A book on any film personality creates a lot of interest to the casual mind. There are expectations galore. In India, a film actor is, in many ways looked upon as a role model – a person who has to play his reel roles in his real life, as if. There are however few who can live up to the mystique revolving round Guru Dutt – the quintessential portrayal of tragedy and sorrow. The book Ten Years with Guru Dutt: Abrar Alvi’s Journey (written by Sathya Saran, Penguin Books India, 2008) however comes with a surprise. The bold lettering of the name Guru Dutt does make it marketable but after starting to read the preface it made me unsure – is it a book on Guru Dutt or it is on Abrar Alvi, the forgotten writer of Guru Dutt Films. In actual, it is on both; it is on their creative camaraderie.
Abrar Alvi penned amongst many others, films like Kaagaz Ke Phool, Chaudhvin Ka Chand, Aar Paar and Mr and Mrs 55. He also transformed the much-publicized Bengali novel and directed it – Saheb, Bibi aur Ghulam. There had been considerable print material devoted on the controversy that had raged for decades as to who directed the masterpiece. The book had gone in detail in charting out insightful aspects of many colourful personalities like Johny Walker, Mehmood, the discrepancies with Raj Khosla, the tragic revelations of physical abuse of Meena Kumari inflicted by her husband Kamal Amrohi and the whimsical miser in S D Burman. There has been a bigger chunk kept for the three highlights of the book, from the content perspective – the suicide of Guru Dutt, the making of Saheb, Bibi aur Ghulam and the hyped love affair between Dutt and Waheeda Rehman. The anecdotes however always revolve round Guru Dutt and Abrar’s observation of the incidents.
This lends an interesting aspect on the way Sathya Saran developed the book. The lengthy interviews that Saran took of Alvi had been carefully crafted in two-person language – it is Alvi’s own narration till the end but interspersed with Saran’s comments and additions that takes Alvi’s narrative forward. The fluidity of Saran’s diction has made the read an enjoyable one – simple and free-flowing. Within the funny anecdotes there are incidents laid out with remarkable lucidity that marks the height of creative sustenance between Guru Dutt and Abrar. One such was the technical acumen that Dutt possessed and his stepping in to address the challenges faced by the camera unit technically – Abrar recounts how Guru Dutt described to him the functionality and technical specification of lenses with variable focal lengths. The book also lights up the entrepreneur in Guru Dutt – as the head of his production unit churning out multiple films in parallel to optimize his budget.
What the book probably lacks is the authenticity of the incidents described in fleeting details. Looking from another side, the particular double-spaced style ensured that there is enough fictional heightening of the incidents described. The book itself can act as a script; it is that filmy, yes. However this doesn’t spare from Abrar speaking his mind out. It is easy to depict incidents and comment on people who are beyond chance to tell their version back. However, Abrar had been candid even in his evaluation of many concerned individuals. Take for example, his perception of Waheeda Rehman as Jaba in Saheb, Bibi aur Ghulam - “Waheeda is a fine artist and I could get almost anything out of her. But I still believe she was miscast as Jaba. Her personality was not suited for the role of a mischievous girl with a mercurial temperament. A Madhubala or a Geeta Bali could have done the role so much better”.
As mentioned, Alvi’s repeated juxtaposition of his closeness to Guru Dutt is at times appalling. He sprinkled his narration with the likes of 'Guru Dutt trusted me' and 'Guru Dutt listened to me' etc which overemphasized the relation between the writer and his mentor. This apart, Sathya Saran had put spices in right ingredients that make the book a thoroughly readable book. The mood sways from fun to tragedy, from sensuality to depression and hatred all mingle for a whole picture. The purpose of the book is probably not only to look into Guru Dutt but to look into the relation of Guru with his key persons. The book serves that very purpose with finesse. Sathya Saran’s immaculate simple style ensured that the book is in the truest sense – Un-put-down-able!
Amitava Nag
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