Abrar Alvi

Guru Dutt's writer; credited director of Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam · 1927–2009

Abrar Alvi was born in Nagpur on 1 July 1927 and became the pen behind Guru Dutt's best years. He wrote or co-wrote the dialogue and screenplays of Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959) and Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960), so a good share of what Guru Dutt's characters say in those films is his.

His name is tied most closely to Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962), Bimal Mitra's novel of a decaying Calcutta haveli. Neither Alvi nor Guru Dutt spoke Bengali well, so word-for-word translation was hopelessly slow; the author himself came to a rented bungalow in Khandala and wrote the screenplay with Alvi, until the translator working with them quit after fifteen days. Alvi is the credited director, and the film won him the Filmfare Award for Best Director. Who really directed it has been argued over for sixty years, because Guru Dutt, who produced it and played Bhoothnath, is widely believed to have guided far more than the credits admit. The song 'Bhanwara Bada Nadan' is the favourite example: Alvi filmed it while Guru Dutt was away, Guru Dutt watched the result ten times, was disappointed, and shot it again with added comedy.

Alvi died in Mumbai on 18 November 2009.