[14] His father, Shivashanker Rao Padukone, was a headmaster and a banker; his mother was Vasanthi, a teacher and writer.

[16] Beginning in 1942, he studied at Uday Shankar's School of Dancing and Choreography in Almora,[4]: 93  but was taken out in 1944 after getting involved with the company's leading lady.

[7] From there, gaining employment at a telephone operator at a Lever Brothers factory in Calcutta (now Kolkata),[4]: 93  Dutt wired home to say he had got the job.

[17] Dutt briefly returned to his parents in Bombay before his uncle found him a job under a 3-year contract with the Prabhat Film Company in Pune later that year.

[4]: 303  In 1946, he worked as an assistant director and choreographed dances for P. L. Santoshi's film, Hum Ek Hain, in which Dev Anand made his acting debut.

[4]: 306 [16] While his contract with Prabhat ended in 1947, Dutt's mother got him a job as a freelance assistant with the company's CEO, Baburao Pai.

Murthy (cinematographer), Abrar Alvi (writer-director), Raj Khosla (writer), Waheeda Rehman (actress), among others.

[4] All subsequent films from his studio were, thereafter, officially headed by other directors, since Dutt felt that his name was anathema to the box office.

[21] In 1964, Dutt acted opposite Meena Kumari in his last film, Sanjh Aur Savera, directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee.

He was set to produce and star in Baharen Phir Bhi Aayengi but was replaced as the lead by Dharmendra and the film released in 1966 as his team's last production.

[7] The couple had been engaged for three years, overcoming a great deal of family opposition in order to marry.

Dutt had scheduled appointments for the next day with actress Mala Sinha and actor Raj Kapoor for his movie Baharen Phir Bhi Aayengi, to discuss the making of colour films.

"[28] At the time of his death, Dutt was involved in two other projects: Picnic, starring actress Sadhana; and director K. Asif's epic, Love and God.

Picnic remained incomplete and the latter was released two decades later as it was entirely reshot, with Sanjeev Kumar replacing Dutt in the leading role.

Movies such as C.I.D., Baazi, Pyaasa, Kaagaz Ke Phool, Chaudhvin Ka Chand and Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam were the first of their kind in Hindi cinema.

[9] The only film produced by Dutt that was considered a box office disaster was Kaagaz Ke Phool, which is now a cult classic.

He, along with Raj Kapoor, Mehboob Khan and Bimal Roy, was one of the few Indian film directors able to achieve a healthy blend of artistic and commercial success between the mid-1950s and mid-1960s.

[9] Dutt is known as a director who used his imagination in relation to light and shade, his evocative imagery, and a striking ability to weave multiple thematic layers into his narratives.

In 2021, author Yasser Usman published a biographical book about him, titled Guru Dutt: An Unfinished Story.