Who will play Guru Dutt, Aamir or Abhay?

Aamir Khan or Abhay Deol…who will play Guru Dutt? Film-maker Anurag Kashyap feels that either Aamir or Abhay would essay the character of the maverick Dutt, whose real-life story has inspired a biopic that is being currently written by Anurag.

DNA has learnt through reliable sources close to the film that experimental actors like Aamir and Abhay were always frontrunners to bag the role. However, the final cast is still to be frozen.

No account of Dutt’s life can ever be complete without the mention of his wife Geeta Dutt and other yesteryears actors known to the film-maker. The source says, “Characters essaying real-life stars who were close to Guru Dutt and had interacted him with on a personal level will be shown. Apart from Geeta Dutt, actors like Waheeda Rehman, Dev Anand, Zohra Sehgal whom Guru Dutt had introduced in Baazi, are expected to be featured in the biopic.”

Says Anurag, “Aamir and Abhay are experimental actors and they suit the role to a T. They are definitely being considered but the casting process hasn’t yet begun. Once it begins, it would take about a year because the look and profile of all the actors have to match with the originals. I’ll finish scripting in a month’s time.”

He’s also meeting people who knew Guru Dutt closely. “I met Smriti Biswas who’s in her 80s now. She had worked closely with the film-maker and has provided me with invaluable inputs about the man he was.”

Dutt’s son Arun will reportedly produce the biopic. Incidentally, Aamir is very fond of Dutt’s sister Lalita Lajmi, who is the mother of film-maker Kalpana Lajmi.

While researching for the biopic, Anurag saw all the films directed and acted by Dutt except his 1956 flop Sailaab. Anurag terms this as the ‘missing link’ of the biopic.