India, July 12 -- Guru Dutt's tragic affair with life, and Bollywood

In the Hindi film world, Deepika is not the only famous Padukone. Many decades earlier there was another Padukone, arguably far more iconic. His name was Gurudutta Padukone, known to the world as Guru Dutt. July 9 marked his 100th birth anniversary.

Starting life as a telephone operator, Guru Dutt achieved, even before he was 30, unprecedented success in Hindi cinema. Making his directorial debut with the hit film Baazi in 1951 starring Dev Anand, he acted in/directed or produced four blockbusters between 1954 and 1956 - Aar Paar (1954), Mr & Mrs 1955 (1995), and CID and Sailaab in 1956. In 1960, he played the lead role in the unforgettable commercial hit, Chaudhvin ka...