Pyaasa (1957):Only Hindi Movie in Time’s All Time 100 Best Films

May 7th, 2008Related|Filed Under

Pyaasa (1957)

Directed By: Guru Dutt
Screenplay: Abrar Alvi
Cast: Guru Dutt, Waheeda Rehman

ike Japan, India had a golden age in the 1950s. Independence from Britain sparked a robust, questioning artistry. While Satyajit Ray was pioneering the nation’s art cinema, commercial filmmakers such as Raj Kapoor (Awaara), Mehboob Khan (Mother India) and Bimal Roy (Do Bigha Zamin) were grafting influences from Hollywood melodramas and Italian neo-realism onto the Indian tradition of musical narrative. Pyaasa, which means thirst, is the most soulfully romantic of the lot. Vijay (Dutt) is an unpublished poet, dismissed by family and office colleagues but befriended by a prostitute (Waheeda Rehman). In a twist out of Sullivan’s Travels, Vijay is believed dead and his poetry “posthumously” lionized. The writer-producer-director-star paints a glamorous portrait of an artist’s isolation through dappled imagery and the sensitive picturizing of S.D. Burman’s famous songs. And Rehman, in her screen debut, is sultry, radiant—a woman to bring out the poet in any man, on screen or in the audience. —R.C.

There Are 5 Responses So Far. »

  1. Comment by rudresh on 7 May 2008:

    it is one of my all time fav movie.

  2. Comment by utkal on 8 May 2008:

    Pyaasa is the only Hindi film. But it has another Indian film: Nayakan ( Mani Ratnam, 1987). What is absurd is atht Films like ” Pyaasa’ , “Awara” and ” Mughal-e-Azam” dont finda place in India Times’ List of 25 Must-see films!! while mediocre fare like Black, QSQT find a place!!

  3. Comment by rockstar on 8 May 2008:

    utkal bhai nayakan( masterpiece by mani) is there athttp://www.time.com/time/2005/100movies/the_complete_list.html , but again its not a hindi movie

  4. Comment by rudresh on 8 May 2008:

    pyasa has many great moments

    even a bhajan(meera’s not sure) “ab tau sajan mohe ang laga lo” was one of best picturized hindi song leave aside yeh mahlon ki dunia

  5. Comment by goodfella on 8 May 2008:

    Possibly my personal favorite mainstream Hindi film.

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