GURU-R-BRAHMA !

It's a very basic prayer in India for the teachers, Guru (Teacher) is Brahma (God of Creation).

But I'm symbolically using the same to describe Sir Guru Dutt. Yes I'm a fan, I'm a devotee, of not just this man great films and productions, as the similar feat can be replicated and has been tried by many, so what if not been accomplished in such grandeur & kingly way. I'm devotee of something even bigger than that, something deeper, I'm devotee of his ideals, his thinking, his approach in life. Even though cynic might say all of him was extreme, a wild race towards perfection, a completeness which can never be attained. Game which cannot be won.

 

And he never won ! Did he ? He mastered film-making, productions and arts. But he was the representative & one of the niche-sponsor of great failures, whether professionally or personally. His marriage was a disaster, his greatest creations not aligned with people frequency of understanding. So what if he made movies 30-40 years ahead of its time. Whats the point when nobody is there in theatres to have a taste of the art. 

But then, I damn-sure know, succumbing to commercialism, profitability, and money is so easy and ordinary in this society. What he craved for was reaching the ultimate he visualize, the zenith he foreseen. A jump to grasp the sky of creation. And a medium to let the fountain of emotions, anguish, sadness & frustration to flow unsteadily. He was insatiable but for creation, not for the benefit out of that. And thus he was always dissatisfied by his work, the end-result. And this quality which look so appealing, is equally dangerous & lethal. It can drove you to farthest sea-zones of mental traumas & high tides of emotions from where returning is not the option. His close friends & colleagues were annoyed by the same too. They wanted the work done and move on, he wanted the work to move on till it gets the right textures & proper canvas. An undying quest for perfectionism.

 

So when I symbolize Guru Dutt to be Brahma, a god of creativity. Don't take it as an exaggeration, or false fan-hood, Infact it's an extension of Guru's path or, the destination of his journey, i.e towards attainment of Bhrama. Yes, whether it's a much-talked about ones like Pyaasa or Kaagaz Ke Phool or, the lesser talked one like Mr & Mrs. 55, he displayed his craftsmanship in accurate manner with some minute flaws, for which he remained guilty to himself till he died. Yes, in various occasions he had expressed his anguish & guilt for some rare surrender to commercialism, the popular masala he put on his flicks for garnering public attention, monetory success. And he never liked those impurities in his creations. A/c to me, Even legendary Pyaasa was not the purest creation of him, nor the Kaagaz ke Phool. His purest was not meant for the world at that time. That’s why you see ‘Sar jo tera chakraye’ have to be placed in sadistic Pyaasa, and “Hum Tum Jise Kehta Hai” kinda crappy number have to be gelled in the otherwise, purest creation of his whole life, Kaagaz ke Phool.

But I would not complain about that! Who is not adulterated or impure in this society? How could one man attain the eternal bliss of mastery, the completeness? And if he would have attained that, do you really think he would be satisfied, Nah! Then there would be another level to reach. That’s the story of Ideality. My teacher was once explaining an Ideal Engine to the class. He said, “Ideal Engine never exists! It’s like Shri Rama, and Ideal man, who is so flawless, that doesn’t look real, A man who can go for painful 14 years exile for happiness of his step mom. So Ideal Engine efficiency is 100%”

In Similar manner, and Ideal Creator, or Brahma, if ever existed in some impure form in Hindi Film Industry, was undoubtedly Mr Guru Dutt.

If anyone has any confusion on that, or any challenging claim against it, Please share your contender for this Tag, I’ll be enriched to know another genius like him.

GURU-R-BHRAMA !!