Guru Dutt

Suffused with the dark poetry of the death wish, Dutt’s classics were nihilistic, self-portraits of the artiste as a depressed, disturbed and deluded young man.

Surprisingly, Guru Dutt Padukone’s childhood could have hardly been more normal. Born near Bangalore, of middle-class but intellectual parents, he was fascinated by dance. He joined Uday Shankar’s Dance Academy and his first film assignment was as the choreographer of Lakharani (’45). His friend from his days of struggle, Dev Anand, asked him to direct Baazi (’51) and its success made Dutt a sought after name. Thereafter, Dutt made shadowy, film noir inspired thrillers like Jaal and Aar Paar or comedies like Mr & Mrs 55.

Waheeda Rehman and an all-blanketing pessimism entered his films with Pyaasa (’57). Although self-obsessed and symbol-laden, the film was a commercial success and an undeniable classic.

The Christian symbolism rampant in Pyaasa was an early indication of Dutt’s persecution complex. In the song, `Yeh duniya agar mil bhi jaaye toh kya hai’, Dutt poses like Christ during the crucifixion; later, when he renounces the world, the light rushing towards him suggests his enlightenment and the film is peppered with references like `Kaaton ka haar’, which is akin to the crown of thorns synonymous with the Son of God.

The audience might not have responded to Dutt’s intellectualizations but they were captivated by his gift for story telling. He knew when to subdue the music, where the lyrics had to be given full voice (‘Jinhe naaz hai Hind par’) and how to create the atmosphere of a man triumphing over a spiritual wasteland.

Pyaasa was a blistering attack on worldly fame. When the long ignored poet finally gets recognition, he reacts with the climactic denouncement ‘Yeh duniya agar mil bhi jaye toh kya hai’. It seemed to suggest that this was Dutt’s point of view too. This, however, was not absolutely true. As Kagaz Ke Phool (’59) showed, success did mean a lot to Dutt. Both Pyaasa and Kagaz Ke Phool were intrinsically about Dutt’s relationship with fame. In Pyaasa, his alter ego rejected fame, albeit only after achieving it; while Kagaz Ke Phool showed his character’s frustration when he becomes a failure.

Off screen too, the failure of the elaborately scaled Kagaz Ke Phool left Guru Dutt devastated. His brilliantly shot, cinemascope attempt to reflect the world of Bollywood denizens through a cynical prism won him praise as the maker of a classic but set him back by Rs 17 lakhs. He agreed to produce a nakedly commercial Chaudhvi Ka Chaand (’60), to recoup the losses.

Strangely, Dutt refused to take credit as the director of the classic, Sahib Biwi aur Ghulam (’62). The film was set in a nineteenth century Calcutta mansion, that stood as an architectural metaphor for a crumbling age, succumbing to British exigencies. Meena Kumari was the mansion’s chhoti bahu — lovely but unloved. There was much that her fascinated factotum, Dutt (whose feelings for her were left undefined), wished to do for her but could not. Never has the human incapability for communication been so beautifully communicated.

Even as he sculpted classics, commercial factors continued to weigh heavily on Dutt’s mind. With tears in his eyes, Raj Kapoor praised Dutt highly after seeing Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam, only to have him counter, “But will it run?” The film had an unremarkable run at the box office. Meanwhile, a personal maelstrom caused Guru Dutt to lose himself in the dark cloisters of his own mind. He suffered a shattering break with his discovery Waheeda Rehman, as she sought to establish her own identity outside his films. A hurt Dutt tried to repair his relationship with wife Geeta, but to no avail.

It led to his drowning his sorrows in drink — his life had became a suicide note. Nobody could stop the final, inevitable overdose of sleeping tablets. Dutt died,-probably still wondering: ‘Jaane woh kaise log the jinke pyar ko pyar mila.’

Veena Malik

Veena Malik, born Zahida Malik on 26 February 1978, is an actress, model and comedian. She established herself as one of the leading women in the Pakistani television and film industry with her abilities to mimic others and improvise. Veena grew up expressing an interest in joining the film industry and her grandmother encouraged her. Her father, however, disliked the idea of his daughter being in an industry that was deemed unsuitable for girls in Pakistan and initially resisted her attempts to pursue a career in entertainment. However, she continued to receive support from her grandmother despite the disapproval of many family members. Before starting her career as an actress, Veena worked as a comedian for several television shows and series. She made her acting debut alongside Shaan and Zara Sheikh in Tere Pyar Mein in 2000, which did well at the box office but since she played a supporting role in the film she was barely acknowledged. However, she received widespread acclaim when she appeared in a supporting role in Javed Sheikh’s Yeh Dil Aap Ka Huwa in 2002; the film was a commercial success. In 2003, she appeared in Indo-Pak cross venture Punjabi film Pind Di Kuri which failed to do well. However, the film turned out be the first Indo-Pak venture film with a budget of approximately 70 million rupees. She also appeared in Askari’s Sassi Punno alongside Sana and Moammar Rana and in Jageer. In 2008, Veena appeared in the Punjabi film, Mohabbatan Sachiyan, alongside ex-fiancee Babrik Shah and newcomers Maria Khan and Adnan Khan. The film went on to become a commercial success. In 2010, she worked in Main Jeena Tere Naal, and debut comedy programme Miss Duniya.
Veena has usually been cast as a supporting actor. It is unclear if she herself stayed clear of the leading roles or was denied them. Industry enthusiasts say that the only genre she was good at was ‘comedy’ and that the directors failed to create a leading role around her acting skills. The criticism was taken well by her and she began to hone her skills even more in comedy. In 2002, she hosted a show called Prime Gupshup ushering a new direction for her comedic skills and she improvised on the hour-long show by occasionally mimicking actors. The show’s format was such a great success that she got offers from various other channels as well. She hosted the Geo TV show Hum Sub Umeed Say Hain, in which she was hailed for her parodies. In September 2010, Veena was approached to become part of the Indian television reality show, Bigg Boss Season 4, being hosted by Salman Khan. She accepted the offer and is now a part of the show that started on October 3, 2010 and will run for 14 weeks.

Khursheed Junior in Naghma-e-Sahara (1945)

Real Name:- Khursheed

Notable Films:- Zamin (1943), Aashirwad (1943), Parakh (1944), Dr. Kumar (1944), Naghma-e-Sahara (1945)

Other Info :- Meena Kumari’s elder sister Khursheed [Junior] was born in 1927 in Mumbai. Fluent in Urdu and English, she joined the film industry on the advice of Pandit Anand Kumar and appeared for the first time in Zamin (1943). Proficient in singing too, but not as well as the famous Khursheed Begum. Made her debut in  Zamin (1943), graduated to secondary roles with Parakh (1944) and then became a leading lady in Aashirwad (1943). She mostly played bit parts in films, and never became famous like her younger sister Meena Kumari. Khurshid married a person named Altaf and her present whereabouts are unknown.

Trivia :- Khursheed [Junior] is sometimes confused with the famous actress singer Khursheed Begum