Dutt’s the way

Unlike many star sons, neither the film industry has been kind to him nor has the box office, but that has not deterred Arun Dutt, from his mission of preserving the legacy of his father, the legendary filmmaker and actor, Guru Dutt. We caught up with Arun, who is in Jaipur for the international film festival.
While his production Bindiya Chamkegi fizzled out, about his directorial venture, Khule Aam, Arun says it was affected by the Babri Masjid riots that happened around the time, when the film was released.Arun, who is committed to rejuvenating and promoting his father’s work says, “I didn’t have the aptitude to be a producer. I was too gullible and people took me for a ride, when I was making films. I was totally disappointed by the film industry, as filmmaking increasingly became an expensive affair and it became very difficult to find financiers. And with actors charging a whopping fee today, things have become even worse.”
But being a film legend’s son, was he not flooded with offers from financiers and film banners to work with them? “No, that did not happen. My father died very young. Had he been alive, things would have been different. Now I am dedicated to reviving the negatives of my father’s films and promoting his work, like we showcased his work at the Lincoln Centre in New York last year, while his work will be showcased in Hong Kong in March this year.”
So how difficult is it living in the shadow of a legendary father? “It’s extremely difficult, as people have huge expectations from you. Since my father died at 39, I did not get much time to learn from him.” Reminiscing about his relationship with his father he says, “He was a very loving father but very reserved and introverted, someone who liked being quiet. Indeed, his brothers and sisters used to keep a distance from him as it was difficult to figure what was going on in his mind. Since he used to be very busy and return late at night, we could spend quality time with him only during vacations. But I cherish those little memories of him holding the firkee, while I flew the kite.” Talking about things that brought a smile on his father’s face, he says, “He loved flying kites, fishing and he mostly sat and enjoyed fishing at night at Johnny (Walker) uncle’s machan, even as I slept. He loved nature and animals so much that he used to do farming and also had chicken coops. In fact, we had an incubator and sometimes he would call us at 1 in the night to show us how the eggs hatched. And we had pets ranging from a monkey to a tiger cub, besides we also had a cow and a buffalo. It was like a mini zoo at home.”
Talking about a film on Guru Dutt’s life Arun lets in, “I have been actively involved in two recent projects on my father’s life but one had to be dropped, while Anurag (Kashyap) is working on the other one. It got delayed because of recession. The research work is over and now Anurag is going to write the script.” As for reports of Arun having some difference of opinion with Anurag over the script, he clarified, “Some mediaperson twisted my words. All that I had said was that I didn’t want my father and Waheeda Rehman’s relationship to be sensationalised.”
And does he have any plans of penning a book on his father’s life? “Every aspect of his life has already been written about,” says Arun, who loves photography and writes too. Arun, who inaugurated the international film festival here, while talking about the city said he loves Jaipur, its warm people and food, even though he is not a foodie.”
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