Abhishek-Gargi as Guru Dutt and Geeta; (right bottom) Nivedita as Waheeda

The mystery around Guru Dutt’s suicide and the two women in his life — singer-wife Geeta Dutt and actress Waheeda Rehman — is the theme of mega serial maker Joy Mukherjee’s directorial debut. Hariye Jay, starring Abhishek Chatterjee as Dutt, Gargi Roy Chowdhury as Geeta and newcomer Nivedita as Waheeda, will explore the dynamics of the love triangle.

“I have based the film on Dulendra Bhowmik’s novel Sundar, which is about Guru Dutt, Geeta and Waheeda. Gargi has the looks to play a distressed housewife who loves her husband but suspects him, and Abhishek to me looks a lot like Guru Dutt!” says Joy, director of soaps like Rani Kahini and Rajpath.

Says Abhishek: “I have not tried to emulate Guru Dutt. I have played the character as Abhishek Chatterjee. Guru Dutt was a great actor and nobody can match him. For homework, I watched Pyaasa because our film is a lot like it.”

Gargi feels her character only shares a resemblance with Geeta Dutt. “My character is a lonely woman who is going through a conflict. It won’t be right to say that she is Geeta Dutt.”

Produced by Channel Eight, Hariye Jay is likely to hit the theatres in March.