Portrait of Guru Dutt

Birthday profile

Guru Dutt

Guru Dutt, Indian actor, director, and producer (died 1964)

Born
July 9, 1925
Died
October 10, 1964
Zodiac sign
Cancer
Birth year
1925

About Guru Dutt

Guru Dutt (born Vasanth Kumar Shivashankar Padukone; 9 July 1925 – 10 October 1964; also known as Gurudatta Padukone) was an Indian film actor, director, producer, choreographer, and writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of Indian cinema. He was heavily influenced by Alfred Hitchcock in his initial films and later was compared with Orson Welles due to his works getting a legitimate amount of prominence amongst the cinephiles. Dutt was lauded for his artistry, notably his usage of close-up shots, lighting, and depictions of melancholia. He directed a total of eight Hindi films, several of which have gained a cult following internationally. This includes Pyaasa (1957), which made its way onto Time magazine's 100 Greatest Movies list, as well as Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), all of which are frequently listed among the greatest films in Hindi cinema. He was included among CNN's "Top 25 Asian Actors" in 2012. First, Anand hired Dutt for Baazi (1951), starring Anand himself and marking Dutt's directorial debut. The team included various filmmakers discovered and mentored by Dutt, including: Johnny Walker (actor-comedian), V.K. In 1959 came the release of Dutt's Kaagaz Ke Phool, the first Indian film produced in CinemaScope. In 1962, his team released Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, a critically successful film which was directed by Dutt's protégé, Abrar Alvi, who won the Filmfare Best Director Award for the film.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Guru Dutt timeline

  1. First, Anand hired Dutt for Baazi (1951), starring Anand himself and marking Dutt's directorial debut.
  2. In 1959 came the release of Dutt's Kaagaz Ke Phool, the first Indian film produced in CinemaScope.
  3. In 1962, his team released Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, a critically successful film which was directed by Dutt's protégé, Abrar Alvi, who won the Filmfare Best Director Award for the film.

The world when Guru Dutt was born

Guru Dutt was born in 1925. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1925

  • #1 song"Sweet Georgia Brown"
  • Top movieThe Gold Rush (Charlie Chaplin)
  • Best-selling bookThe Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentRed Grange signs with the Chicago Bears
  • Top headlineThe Scopes Trial captivates America
  • Technology milestoneTelevision demonstrated by John Logie Baird
  • Defining fadCharleston dance craze
  • Notable inventionMasking tape
  • World population1.98 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderCalvin Coolidge
  • Sports championPittsburgh Pirates (World Series)
  • U.S. population115.8M

1925 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Guru Dutt's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19252026
Gas$0.22$3.45/gal
Average home$5,900$435,000
Average income$3,600$67,500
Movie ticket$0.25$11.95
Postage stamp$0.02$0.73
Population115.8M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, IMDb, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.