12 O'Clock (1958) Gurudutt -a Lawyer par excellence-

Born Vasanth Kumar Shivashankar Padukone
9 July 1925
Bangalore, Princely State of Mysore, India
Died October 10, 1964 (aged 39)
Bombay, Maharashtra, India
Occupation Actor, Producer, Director, Choreographer
Years active 1944-1964
Spouse(s) Geeta Dutt (1953 - 1964) (His Death)
Guru Dutt or Vasanth Kumar Shivashankar Padukone (9 July 1925 - 10 October 1964) was an Indian film director, producer and actor. He is often credited with ushering in the golden era of Hindi cinema. He made quintessential 1950s and 1960s classics such as Pyaasa (Thirsty), Kaagaz Ke Phool (Paper Flowers), Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (The King, the Queen and the Jack) and Chaudhvin Ka Chand (The Fourteenth Day Moon). In particular, Pyaasa and Kaagaz Ke Phool are now included among the greatest films of all time, both by Time magazine's "All-TIME" 100 best movies [1] and by the Sight & Sound critics' and directors' poll,[2] where Dutt himself is included among the greatest film directors of all time.[3] He is sometimes referred to as "India's Orson Welles". In 2010, he has been named the list of CNN's "top 25 Asian actors of all time".
However, his uncle found him a job under a three-year contract with the Prabhat Film Company in Pune (then called Poona) in 1944. This once premier film producing centre had already seen the departure of its best talent, V. Shantaram, who had by then launched his own Kala Mandir. It is here that Guru Dutt met two people who would remain his good friends - actors Rehman and Dev Anand.

Guru Dutt acted in a small role as Sri Krishna in Chand in 1944. In 1945, he acted as well as assisted director Vishram Bedekar in Lakhrani, and in 1946 he worked as an assistant director and choreographed dances for P. L. Santoshis film, Hum Ek Hain.

This contract ended in 1947, but his mother got him a job as a freelance assistant with Baburao Pai, the CEO of the Prabhat Film Company and Studio. However, after that, for almost ten months, Guru Dutt was unemployed and stayed with his family at Matunga, Mumbai. During this time, Guru Dutt developed a flair for writing in English, and wrote short stories for The Illustrated Weekly of India, a local weekly English magazine.

It is during this time that he is supposed to have written the script for the almost autobiographical Pyaasa (Hindi: the thirsty one). Its original name was Kashmakash (Hindi: struggle), which was changed later to Pyaasa and was written at his home in Matunga.
While Guru Dutt was hired by Prabhat Film Company as a choreographer, he was soon pressed into service as an actor, and even as an assistant director. At Prabhat, he met Dev Anand and Rehman, who both became stars. These early friendships helped ease his way into the film world.
In 1964 he acted in his last film Sanjh Aur Savera opposite Meena Kumari.
[edit] Death

On 10 October 1964, Guru Dutt was found dead in his bed in his rented apartment at Pedder Road in Mumbai. He is said to have been mixing alcohol and sleeping pills. His death may have been suicide, or just an accidental overdose. It would have been his third suicide attempt.
Memorable quotes * On failure of Kaagaz Ke Phool and success of Chaudhvin Ka Chand : "Life mein, yaar, kya hai? Do hi toh cheezen hai kamyaabi aur failure. There is nothing in between."[14] ("What is there in life, friend? There are only two things - success and failure. There is nothing in between.") * While scouting for locations in Baroda for Chaudhvin Ka Chand : "Dekho na, mujhe director banna tha, director ban gaya; actor bana tha, actor ban gaya; picture achche banane thay, achche banay. Paisa hai, sab kuch hai, par kuch bhi nahi raha."[15] ("See, I wanted to be a director, I became one. Wanted to be an actor, I became one. Wanted to make good pictures, I have done that too. Have money, have everything. But I have nothing left.")

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