Guru Dutt And Geeta Dutt: A 'Romeo-Juliet' Tale Of The Era

Guru Dutt, an Indian filmmaker, producer, and actor, par excellence and perhaps amongst the few who were ahead of their times, he gave us some of the most celebrated works on celluloid. However, despite all the accolades and fame coming his way, Gurudutt had a tragic end, something that shook Bollywood to the core since he left all behind at a young age of 39. Though he was married to another well-known singer of her times, Geeta Dutt, it was his romantic inclination towards Waheeda Rehman that got spoken about. A look at his journey and a life that perphaps desired too much and too often.

The Beginning Of A Love Story

Nightingale of the early 90s, Geeta and Guru Dutt met on the sets of Baazi- where Dutt was the debutant director and Geeta was the lead singer. Sparks flew between them and the duo fall head-over-heels in love with each other. In an interview with a media house, Lalitha Lajmi, Guru Dutt’s sister said, “Apart from her honeyed voice, I was struck by beauty. She was exquisite like an Ajanta fresco, dark and beautiful! Soon, Guru Dutt and she fell in love. They had a long courtship, almost for three years. They’d exchange letters through me. One full moon night in the balcony of her bungalow she confided, “I’m going to marry your brother!”

Marriage

But like in movies, every love story has a villain. In their case, it was Geeta’s family. Her family was in complete denial of their getting married. But the couple did not give up and kept investing in efforts to convince their families, and finally, her mother caved in.

The couple tied the knot on May 26th, 1953 at Geeta’s residence in Mumbai. The duo was blessed with three children, a daughter, and two sons. 

“In the early years of their marriage, Guru Dutt and Geeta shared much love and affection. They enjoyed a great rapport regarding music. Both of them loved their children. My brother’s birthday fell on the same date as his older son Tarun’s – July 9. Arun’s birthday falls on July 10. So, she’d celebrate all their birthdays with great pomp and have a huge birthday cake cut! She was ecstatic when, Nina, their daughter, and last child was born (1962). She loved to doll her up”, Lalitha told a media house.

The couple lived happily for a few years but Dutt was said to be a workaholic, leading him to spend minimal time with his family. His lack of earnest interest in family life affected his marriage life deeply and their marriage started sinking!

The Beginning Of The End

In the late 1950s, Guru got romantically inclined towards actress Waheeda Rehman, and in fact, he even made a movie ‘Kaagaz Ke Phool’ which depicts a married director’s love for an actress. This took a toll on his married life which resulted in regular fights. Their financial issues too peaked up and they had to move out from their bungalow. While Dutt rented a posh flat at the Peddar Road vicinity of Mumbai, Geeta returned to her mother’s place with the children.

Talking about that phase, Lalitha told a media house, “soon, there were several issues including a clash of egos and perhaps a feeling of hurt, which troubled Geeta. They had 11 years of a tempestuous marriage. Both of them were brilliant as artists but as a couple faced constant friction. She was suspicious of every actress he worked with. She kept tabs on him all the time. That was her only undoing. There would be frequent quarrels and she’d take the children away to her mother’s home. He’d beg her to return.”

She further added, “The next day he’d get into depression and call us to tell that Geeta has taken the children away. Given Guru Dutt’s suicidal tendencies, he had attempted suicide twice before. The second time he was admitted to the Nanavati Hospital and had slipped into a coma for three days. One afternoon when he came through, the first word he uttered was ‘Geeta!’”

The End

While Dutt’s career was dipping, and so was his love life. It is said that towards the end, even Waheeda had distanced herself from him, owing to his alcoholism, anxiety and depression attacks. He also tried to commit suicide twice, which were both said to be foiled by his Cook Ibrahim and valet Ratan. By mid-1964, things got worse and he started taking a heavy dose of sleeping pills and alcohol.

In an interview with a media house, Lalitha said, “It’s said that Guru Dutt spoke to Geeta on the phone that evening asking her to send the children across over the weekend as his shooting had got cancelled. Apparently, Geeta refused. The children were always the bone of contention between them. Abrar (an Indian film writer, director, and actor) even advised him never to mix alcohol with sleeping tablets, Guru Dutt being an insomniac. That night Abrar left without having dinner. Guru Dutt also didn’t eat. Perhaps, it became a lethal combination of sleeping tablets and alcohol on an empty stomach and not intentional suicide as is believed. The next morning, the cook had to break open the door and found his lifeless body on the bed.” 

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A Shock Too Much To Handle

His death sent ripples down the film industry, but Geeta got affected the most. She slipped into the depressions and started following his husband's footsteps. She started consuming alcohol and in 1972, her health took a hit. She was eventually diagnosed with liver cirrhosis caused by excessive alcohol consumption, which sadly led to her death on 20th July 1972.

While talking to a media house, Lajmi said, “Geeta was devastated by his death and wore white for a year as per Bengali tradition. In the later years, I met her often but most of the time she was drunk. She’d hide small bottles of liquor in the bookshelf, in the bathroom."