By Subhash K Jha

At last, that film on the life and loves of Guru Dutt which every prominent filmmaker from Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra to Sanjay Leela Bhansali to Karan Johar wants to make.

It's Bhavna Talwar who has beaten the other Guru Dutt biopics. What's more, she has secured exclusive rights to use all the celebrated songs from Guru Dutt's cinema.

Sachin Dev Burman, Sahir Ludhianvi, Geeta Dutt, Mohd Rafi. . . . the super-iconic music makers were an integral part of Guru Dutt's cinema. And now immortal songs such as Jaane kya tune kahi, Waqt ne kiya kya haseen situm, Yeh duniya agar mil bhi jayen toh kya hai and Dekhi zamanein ki yaari would now feature as part of Bhavna Talwar's bio-pic on Guru Dutt.

Apparently Saregama/HMV, the oldest and most well-stocked music company of the country which owns the copyrights for all the songs and music of Guru Dutt's cinema, has given Bhavna Talwar the exclusive right to use the entire body of Guru Dutt's music.

Says a source close to the project, `Saregama and Bhavna Talwar's producer-husband Sheetal Talwar have signed a deal for the entire oeuvre of Guru Dutt's music to be used in Bhavna's film on Guru Dutt as and how required. `


Though Adarsh Gupta, Business Head of Saregama, confirms the deal none of the two parties is willing to divulge the kind of monies that exchanged hands before this large treasure-chest of melodies passed into the Talwars' hands.

But here's a hint: Tigmanshu Dhulia had to pay Rs 35 lakhs for one Lata Mangeshkar classic Lag ja gale se before it could be used in Sahib Biwi Aur Gangster Returns.

Shedding light on her ambitious Guru Dutt bio-pic Bhavna Talwar said, `It would look at the man and the filmmaker from one range of vision, mine. There will be lots of music. But only what is required. We won't over-use Guru Dutt's vast repertoire of music just because we have access to it. `

As for the legendary iconic Guru Dutt's family raising objections to the bio-pic, a source close to Bhavna Talwar's film says, `We're very clear on the legal aspect of filming a real-life personality. We'll only be using information on Guru Dutt that is in the public domain. `