautiful heroine Waheeda Rahman who never really accepted him because of his marital status. He went on to commit suicide when he was only 39, by which time he had directed 8 films that are considered masterpieces in their own way. This song is from his film ‘Kagaz ke Phool’ (Paper flowers) which was considered a commercial failure but has somewhat of a cult status especially after his tragic death. Another film of his 'Pyaasa’ (The thirsty Man), about the struggle of a poet features in Time magazine’s 100 Greatest Movies of all time.

While not a big fan of Guru Dutt’s melancholic movies, I do adore the music in his films.

Jaane woh kaise log thay jinke pyaar ko pyaar mila,
hum ne tho jab kaliyaan maangi kaanton ke haar mile!

(Don’t quite know what kind of people receive back love for their love,
when I asked for buds, all I got were garlands of thorns) - Pyaasa

Na jaaon saiyyan, chudaake baiyyan
Qasam tumhari main ro padoongi…

(Don’t go my love, snatching your hand away
I promise you, I will burst into tears) - Saaheb, bibi aur Ghulam

This was another cult classic that rose in stature more so because of Meena Kumari’s ache that managed to scar and hurt everyone that ever watched the movie. It still hurts me. She was titled ‘Tragedy Queen’ and I am not sure, but I do think it must have been after her performance in this movie.

Chaudvin ka chaand ho, ya aftaab ho,
Jo bhi ho tum khuda ki qasam laajawaab ho!

(Are you the moon on the 14th night, or the sun
whatever you are, by God! there is no answer to you!) - Chaudvi ka Chaand

So sang Mohammed Rafi again, as Guru Dutt admired his bride Waheeda Rahman in the movie as she sleeps in the early morning of their wedding night looking like an angel. This line is used even now to tell someone that they are stunningly beautiful. Became an iconic romantic song. The contrast in the first song and the last song is stark, but Rafi carries both of them with such ease and elan, that for those of you who stayed to this point even after my controversial statement, I thank you that I could make my second argument!

However, the glory of all this belongs to Guru Dutt, a master filmmaker - a man ravaged by his own demons that he could not quite get away from but to whom the Hindi Film Industry owes a debt of gratitude for bringing us great stories, pathos, music, stunning visuals and of course some of the greatest women in Hindi Cinema - Geeta Dutt, Waheeda Rahman and Meena Kumari and the best playback singer in the world of course!!!

I shall end with tribute to his cinematography where the light from a spotlight, a couple of chairs in the studio are used to generate what must be the most hauntingly beautiful song on yearning in the history of Hindi cinema or World Cinema I would say continuing with the trend of Word's best controversial statements stance I have adopted today (Why should only the United State of America do it, I shall too!)

Waqt ne kiya kya haseen sitam,
hum rahen na hum, tum rahen na tum!
(Time has bestowed on us a beautiful cruelty,
I am not myself; you are not yourself)

Picturized on the too beautiful for words, his lady love Waheeda and him in the same sort of autobiographical culture he used to follow in his films. Telling a tale of separation and longing that seemed to have become a part of his life. Ironically, this song was sung every so beautifully by his wife Geeta Dutt! How is that for some pathos, ethos and everything melancholy bundled into one song.

Everything in Guru Dutt's films is for eternity. Has not lost its charm even know and I don't think ever will. That is the hallmark of a great artist - timelessness...