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Waqt Ne Kiya Kya Haseen Sitam: Kaifi Azmi on Guru Dutt

On Guru Dutt’s death anniversary, we revisit the lyrical tribute paid to him by legendary poet Kaifi Azmi.

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Ever wonder what it would be like if Guru Dutt was still alive and making movies? Clint Eastwood is 85 and he’s still making movies, so it’s not an implausible thought.

One of Hindi cinema’s most revered actors and filmmakers, Guru Dutt’s life has been revisited many times over through books and documentaries. A couple of years ago, while shooting a special feature with Shabana Azmi on her father Kaifi Azmi, the actress shared a few memorable anecdotes about Kaifi saab and Guru Dutt’s collaboration.

On Guru Dutt’s  death anniversary, we revisit the lyrical tribute paid to him by legendary poet Kaifi Azmi.
Guru Dutt in a scene from Kaagaz Ke Phool

Not many know that Kaifi Azmi owed his big break in Hindi films to Guru Dutt’s Kaagaz Ke Phool. Kaifi himself later explained that the business of writing songs in films was strange because often the tune would be composed first and then the words would be fitted in. In his own words, Kaifi described the process as, “…first digging a grave and then finding a corpse to fit into it... so sometimes the head would stick out and sometimes the feet. But with me the directors were satisfied that I could bury corpses completely.”

On Guru Dutt’s  death anniversary, we revisit the lyrical tribute paid to him by legendary poet Kaifi Azmi.
A poster of Kaagaz Ke Phool

But Guru Dutt did not belong to that category of filmmakers. In fact Kaifi saab recalled how between SD Burman and him, they created the timeless ‘Waqt Ne Kiya, Kya Haseen Sitam…’ , but there was no situation for the song in the film, however Guru Dutt loved the song so much that he created a place for it later.

Remembering Guru Dutt’s collaboration with her father, Kaifi Azmi, Shabana says:

He was known for his innate understanding of good songs - both lyrics and music and their picturisation. VK Murthy (Guru Dutt’s cinematographer) was asked to open the roof of Mehboob Studios to create the shafts of light which was the highlight of the song ‘Waqt Ne Kiya...’. Abba used to say that Guru Dutt inspired his artists almost by a process of osmosis, just by being around them.
Shabana Azmi, Actor
On Guru Dutt’s  death anniversary, we revisit the lyrical tribute paid to him by legendary poet Kaifi Azmi.
Guru Dutt and Waheeda Rehman in the song Waqt Ne Kiya... from Kaagaz Ke Phool

Though the songs of Kaagaz Ke Phool were a hugely popular (and continue to be so), the film sank at the box-office. As a result while Guru Dutt slipped into depression, Kaifi, who was still struggling as a writer and lyricist, had to look elsewhere for work.

Kafi Azmi in his inimitable style wrote a poem as a tribute to Guru Dutt, after he committed suicide in 1964. The poet recited his lines for Guru Dutt in Nasreen Munni Kabir’s documentary In Search Of Guru Dutt:

Rehne ko sadaa dahar mein aata nahin koi
tum jaise gaye aise bhi jaata nahin koi

Ek baar toh khud maut bhi ghabra gayi hogi
yun maut ko seene se lagaata nahin koi

Darta hoon kahin khushq na ho jaaye samundar
raakh apni kabhi aap bahaata nahin koi

Saaqi se gila tha tumhein, maikhaane se shikwaa
ab zahar se bhi pyaas bujhaata nahin koi

Maana ki ujaalon ne tumhein daag diye the
beraat dhale shama bujhaata nahin koi

Rehne ko sadaa dahar mein aata nahin koi
tum jaise gaye aise bhi jaata nahin koi

Who could have said it better?

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(This piece is from The Quint’s archives and was first published on July 9, 2015 to mark the occasion of Guru Dutt’s death anniversary)

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Topics:  Kaifi Azmi   Guru Dutt 

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