Geeta Dutt was one of the most talented play back singers from the Hindi film Industry. Geeta dutt simply glided through a tune. Her singing was effortless and after listening to her once the listener was hooked forever..
Geeta Dutt was born Geeta Roy in a well to do Bengali family based in Bangla desh ( formerly part of greater Bengal, India). She loved singing and her initial foray into singing was through Bhajans or prayer songs in Calcutta. Her voice had many admirers and she got her break in some Bengali films as a co-singer. Her big break came in Hindi films with the soulful " Mera sundar sapna beet gayaa ", which became a major hit with the films audience and listeners across the country. Thus began her singing career which saw many ups and downs over the years.Geeta dutt's potential was recognized by the legendary composers of those days and she became one of the most popular singers of the fifties and the sixties. Legendary Music Directors S.D.Burman , O.P.Nayyar and Chitragupta were instrumental in shaping her career and tapping her potential to the maximum. Geeta Dutt emerged as a hep , sultry singer who did justice to every kind of song that was offered to her . Be it romantic, sad, emotional or seductive- her range was complete. She mesmerized the listeners with her husky voice and she became the favorite of all the top composers of that time. But going by all accounts Geeta Dutt was an extremely emotional person, given to quick changes of moods, and had many ups and downs in her personal life, which in turn had a disastrous impact on her career. She was going through a troubled marriage with Guru Dutt, who had married her against his family's wishes. Guru Dutt, himself was a temperamental, moody intellectual, and this only complicated the relationship further.
Guru dutt had emotionally got involved with Actress Waheeda Rehman , who was introduced to films by him. This only further complicated the already troubled marriage and worsened the relationship between Guru Dutt and Geeta . Geeta is supposed to have gone to Calcutta and lived with her family there when she came to know about her husband's involvement . But with the help of some of the family members and friends , the two patched up with Geeta coming back and things seemed to be working out , they had 3 children, she resumed her singing career with gusto and came up with some superb songs .
But Guru Dutt went back to his moody self as he began conemplating his career and commitments , and, in a fit of depression committed suicide over what was supposedly a minor misunderstanding with the 2 women in his life namely Geeta and Waheeda Rehman. Geeta dutt was shattered by this turn of events which was totally unexpected. Her career suffered after Guru Dutt's demise and she never was able to recapture her earlier success.
Geeta dutt was addicted to Liquor and drugs. Going by all accounts, she was also being financially fleeced by her own family. Her life must have been miserable during those last few years, when she had no fame and not many friends. She was being blamed by Guru dutt's family on the one hand for the tragic happenings, while her own family seemed to be interested only in what she could do for them.
She became more and more addicted to Liquor and cocaine, a deadly combination which took its toll. She was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis and eventually succumbed to it on 20th July 1972.
Geeta dutt has left a wealth of memories with all those everlasting melodies . She has been part of some of the greatest films ever made on Hindi screen and at one time gave tough competition to the Mangeshkar sisters, both Lata and Asha .
When I think of Geeta dutt some memories and images automatically come into my mind..Bubbly Geeta bali challenging Devanand in ' Baazi ' Tadbeer se bighdi huyi taqdeer banale' in Geeta dutt's voice, and Chanda chandni mein jab chamke, or the Sensuous club song from Coffee House ' Jhoom jhoom ke cham choom ke' .. Geeta's voice suited Geeta Bali to perfection. They both had the same huskiness, Innocence in thier voices. There were many songs picturised on Geeta bali in Geeta dutt's voice, that have gone on to become collector's items..
Another actress who was able to do complete justice to Geeta Dutts voice was Shyama. Some great numbers were picturised on her , prominently among them' Yeh dil mujhe batade' ' Yeh lo mein haari piya' ' Tum se hi meri zindgi' 'Ja ja ja ja bewafa' 'Dekhoji dekho meethi ada se'..Meena Kumari too had some memorable songs sung by Geeta picturised on her. 'Sahib bibi aur ghulam ' had some of the best songs of Geeta dutt picturized on Meena kumari and a rare gem of a song 'Tehro zara si der' from the little known film 'Savera'.
Another image that comes to mind is that of Lovely Madhubala singing some of the most melodious and sensuous songs of Geeta Dutt..' Tandi hawa kaali ghata' Udhar tum hasseen ho' Oh Oh Oh baby, Chup jaa tu mere dil mein' , Aankhon mein tum' and the soft romantic ' Chale hum kahaan...
It is difficult to list out a few songs of Geeta dutt , because if one were to look back almost all her songs need a mention. Her contribution has been tremendous and she was a vivacious person, beautiful- one of her friends described her as ' looking like a Princess much more beautiful than some of the leading ladies for whom she lent her voice..But life was not fair to Geeta and she lived a life of Tragedy, unfulfilled dreams and betrayal. When Geeta sang all those soul stirring melodies " Mera sundar sapna beet gaya' , Saanj hai wohi' , 'Jab tum nahin toh chand sitare mein kya karoon' , one felt like crying with her , feeling extreme sadness at the way life treated such a lovely, talented person !
Today she is adored and respected by all her fans and the present day singers try to emulate her singing with ofcourse little success. She is one of the Great legends of the Hindi Film Industry and one of the Pillars of the Music Industry , and one who will be remebered with a lot of love, respect and a little bit of pain...
