Filmmaker R Balki says cinema legend Guru Dutt is inspired by his upcoming film “Chup: Revenge of the Artist”, which depicts the pain of an artiste who has been subjected to “wrong criticism”. A teaser of ‘Chup’ released over the weekend to mark Dutt’s 97th birth anniversary paid tribute to the late director’s film ‘Kaagaz Ke Phool’.
It may be noted that Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), starring Dutt and Waheeda Rehman in the lead roles, faced severe criticism upon its release, but was later relaunched as a world cinema classic. “We will have a lot of music taken from his films. Guru Dutt’s sensitivity. The film is about the sensibility of an artist.
We are giving a rare example of an artist who has been wronged by the audience, the fans, the media, however, not the media but the opinion makers.” Baaghi, Aar Paar, Mr & Mrs. ‘Kaagaz Ke Phool’ was Dutt’s eighth directorial effort after hits like ’55’ and ‘Pyaasa’.
Balki said, ‘Chup’ is an attempt to gauge the depth of an artist’s suffering, which is judged on the basis of the opinions of those who have an opinion about him. “For me (it) is about sensitivity towards the actors. Guru Dutt Sahab is one of the greatest artist who faced wrong criticism. Now the same community, we are all calling ‘Kaagaz Ke Phool’ a ‘masterpiece’. It is ironic how much that person must have been hurt at that time.
Balki (58) said that people lack ‘sensitivity’ while giving their opinion. Starring Dulquer Salmaan, Sunny Deol, Shreya Dhanwantri and Pooja Bhatt, ‘Chup’ is Balki’s first thriller film. The filmmaker, best known for his debut films “Cheeni Kum”, “Paa” and “Pad Man”, said it was not a right decision to explore a new genre. Balki also revealed that Amitabh Bachchan will play a small role in the film. ‘Chup’ is produced by Hope Filmmakers and Jayantilal Gada’s Pen Studio.