He was the brooding, intense actor-director, a connoisseur of lights and lyrics. She the embodiment of classic beauty, a persona of resplendence and one of the greatest actresses the Indian cinema has ever seen. And their romance - a riddle wrapped in an enigma. Guru Dutt and Waheeda Rehman, together with their intense on-screen chemistry, creating magic in every film they shared.
He spotted the gifted maiden with the veiled charm, and together they created history. During the making of Pyaasa, the 1957 near autobiographical masterpiece, Guru Dutt fell in love with her. The struggling poet, Vijay trying to make his works known sought respite in the arms of the noble-hearted courtesan ‘Gulab’ who eventually helps him get his poems published. Rehman delivered an absolutely brilliant performance in her first major lead role in Hindi cinema that has held up beautifully till date. Her blend of nuances of love, desire and despair as she follows Guru Dutt up the stairs to the terrace to the strains of Aaj Sajan Mohe Ang Laga Lo leaves inerasable impressions in mind of viewers. It is ironic that his wife Geeta Dutt's sensual voice was used on Waheeda Rehman the actress as she 'sang' for Guru Dutt on screen.
Dutt was a man ahead of his time and the manner in which he played with cinematography and protracted her characters, transformed the simplest emotion into the countenance of a goddess. In no time, the starry eyed duo shot to stardom, their romance dominating drawing room discussions and one would never be named without mentioning the other.
But as all good things pass, so did this famous fairytale. He took his life and she took to silence, never to talk about him again, but the forlorn lovers, Dutt and Rehman, together bejewelled the Indian Cinema with the most eternally soulful moments in celluloid history...
