Guru Dutt

Guru DuttIndian filmmaker and actor Guru Dutt was known for evocative films such as Pyaasa (1957; “The Thirsty One”) and Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959; “Paper Flowers”).

Guru Dutt (born July 9, 1925, Bangalore [now Bengaluru], Mysore princely state [now Karnataka, India]—died October 10, 1964, Bombay [now Mumbai]) was a Hindi motion-picture producer, director, writer, and actor, whose mastery of such elements as mood and lighting in a group of social and romantic dramas made him one of the best-known and most-accomplished stylists of Bollywood’s golden age. He is remembered for his introspective and poetic depiction of melancholy in films such as Pyaasa (1957; “The Thirsty One”) and Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959; “Paper Flowers”).