Teaser Of "Chup: Revenge Of The Artist" Released On Guru Dutt's Birth Anniversary

The teaser trailer of R Balki's upcoming psychological thriller Chup: Revenge Of The Artist is out. Starring Dulquer Salmaan, Sunny Deol, Pooja Bhatt and Shreya Dhanwanthary the film is an "ode" to actor Guru Dutt, who died at the age of 39 on October 10, 1964.

A play on Guru Dutt's iconic film Kaagaz Ke Phool, the teaser of Chup opens with Salmaan's character singing 'Happy Birthday' set on the tune of Geeta Dutt's song 'Waqt ne kiya kya haseen sitam.' He is also making origami flowers and screams out loud soon after Dhanwanthary's character points out in a voiceover that Kaagaz Ke Phool was a critical failure upon its release.

Today marks the 97th birth anniversary of Guru Dutt, who was revered for films such as Pyaasa, Mr & Mrs 55 and CID among others. The failure of Kaagaz Ke Phool brought an abrupt end to Dutt’s journey as a filmmaker, as he never directed again. Although, he did produce and act in films like Chaudhvin Ka Chand and Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam in later years.

After gaining a fair bit of success, Dutt, in a 1956 interview, he hinted that he did not really identify with what was known as the “Guru Dutt-style”. Instead, he wanted to explore “daring themes.” “I don’t want what they call the Guru Dutt style story anymore. I want new themes, daring themes."

Also Read: Remembering Geeta Dutt, The Iconic Singer 

Salmaan says Chup is not a “typical” film and recalls being stumped when filmmaker R Balki approached him for the project.  “When Balki sir offered me Chup, I was shocked and said, ‘Are you really thinking about me for this role?’ Because it’s something I haven’t done before. It’s not typical in any form. I think for him also, it’s an experimental film but it’s something I am very curious about. All of you will also be curious about it when it comes out,” he added.

The makers had revealed this film's title last October, on the death anniversary of the legendary filmmaker, with Balki saying that Chup is an “ode to the sensitive artiste”.

The screenplay and dialogues of Chup have been co-written by Balki, alongside film critic-turned-writer Raja Sen and Rishi Virmani. The movie will mark Salmaan’s third Hindi film outing after Karwaan (2018) and Sonam Kapoor-starrer The Zoya Factor (2019). Apart from this project, Salmaan will also be seen in director duo Raj & DK’ series Guns & Gulaabs, co-starring Rajkummar Rao and Adarsh Gourav.