Dinesh Raheja (right) and Jitendra Kothari have come up with their next original screenplay, Chaudhvin Ka Chand. Here Raheja talks about his fascination with Guru Dutt and his films
Chaya Unnikrishnan (DNA; April 2, 2014)

What is it about Guru Dutt that fascinates you?
I wish to be associated with Guru Dutt’s films one way or the other because he was such a genius. For reasons I can’t fathom, I was always drawn to cinema that was sensitive and appealed to the intellect. Guru Dutt’s films are thought-provoking and at the same entertaining. His films hold you spell-bound. The other day, I was talking to somebody about Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam. He said he knows about it, but what he had in mind was Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster! I had to tell him, they are not the same! That’s why a certain awareness has to be created. In fact, there are other directors like Bimal Roy, K Asif and Hrishikesh Mukherjee, who I would like to archive. If I get to do the original screenplay of Anand, I will be excited. This is a Vinod Chopra initiative and I am happy to be a part of it.

Which is your favourite Guru Dutt film?
Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam. I think it’s a masterpeice. There’s a whole ambiguity in the man-woman relationship, which is left to your intepretation. Our films usually give answers, Guru Dutt’s films don’t. Do you want to value fame or not is left to you, like in Kagaz Ke Phool. His films have open endings. In my first book on Sahib Bibi... I gave my interpretation to what I felt was the relationship between Meena Kumari and Guru Dutt. I also wrote why so many scenes were left in a grey zone. What I liked about them was they were not completely black or white.

What does your second book on Chaudhvin Ka Chand bring forth?
I have talked about how Guru Dutt shaped bromance, which we saw later in films like Sangam, Dosti and Dil Chahta Hai. Chaudhvin Ka Chand laid the seed of bromance. Of course, Waheeda Rehman is integral to the film because two friends fall in love with her but the friendship between Johnny Walker, Guru Dutt and Rehman is pivotal. It was very layered and beautifully done. Even Johnny’s track is not an independent one. His girlfriend is a courtesan and it’s to her Guru Dutt goes when he wants Waheeda to feel insecure, and go to Rehman. It’s intricately woven together. It was a purely commercial film, but when I was writing the script, I realised how seamlessly one scene falls into the other.

How did you go about writing the screenplay of these films?
I was given a rough screenplay, which must have been salvaged. But in those days there was no bound script. There were minimum instructions in it and the scene changed several times. So, I saw the film at least 40-50 times. In fact, there was a time when I could hear Meena Kumari’s voice in the night, the way she says tumne mujhe sharaabi kaha. It would keep ringing in my ears. I also wanted to find how many times she says that line in the film. It’s no less than 19 times in different ways! I really enjoyed doing the project, I found it very involving. I could go into the director’s mind, while writing and mulling over it. I could appreciate each scene. I also did the song translations in English keeping the rhyme and meter intact.

What next?
I will be coming up with the third book, this one on Kagaz Ke Phool.