View source for Geeta Dutt

{{short description|Indian actress and singer}}

{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Geeta Dutt
| image              = Portrait of Indian playback singer Geeta Dutt.jpg
| imagesize          = 170px
| caption            = Dutt, taken before 1958
| birth_name         = Geeta Ghosh Roy Chowdhuri
| birth_date         = {{birth date|df=yes|1930|11|23}}
| birth_place        = [[Madaripur District|Idilpur]], [[Bengal Presidency]], [[British Raj|British India]] (present-day [[Dhaka Division]], Bangladesh)
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1972|7|20|1930|11|23}}
| death_place        = [[Bombay]], [[Maharashtra]], India
| nationality        = Indian
| occupation         = Singer
| years_active       = 1946–1972
| spouse             = {{marriage|[[Guru Dutt]]|1953|1964|end=died}}
| children           = 
| module             = {{Infobox musical artist|embed=yes
| background = solo_singer
| genre = {{flatlist|
* [[Filmi]]
* [[Indian classical music|Classical]]<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |url=https://www.geetadutt.com/classical.html |title=Geeta Dutt - Classical Songs |website=Geetadutt.com |access-date=11 February 2022}}</ref>
* [[Devotional song|Devotional]]<ref name="auto"/>
* [[Bengali music]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.geetadutt.com/bengali_songs.html |title=Geeta Dutt - Bengali Songs |website=Geetadutt.com |access-date=11 February 2022 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304130743/http://www.geetadutt.com/bengali_songs.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>
}}
| instruments = [[Human voice|Vocals]]
}}
}}

'''Geeta Dutt''' ({{IPA|bn|ɡita dɔtːo}}; born '''Geeta Ghosh Roy Chowdhuri'''; 23 November 1930 – 20 July 1972)<ref name=NasirAli_Tribute>{{cite web |last=Ali |first=Nasir |title=The Impact of Geeta Roy in Nineteen Forties |url=http://www.geetadutt.com/impact.html |website=Geetadutt.com |access-date=22 February 2011 |archive-date=20 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110620182045/http://www.geetadutt.com/impact.html |url-status=live}}</ref> was an Indian [[Indian classical music|classical]] and [[playback singer]]. She found particular prominence as a [[playback singer]] in [[Hindi cinema]] and [[Bengali cinema (India)|Bengali cinema]] and is considered as one of the best playback singers of all time in Hindi films.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/music/Her-songs-never-die/article16742476.ece |title=Her songs never die |first=Pran |last=Neville |date=2 December 2016 |access-date=11 February 2022 |website=The Hindu}}</ref> She also sang many modern [[Music of Bengal|Bengali]] songs in the non-film genre.

==Early life==
Geeta Ghosh Roy Chowdhuri was one of 10 children born to a wealthy [[zamindar]] family in a village named Idilpur, [[Madaripur District|Madaripur Subdivision]] under [[Faridpur, Bangladesh|Faridpur]] district in [[Bengal Presidency|Bengal]], [[British India]] presently under [[Gosairhat Upazila]] of [[Shariatpur District]], Bangladesh. Her family moved to [[Calcutta]] and [[Assam]] in the early 1940s, leaving behind their land and properties. In 1942, her parents moved to an apartment in [[Bombay]]. Geeta was twelve and continued her schooling at the Bengali High School.<ref name=NasirAli_Tribute/>

==Early career==
As a child she trained as a singer under her music teacher, Hirendranath Nandy before her family left East Bengal in 1942 and settled in Bombay. The composer K. Hanuman Prasad launched Geeta, aged sixteen, into singing for movies in 1946 when she got the first break with the mythological film ''[[Bhakta Prahlad (1946 film)|Bhakta Prahlad]]''. She was given two lines to sing for two songs. <ref>{{cite web |title=Musical Association of Geeta Dutt with Pandit Hanuman Prasad |url=https://geetadutt.com/hanuman.html |website=Geeta Dutt |access-date=3 July 2025}}</ref>

The 1947 film [[Do Bhai (1947 film)|Do Bhai]] marked her breakthrough in playback singing, with the popular song "Mera Sundar Sapna Beet Gaya" scored by [[S. D. Burman]]. She worked on 15 films in a span of two years after that. By 1949, she had established herself as one of the leading playback singers of the time with popular songs in [[Shaheed (1948 film)|Shaheed]], [[Ek Thi Larki]], Darogaji, [[Shabnam (1949 film)|Shabnam]], and [[Jeet (1949 film)|Jeet]], among others.<ref>{{cite web |title=Geeta Dutt - Career in Late 40's |url=https://geetadutt.com/1949.html |website=geetadutt.com}}</ref>

Both Darogaji (1949) and [[Jogan (1950 film)|Jogan]] (1950) contained 12 or more songs sung by Dutt and scored by [[Bulo C Rani]]. Dutt's continuous collaboration with Rani spanned 60 songs between 1947 and 1964.<ref>{{cite web |title=Geeta Dutt - Musical Association with Various Composers |url=https://geetadutt.com/bulocrani.html |website=geetadutt.com}}</ref>

In 1951, her songs in the Hindi film [[Baazi (1951 film)|Baazi]], also scored by [[S. D. Burman]], were highly well-received with the song "Tadbeer se bigdi hui taqdeer bana le" being a fan favorite. She met and fell in love with [[Guru Dutt]], who directed [[Baazi (1951 film)|Baazi]], at the recording of this song.<ref name="GuruDuttALife">{{cite book |last1=Kabir |first1=Nasreen Munni |title=Guru Dutt: a life in cinema |date=1996 |publisher=Oxford Univ. Pr |location=Delhi |isbn=978-01-95638-49-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/guruduttlifeinci0000kabi |access-date=3 July 2025}}</ref> Consecutive hits made her one of the highest paid and most sought-after singer in the Hindi film industry the 1950s, singing in around twelve movies in 1948 and at least twenty-five films in 1949.<ref name="GuruDuttUnfinished">{{cite book |last1=Usman |first1=Yasser |title=Guru Dutt: An Unfinished Story |date=2021 |publisher=Simon & Schuster India |location=New York |isbn=978-93-86797-89-6}}</ref>

Despite not knowing the language, her songs in Gujarati films brought her early success and assignments. She recorded for four Gujarati films {{emdash}} [[Gunsundari (1948 film)|Gunsundari]], [[Kariyavar]], Nanand Bhojai, and [[Varasdar]] {{emdash}} all released in 1948 with composers [[Avinash Vyas]] and [[Ajit Merchant]]. She recorded for six more films in 1950, and for two of six Gujarati films released in 1951. She worked again with Avinash Vyas for five songs in Naagdevta (1955) and for four songs with her composer brother Mukul Roy in Vidhata (1956). Between 1948 and 1967 Dutt recorded nearly 80 songs for 25 Gujarati films.<ref>{{cite web |title=Geeta Dutt - Gujarati Songs |url=https://geetadutt.com/gujarati_songs.html |website=geetadutt.com}}</ref>

==Works in Bengali==

Geeta Dutt maintained a significant body of work in [[Bengali language|Bengali]], her mother tongue. She recorded two songs for the film Mahakobi Girishchandra (1956) for composer Anil Bagchi. She collaborated multiple times with composer [[Nachiketa Ghosh]] with popular songs in the film Prithibi Aamaare Chaay (1957) and Indrani (1958).

She frequently worked with [[Hemant Kumar|Hemanta Mukherjee]], in 11 films, including Joutuk (1958), [[Sonar Harin]] (1959), Modhyoraater Taara (1961), and Sathi Hara (1961). In the 1958 film [[Lukochuri]], also scored by Hemanta Mukherjee, she sang with [[Kishore Kumar]] for the song "Shudhu Ektukhani Chaowa".

Outside of Bengali film music, she worked with Kanu Ghosh, Sudhin Chakraborty,  and [[Salil Chowdhury]] among others on devotional, folk, and other genres of music.<ref>{{cite web |title=Geeta Dutt - Bengali Songs |url=https://geetadutt.com/bengali_songs.html |website=geetadutt.com |access-date=3 July 2025}}</ref>

==Marriage with Guru Dutt==

After meeting on the sets of Baazi, Roy often visited Dutt and his family at their apartment in [[Matunga]]. Being the sole earner of her family, Roy's relatives were reluctant to have her marry the, largely unestablished, Dutt who was also not Bengali unlike the Roys. However, with support from Dutt's family, they were engaged and, nearly three years later, married on May 26, 1953 at Roy's mother's home in [[Santacruz, Mumbai|Santa Cruz]].<ref name="GuruDuttALife" /> She adopted Guru Dutt's last name.

Their marriage was strained by their differing personalities, demanding work schedules, and Guru Dutt's engagement with his work and his relationship with co-star [[Waheeda Rehman]]. For brief periods, the couple would live separately with Dutt at her mother's home and Guru Dutt spending most of his time at work.<ref name="GuruDuttALife" />

In a purported effort to repair the relationship, Guru Dutt began production on a film called "Gouri", based on a [[Gauri (1943 film)|1943 Hindi film of the same name]], and cast Dutt in her first leading role. Shooting began in 1957 in Calcutta with scenes to be shot in both Bengali and English. The shooting was suspended within a few days for unclear reasons and the film shelved with Guru Dutt's production incurring a financial loss. According to the script writer for the film, [[Nabendu Ghosh]], and writer [[Bimal Mitra]], an on-set heated argument with Dutt led to Guru Dutt calling the shoot off for the day with the unit leaving Calcutta in the next two days.<ref name="BimalMitra">{{cite book |last1=Mitra |first1=Bimal |title=Binidra |date=2000 |publisher=Mitra & Ghosh |isbn=978-93-50203-12-5}}</ref>

In 1963, soon after demolishing their house on [[Pali Hill]], Dutt moved to live separately with her three children in Bandra while Guru Dutt lived alone in a flat on [[Gopalrao Deshmukh Marg|Peddar Road]].

==Later career==
After their marriage, she sang in all of Guru Dutt's subsequent films with songs in [[Mr. & Mrs. '55]], [[C.I.D. (1956 film) | C.I.D.]], [[Pyaasa (1957 film)|Pyaasa]], [[Kaagaz Ke Phool]], and [[Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam]] earning popular praise. She also regularly worked on films starring Dutt's close associates including Dev Anand in [[Nau Do Gyarah]], [[Kala Bazar]], and [[Ek Ke Baad Ek]].

In 1956, Dutt was forced to declare personal bankruptcy after the financial failure of [[Sailaab (1956 film)|Sailaab]] a film produced by Mukul Roy, her brother.

Despite consistent work in her husband's productions, her career declined in the late-1950s amidst rumors of a disturbed personal life, missed rehearsals, and heavy drinking.<ref name="GuruDuttUnfinished" /> Her regular collaborators including [[S.D. Burman]] and [[O. P. Nayyar]] drifted towards hiring, the more popular, [[Lata Mangeshkar]] and [[Asha Bhonsle]]. <ref>{{cite web |title=..:: OP Nayyar - The Official Website ::.. |url=http://www.opnayyar.org/theman.htm |website=www.opnayyar.org}}</ref>

As her mental health challenges worsened after Guru Dutt's death in 1964, she performed even more infrequently in films. However, she played a leading role in the Bengali film Badhu Baran (1967) with co-star [[Pradeep Kumar (actor)|Pradeep Kumar]] which also featured her last Bengali film song. For composer [[Kanu Roy]], she recorded three well-received, and now popular, songs for [[Basu Bhattacharya]]'s [[Anubhav (1971 film)|Anubhav]] in 1971. 

Dutt's final performance was for the unreleased film Midnight (1972) with two duets, one of which was with [[Talat Mahmood]].

==Legacy==
With over 25 years in performance, Geeta Dutt recorded over 1,400 songs in various South Asian languages beyond Hindi including Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi,  Maithili, Bhojpuri, Punjabi, and Nepali.<ref name="The Geeta Dutt Website">[http://www.geetadutt.com/professional.html 'The Geeta Dutt Website'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081226115730/http://www.geetadutt.com/professional.html |date=26 December 2008 }}. Geetadutt.com. Retrieved 6 November 2018.</ref>

Of her singing, popular music critic [[Raju Bharatan]] remarked, "Of all her contemporaries her musical training was perhaps the sketchiest but what she lacked in training and technique, she more than made up with her ability to breathe life and emotion into any song she was singing."<ref name="GuruDuttUnfinished" />

Comparing her with the then-newcomer [[Asha Bhonsle]], frequent collaborator and composer [[O. P. Nayyar]] said "As a singer, she [Asha Bhosle] sang all my songs
with her heart and soul. However, Geeta Dutt’s voice modulation was far far
better. It remains one of my greatest regrets that I phased out Geeta due to my
emotional involvement with Asha, when it was Geeta who had introduced me
to Guru Dutt. That’s when my career really took off."<ref name="GuruDuttUnfinished" />

Of her collaboration with [[S. D. Burman]] and them finding success together, Burman's son composer [[R. D. Burman]] said "Geeta Dutt was my father’s favourite and there was a family feeling between us. Geeta’s first hit song, Mera sundar sapna beet gaya...was composed by my father whom she called chacha (uncle). Geeta was very famous in her time; she could sing any type of song: soft songs, cabaret songs, aggressive and romantic songs...My father’s music was not recognized immediately...Then came Baazi, a big
hit."<ref name="GuruDuttALife" />

[[File:Geeta Dutt 2013 stamp of India.jpg|thumb|2013 stamp of India featuring Dutt]]
Postage stamps featuring Dutt were issued by [[India Post]] in 2013 and 2016.

==Personal life==

With Guru Dutt, Geeta Dutt had two sons, Tarun (1954-1985), Arun (1956-2014) and a daughter, Nina (b. 1962).

She died on 20 July 1972 due to [[liver cirrhosis]] aged 41, in [[Mumbai]], [[Maharashtra]].

==Notable songs==
{{See|List of songs recorded by Geeta Dutt}}

Some of the songs sung under [[S. D. Burman]]'s direction:<ref>[http://www.geetadutt.com/burman.html 'Geeta Dutt's Collaboration with S.D. Burman'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110323103405/http://www.geetadutt.com/burman.html |date=23 March 2011 }}. Geetadutt.com. Retrieved 6 November 2018.</ref>

* "Mera Sundar Sapna Beet Gaya" (''[[Do Bhai (1947 film)|Do Bhai]]'' – 1947)<ref>{{Youtube|Ne7sm_79bp0}}</ref>
* "Woh Sapne Waali Raat" (''Pyaar'' – 1950)
* "Tadbir Se Bigdi Hui Taqdeer" (''Baazi'' – 1951)
* "Aan Milo Aan Milo" (''[[Devdas (1955 film)|Devdas]]'' – 1955 ) With Manna Dey
* "Aaj Sajan Mohe Ang Lagalo" (''[[Pyaasa]]'' – 1957)
* " Jane kya tune kahi" (''[[Pyaasa]]'' – 1957)
* "Hum Aap Ke Aankhon Main" (''[[Pyaasa]]'' – 1957) with Mohd. Rafi
* "Hawa Dhire Aana" (''[[Sujata (1959 film)|Sujata]]'' – 1959)
* "Waqt Ne Kiya Kya Haseen Sitam" (''[[Kaagaz Ke Phool]]'' – 1959)
* "Janu janu re" (''[[Insaan Jaag Utha]]'') with Asha Bhosle

Some of the songs she sang under [[O. P. Nayyar]]'s direction:<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://Www.Geetadutt.Com/Opnayar.Html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129084224/http://www.geetadutt.com/opnayar.html |url-status=dead |title='Geeta Dutt's Collaboration With O.P. Nayyar' |archive-date=29 November 2014 |access-date=11 February 2022}}</ref>

* "Zara Saamne Aa" (''[[Baaz (1953 film)|Baaz]]'' – 1953)
* "Babuji Dhire Chalna" (''[[Aar Paar]]'' – 1954)
* "Thandi Hawa Kali Ghata" (''[[Mr. & Mrs. '55]]'' – 1955)
* "Jaane Kahan Mera Jigar Gaya Ji" (''[[Mr. & Mrs. '55]]'' – 1955)
* "Jab Badal Lehraya" (''Chhoomantar'' – 1956)
* "Mere Zindagi Ke Humsafar" (''Shrimati 420'' – 1956)
* "Jaata Kahan Hai" (''[[C.I.D. (1956 film)|CID]]'' – 1956)
* "Aye Dil Hain Mushkil" (Aka "Bombay Meri Jaan") (''[[C.I.D. (1956 film)|CID]]'' – 1956), With [[Mohammed Rafi]]
* "Chor, Lutere, Daku" (''Ustad'' – 1957)
* "[[Mera Naam Chin Chin Chu]]" (''[[Howrah Bridge (film)|Howrah Bridge]]'' – 1958)
* "Kaisa Jadoo Balam Tune Dara" (''12 O'clock'' – 1958)

Some of the songs sung under [[Hemant Kumar]]'s direction<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://Www.Geetadutt.Com/Hemant.Html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150824210832/http://www.geetadutt.com/hemant.html |url-status=dead |title='Geeta Dutt's Collaboration With Hemant Kumar' |archive-date=24 August 2015 |access-date=11 February 2022}}</ref>

* "Jai Jagadish Hare" Composed By A Sanskrit Poet [[Jayadeva]] Circa 1200 AD (''[[Anand Math]]'' - 1951)<ref>{{Youtube|Dngfq5frwyq}}</ref>
* "Na Jao Saiyaan Chhuda Ke Baiyaan" (''[[Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam]]'' – 1962)
* "Kaise Roko Ge Aise Toofan Ko" (''Anandmath'' – 1952 ) With [[Talat Mahmood]]
* "Madbhari Hain Pyar Ki Palken" (''Fashion'' – 1957)
* "Na Yeh Chand Ho Ga" (''Shart'' – 1954)
* "Piya Aiso Jiya Mein Samaye Gayo" (''[[Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam]]'' – 1962)
* "Chale Aao Chale Aao" (''[[Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam]]'' – 1962)

Madan Mohan's direction
* "Aye Dil Mujhe Bata De'"(''[[Bhai-Bhai (1956 Hindi film)|Bhai Bhai]]'' – 1956)

For movie ''Anubhav'' (1971)
* "Mujhe Jaan Nah Kaho Meri Jaan" (''[[Anubhav (1971 film)|Anubhav]]'' – 1971) Music: Kanu Roy
* "Mera Dil Jo Mera Hota" (''[[Anubhav (1971 film)|Anubhav]]'' – 1971) Music: Kanu Roy
* "Koi Chupke Se Aake" (''[[Anubhav (1971 film)|Anubhav]]'' – 1971) Music: Kanu Roy

Several songs from ''[[Jogan (1950 film)|Jogan]]'':
* "Ghunghat Ke Pat Khol"
* "Mein Tou Girdhar Ke Ghar Jaon"
* "Mat Ja Mat Ja Jogi"
* "Dag Mag Dag Mag Dole Naiya"
* "Mein Tou Prem Diwani"

Some Bengali songs:<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://Www.Geetadutt.Com/Bengali_Songs.Html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304130743/http://www.geetadutt.com/bengali_songs.html |url-status=dead |title='Geeta Dutt's Bengali Film Career' |archive-date=4 March 2016 |access-date=11 February 2022}}</ref>

* 'Shachimata Go Char Juge Hai' (1950)
*   Baalo (1951) ( Punjabi Film ) : Kothe Kothe Aa Kudiye : Music  [[N Dutta]] : L [[Sahir Ludhiyanvi]]
* 'Ekhan-O Dustar Lajja' (1952)
* 'Ei Sundar Swarnali Sandhyay' (Hospital, 1960; Music: Amal Mukherjee)
* 'Katha Achhe Tumi Aj Asbe (Kanu Ghosh 1960)
* 'Ei Mayabi Tithi' (Shonar Horin, 1959; Music: [[Hemant Mukherjee]])
* 'Tumi Je Amar'<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/Watch?V=9-2Xx74syXI |title=Tumi Je Amar |access-date=29 March 2008 |via=YouTube |archive-date=13 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151213121821/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-2Xx74syXI |url-status=live}}</ref> ([[Harano Sur]], 1958; Music: Hemant Kumar)
* 'Nishi Raat [[Lunar phase|Banka Chand]] [[Sky|Aakashe]]'  ([[World|Prithibi]] Aamare Chaay, 1957; Music: [[Nachiketa Ghosh]])
* 'Jhanak Jhanak Kanak Kankan Baaje' (Indrani, 1958; Music : Nachiketa Ghosh)
* ' Sundar, jano na ki.....' ( Indrani, 1958; Music : Nachiketa Ghosh)
* ' Nir chhoto kshati nei ' [duet with Hemanta Mukherjee]( Indrani, 1958; Music : Nachiketa Ghosh)
* ' Kancher churir chhata' ( Dak Harkara; Music : Sudhin Dasgupta)

A few Bengali songs of non-film genre:

* ' Kato gaan haralam tomar majhe ' (Music : Anal Chatterjee)
* ' Krishnachura aagun tumi ' (Music : Sudhin Dasgupta)
* ' Ektu chaoya, ektu paoya ' (Music : Sudhin Dasgupta)
* '..Aay aay moynamotir ganye ' (Music : Kanu Roy)

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Geeta Dutt}}
*{{IMDb name|id=0244869|name=Geeta Dutt}}
*{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20071017140734/http://nagarnews.com/freehindimusic/Geeta%20Dutt%20Hits/index.htm Listen some selected songs by Geeta Dutt]}}
*[https://theprint.in/theprint-profile/geeta-dutt-hindi-cinemas-skylark-who-enthralled-millions/325168/ Geeta Dutt: Hindi cinema's skylark who enthralled millions]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dutt, Geeta}}
[[Category:1930 births]]
[[Category:1972 deaths]]
[[Category:Deaths from cirrhosis]]
[[Category:Indian women playback singers]]
[[Category:Indian film actresses]]
[[Category:Bengali playback singers]]
[[Category:People from Madaripur District]]
[[Category:Bollywood playback singers]]
[[Category:Bengali singers]]
[[Category:Nepali-language singers from India]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian actresses]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian singers]]
[[Category:Alcohol-related deaths in India]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women singers]]
[[Category:Actresses from Mumbai]]
[[Category:Singers from Mumbai]]
[[Category:Guru Dutt]]

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