An Ode to Pyaasa. Review on Pyaasa -1957 Bollywood

There are flicks, there are movies, there are landmarks and then there are icons. Icons, that withstand the test of time, icons that are timeless.

Probably that’s what defines Pyaasa the best.

A movie that is par excellence, that has stood strong in all tests of time. A movie that can come as close to perfection as possible.

This is my ode to Pyasa. I am not writing a review as such but paying my tribute to this glorious film which has stood firm for past 50 years.

Storyline:

Pyasa is the story of a young poet – Vijay(played by Guru Dutt), in search of recognition. What if this has impacted his student career, love life, relations with family and everything else with a material value?

In his troubled times, frustrated with the world, he comes across Gulabo(Waheeda Rehman), a who happens to come across his poems by chance. Here starts a beautiful relationship, which is pure, innocent and not materialistic.

Things change here when a rail mishap happens killing a beggar trying to cross the rail line, mutilating his body beyond recognition. Mistaken identity says that the dead man is Vijay and the whole world believes it.

However, dead or alive, Gulabo still loves Vijay and some how manages to convince a publisher to print Vijay’s poems. The book becomes a hit and Vijay a celebrity. With this, the share of the success and limelight is taken by all the people who were supposedly close to him when he was alive, but never cared for him.

As fate could have it, now Vijay wants to come back and prove to the world that he is alive, but no one believes him. Those, who recognize him, refuse to identify him.

At the end of it all, Vijay takes a farewell from the rest of the world with the apt lines.

“Jalaa do isse phoonk daalo yeh duniya,

Mere saamne se hataa do yeh duniyaa.

Yeh duniyaa agar mil bhi jaaye to kyaa hai.

Yeh duniyaa agar mil bhi jaaye to kyaa hai.”

Performances:

Both Guru Dutt and Waheeda Rehmaan stand out in the crowd as two protagonists in the movie. They are controlled, convincing and phenomenal.

Mala Sinha** in her short role is average – I don’t think there was much meat in the role and she has done probably what was expected.

Johnny Walker** has stood out in his role. To me it looks like he always kept his best for Guru Dutt movies.

Music:

The music of Pyaasa was extraordinary to say the least. SD Burman has composed one of his best with Pyaasa. The songs are apt to the situation and are quite well picturised.

May it be the soft romantic Ham aapki aankhon mein that depicts the young love of Guru Dutt and Mala Sinha or Jaane kya tune kahi – depicting the naught invitation from one.

May it be the timeless Jaane woh kaise log portraying the frustrations of a young poet or the soulful Aaj sajan mohe ang laga lo depicting the loneliness of a woman…

May it be the comic Sar jo teraa chakraaye or the ultimate – Yeh mahlon yeh takhton yeh taazon ki duniyaa.

Music of Pyaasa is bound to be one of the finest collections ever.

My Views:

As I have maintained from the beginning, Pyaasa is a class apart. In an era when no one expected such kind of movies to become hits, it was a show stealer. The black and white environment gives it a different charm.

However, the movie is depressing. If you are working for a stress reliever, then this is not the movie for you. This is a movie to be seen, understood and to flow with the characters. It is timeless. The settings may change, the characters may change, the relations may be somewhat different, but the essence of the story still holds good.