Vasanth Kumar Shivashankar Padukone (9 July 1925 – 10 October 1964), better known as Guru Dutt, was an Indian film director, producer and actor. He made 1950s and 1960s classics such as Pyaasa, Kaagaz Ke Phool, Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam and Chaudhvin Ka Chand. In particular, Pyaasa and Kaagaz Ke Phool are now included among the greatest films of all time, both by Time magazine's "All-TIME" 100 best movies and by the Sight & Sound critics' and directors' poll, where Dutt himself is included among the greatest film directors of all time. Description above from the Wikipedia article Guru Dutt, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- July 9, 1925
- October 10, 1964 (aged 39)
- Bangalore, Karnataka, India
- Actor, director and producer
- 5 on MovieCove · 20 credits in all
What are Guru Dutt's films like?
Across their 5 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Morality.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 5
Light 0 · Serious 1 · Dark 4
Grounded 1 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 2
Gentle 0 · Charged 2 · Intense 3
Steady 2 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 5 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0
Slow burn 5 · Even-paced 0 · Relentless 0
Casual 2 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 0 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 4
Resolved 4 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0
Roles they play
Usually the Hero: 4 of 4 analyzed roles.
- Heroas Vijay in Thirst (1957)
- Heroas Suresh Sinha in Paper Flowers (1959)
- Heroas Atulya Chakraborty 'Bhootnath' in Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962)
- Heroas Dr. Shankar Chaudhry in Sanjh Aur Savera (1964)
Moods and endings
- Happy1
- Tragic3
- Ambiguous1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Guru Dutt's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 2 of their 5 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Guru Dutt's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted.
Filmography
20 credits, 5 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.
Mallepoovu (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)
Bahurani(1964)
Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Suhagan (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)
Sanjh Aur Savera(1964)
Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Bharosa (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1963)
Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam(1962)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Sautela Bhai (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1962)
The Full Moon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1960)
Paper Flowers(1959)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
12 O'Clock (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1958)
Thirst(1957)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films
C.I.D. (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)
Sailaab (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)
Mr. & Mrs. '55 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)
Aar Paar (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)
Baaz (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1953)
Jaal (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1952)
Baazi (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)
Hum Ek Hain (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1946)
Lakhrani (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1945)
Career shape
A full career of 20 titles from 1945 to 1978.
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Guru Dutt's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 95th percentile, the median of all 5; across their 5 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 91st percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up3
- 50th to 74th2
Shape of the crowd
3 of their 5 titles are Universally Loved.
- Universally Loved3
- Mixed2
Reviewers score the acting 90/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles; fans 92, detractors 60. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Guru Dutt work with?
People who share at least 2 of Guru Dutt's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Abrar Alvi shares the most, 3.
Writers
- Abrar AlviShared titles: Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962), Paper Flowers (1959), Thirst (1957)See all 3 shared titles with Abrar Alvi
Actors
- MehmoodShared titles: Sanjh Aur Savera (1964), Paper Flowers (1959), Thirst (1957)See all 3 shared titles with Mehmood
- Waheeda RehmanShared titles: Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962), Paper Flowers (1959), Thirst (1957)See all 3 shared titles with Waheeda Rehman
- Harindranath ChattopadhyayShared titles: Sanjh Aur Savera (1964), Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962)See all 2 shared titles with Harindranath Chattopadhyay
- Mala SinhaShared titles: Bahurani (1964), Thirst (1957)See all 2 shared titles with Mala Sinha
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- V.K. MurthyShared titles: Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962), Paper Flowers (1959), Thirst (1957)See all 3 shared titles with V.K. Murthy
- Y.G. ChawhanShared titles: Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962), Paper Flowers (1959), Thirst (1957)See all 3 shared titles with Y.G. Chawhan
- Sachin Dev BurmanShared titles: Paper Flowers (1959), Thirst (1957)See all 2 shared titles with Sachin Dev Burman
