But that was fun and games. An enduring tragedy struck much later.
Alvi almost stumbled into Hindi films when, with little to do after college, he began to drive a cousin, an actor, to the sets of one of Guru Dutt's early films, Baaz. In true filmi style, he was noticed by Guru Dutt when, as a hanger-on on the sets, he gave Raj Khosla, the assistant director, an impromptu treatise on dialogue writing.
For the next 10 years, he worked closely with Guru Dutt, doing much of the writing for some of the best movies ever made in the golden era of Hindi cinema: Aar Paar, Mr and Mrs 55, Pyaasa, Kaagaz ke Phool, and Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam.
A creative, sensitive man, Alvi loved doing his work and did not bother much with credit. However, when he sought actually credit, he got it only in writing.
Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, which credits Alvi with direction, is one of the finest movies to be made in India. However, much of the world continues to believe that it was directed by Guru Dutt and that Alvi was only a front.
One theory is that Guru Dutt was chary of taking directorial credit for any of his films after the heartbreaking debacle of his most ambitious film, Kaagaz ke Phool. As a result, M Sadiq was credited as the director of Chaudvin ka Chand and Alvi of Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam. The theory has gathered credence because both the films bear the unmistakable stamp of Guru Dutt in terms of shot taking and lighting.
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This book is Alvi's attempt to set the record straight by narrating his side of the story to journalist Sathya Saran. Saran has good command over the language and has done an admirable job of conveying Alvi's angst, which often comes out laced with bitterness.
Going by Alvi's version, he was instrumental in shaping up many critical elements of Guru Dutt's films from Aar Paar onwards. He was the one who rebuked Guru Dutt for always looking to do what the public expected of him. After the success of Aar Paar, Guru Dutt wanted to make a movie set in Goa, in which the hero would be a smuggler of liquor and get reformed later.
It would have been "a continuation of Guru Dutt's swashbuckling, meaningless films". A showdown with Alvi weaned him away from the cloak-and-dagger stuff and put him on the road to Pyaasa. The clincher here was Alvi describing the character of Gulabo, made immortal by Waheeda Rehman, which was based on a real-life comfort woman that Alvi had befriended and known for three years until she died.
Alvi emphasises in a long chapter that Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam was indeed his own baby, though Guru Dutt contributed to it and played a key role in picturising the songs.
A few things rankle. As the book alternates between Saran's writing and Alvi's narration in the first person, the writer does seem to suggest at one place that Guru Dutt may have directed Chaudvin ka Chand, though Sadiq was given the credit. This supports the theory that Guru Dutt used fronts.
Secondly, Alvi suggests that Guru Dutt was the real cinematographer of his films, visualising every shot for the cinematographer to execute. However, V K Murthy, the cinematographer of Guru Dutt's best films, told Rediff four years ago that "photography was my job, where he (Guru Dutt) never interfered".
To this reviewer's mind, the ironies of Alvi's life did not end with the controversy over Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam. It is ironic that Alvi, the writer par excellence, waited four decades to tell his story. Many of the prominent characters in the book are no more. It would have been good to have their reaction to Alvi's story.
TEN YEARS WITH GURU DUTT
ABRAR ALVI'S JOURNEY
Sathya Saran
Penguin
Rs 499
