Shanta Rao Dutt’s father Raj Rao Dutt was a miniature painter in the classical Indian tradition, and his son Shanta made films in his own “miniature” style. He worked for many years as a newsreel director, which taught him how to say a lot with only a little piece of film. Shanta Rao Dutt’s witty and pithy short films used groundbreaking filmmaking techniques to capture in miniature the world of his time.

Many of Dutt’s early films have been lost, but the family hope that growing awareness of their filmmaking ancestor will bring more forgotten works to light.

This painting by Shanta's father depicts Krishna as a nutkhut (mischievous) child, stealing butter with his friends. This portrait carries the signature style of Raj Rao who studied the Pahari Style and mixed this with his patronage of Jaipur Style.