About The Event
DASTAN-E-GURU DUTT
Unquenchable Thirst
A Dastangoi Performance with Piano Some stories are told through words; others unfold through silences, shadows, music, and the unspoken ache of the human heart. Dastan-e-Guru Dutt – Unquenchable Thirst is an evocative Dastangoi presentation that journeys into the extraordinary creative world and deeply sensitive soul of one of Indian cinema’s most enigmatic filmmakers, Guru Dutt. Through the traditional art of Dastangoi, Fouzia Dastango, India’s first female Dastango artist, brings alive the story of a visionary whose films explored love, loneliness, ambition, disillusionment, and the fragile relationship between an artist and the world around him. From the haunting poetry of Pyaasa to the melancholic beauty of Kaagaz Ke Phool, the performance explores the emotional landscape of a man whose artistic brilliance continues to resonate across generations.
This presentation brings together the intimacy of spoken storytelling and the expressive language of the piano. The piano becomes an emotional companion to the spoken narrative, deepening its silences, echoing its melancholy, and lending new dimensions to the poetry and pathos of Guru Dutt’s world.
Rooted in research into Guru Dutt’s films, writings, interviews, and socio-cultural milieu, the narrative goes beyond the familiar story of a filmmaker to explore the man behind the camera: his creative restlessness, his search for meaning, and the unquenchable thirst that fuelled his art.
The production is shaped by the creative vision of Fouzia Dastango, with Vikas Jalan and Rupali Jalan associated with the production, and research by Asha Batra in association with Cinemazi.
Dastan-e-Guru Dutt – Unquenchable Thirst is not merely a tribute to a cinematic legend. It is an intimate encounter with the enduring relationship between art and life, brilliance and vulnerability, and the eternal longing of an artist who sought to capture the truth of the human condition.
Through the spoken word and the piano, Guru Dutt’s world returns—not as a memory frozen in celluloid, but as a living, breathing Dastan.
