"It was a wonderful experience interacting with you and appreciate the way you have planned and executed the whole publication process within the agreed timelines.”
Subrat SaurabhAuthor of Kuch Woh Pal
Guru Dutt’s first name couldn’t have been more apt—he was a guru for all those who worked with him in his path-breaking 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 gold-dust 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
Lata Jagtiani
Lata Jagtiani, a post-graduate in English Literature and Aesthetics, was born and brought up in Mumbai. Widely travelled, she has been a lecturer, both in India and abroad. She has written articles for several newspapers and websites and has authored ‘Temple Bells and Other Stories’, ‘Towards Light’, Bhagavad Gita in 365 Days’, ‘Sindhi Reflections,’ ‘Mumbai Terror Attacks’, ‘OP Nayyar King of Melody’, ‘Dada’s Wisdom’ and ‘Guide, the Film Perspectives’. For many years, Lata Jagtiani has been fascinated by the three aces of the retro period of Hindi cinema, OP Nayyar, Dev Anand and Guru Dutt. She has already authored a biography of OP Nayyar, ‘OP Nayyar King of Melody,’ she has authored a critical analysis of Dev Anand’s masterpiece ‘Guide’ and this biography ‘Thank You, Guru Dutt!’ completes her effort to salute and thank the three giants to whom she is greatly indebted for the happiness they have given her through their creations.
