Som

(Guru Dutt’s Pyaasa comes to me as the most reflective,intense, symbolic and complex work of cinema.Poetically embellishing the underlying theme on the insistent desire for a deep,tender and ineffable feeling of affection and fame,incredible photography,technically ahead of times and top notch performances make Pyaasa which transcends time and age)

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Pyaasa is the film wherein Dutt found collaborators who would fit his film style perfectly. Before that, it was only Dutt and screenwriter Abrar Alvi who crafter their magic together. Of course, V.K. Murthy’s cinematography has given Dutt’s previous films topnotch visuals. In Pyaasa, Dutt discovered S.D. Burnam’s wonderful music, music that does not require itself to be the centerpoint of each scene. Dutt also discovered his lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi, whose poetry (or at least their translations) can be regarded as first class literature by themselves. Burnam and Ludhianvi’s songs mix very well with Dutt’s style of putting his musical numbers as backdrops to his cinematic style. An example here is when street performers sing a song about the thirst for love, while Gulabo has finally realized that she is in love with Vijay. There are no loud instruments, or intricate choreography, just a melody that can distinctly mold into the film’s scenery, and lyrics that pertain directly to Dutt’s intentions. It is that marriage of all these elements that make Pyaasa a perfect film.
However, it is not only technical department of the film that merited in Dutt’s skill for discovering talent. Mala Sinha, who beautifully balances a materialistic exterior and an interior longing to love the poor poet, is also a newcomer. Also, Waheeda Rehman, that beautiful woman with perfectly sorrowful chestnut eyes, was handpicked personally by Dutt to portray the prostitute with the heart of gold. Years later, in Kaagaz ke Phool, Rehman would portray the director’s love interest, who is curiously, a newly discovered actress. Here in Pyaasa, Rehman provides the film with the focal point for Dutt’s rich emotions and perfectly drawn melodrama. She gives Dutt’s themes a visual form.
It is quite interesting to note that Pyaasa is not really original in its storyline. It resembles timeless tales of poets and sages falling for women of lower classes. The love triangle here is similar to that of Devdas, which was filmed two times by two different directors, before Pyaasa was released. In fact, Dutt’s themes aren’t all very new. They’ve been the topic of stories, novels, epics, poems written ages before Dutt’s time. However, the magic here is that Dutt borrows plots, themes, and characters, and breathes into them his personal touch and perfectionist eye, and the result is simply, the most beautiful (probably greatest) musicale ever made.
V K Murthy worked on almost all the Guru Dutt films, with the exception of Baazi.
An excellent cinematographer, his lighting techniques in Pyaasa, Kaagaz Ke Phool and Sahib, Bibi Aur Ghulam crafted some of the finest images in Indian cinema.
Murthy’s photography work in the film is breath-taking. The lighting is bleak throughout the film (apart from the romantic flashback sequences). The utter blackness of some of the scenes conveys the inner torment of Vijay’s character and the dark superficiality of the world that he is living in. In “Pyaasa”, there is a sense of doom, a sense that this world is coming to an end and it is the photography that helps establish this atmosphere. When Vijay and Meena meet in the elevator, everything around them is completely black. In the distance between the two of them, the screen is black. This highlights the gulf of distance that is between the both of them. They are so close together onscreen yet they seem so far apart. It is due to Murthy’s remarkable photography that this impression is established.
He was the first man in India to shoot in Cinemascope, and his famous ‘beam shot’ in the Waqt ne kiya kya haseen sitam sequence from Pyaasa is considered a classic moment in celluloid history.
Aside from the enthralling screenplay and first-rate performances, “Pyaasa” has also become very famous for its songs. Most of them are rendered inimitably by Mohammad Rafi. His powerful voice reigns with “Yeh Mahalon, Yeh Thakton” and “Jinhe Naaz Hai Hind Par”. He is given an opportunity to show his lighter side in the soft number, “Hum Aapki Aankhon Main” (with Geeta Dutt, who is on top form) and in the Johnny Walker vehicle, “Sar Jo Tera Chakraye Ya Dil Dooba Jaaye”. Geeta Dutt simply delights us with her sensuous voice in “Jaane Kya Tune Kahi” and “Aaja Sajan Mohe Ang Laga Le”. Hemant Kumar’s enigmatic voice brings a quiet resonance to the beguiling “Jaane Woh Kaise Log Tay”. Sahir Ludhianvi’s tranquil wisdom in the lyrics adds a haunting dimension to the film (though some of the poems were written beforehand separately and therefore were not originally meant to turn into songs). Besides songs, Ludhianvi’s forceful talent can be glimpsed in the non-musical poems recited by the protagonist, Vijay. The poems are very touching and contribute to the moody atmosphere created in the film. My personal favorite out of the poems is “Hum Tang Aa Chuke Hain”, which speaks about the relentless battering and trials that life often dishes out enough to make a person exasperated.
Dutt’s direction lends a smooth flow to the narrative proceedings. The master director that he was, there are a lot of interesting shots to treasure. A courtesan is desperate to end her session of dancing for the punters to attend to her ill baby crying in the next room. The pimp will not let her stop to care of her child. The dancer’s state of despair is then shown through a glass of wine. The yellow-tinted shot brilliantly essays the cruel immorality of this repulsive world (which links to Vijay’s point of view). It is wonderfully inter-cut with shots of Vijay’s reaction to the whole scene. His eyes well up with sorrow and grief. The liquid feel to the glass of wine shot is a metaphor for Vijay’s tears. Dutt’s influence can also be felt in the song picturizations. “Aaja Sajan Mohe Ang Laga Le” is particularly demonstrative in showing Gulab’s unfulfilled longing for Vijay. The song that comes at the climax, “Yeh Duniya…” is powerfully executed. The reaction shots of each character are captivating to watch. And then there is the unforgettable image of Vijay standing in the doorway with his chadar and a world-weary look on his face. Alone and dejected, he cuts a Jesus Christ figure as his return descends upon a morally bankrupt world…

Pyaasa is the film wherein Dutt found collaborators who would fit his film style perfectly. Before that, it was only Dutt and screenwriter Abrar Alvi who crafter their magic together. Of course, V.K. Murthy’s cinematography has given Dutt’s previous films topnotch visuals. In Pyaasa, Dutt discovered S.D. Burnam’s wonderful music, music that does not require itself to be the centerpoint of each scene. Dutt also discovered his lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi, whose poetry (or at least their translations) can be regarded as first class literature by themselves. Burnam and Ludhianvi’s songs mix very well with Dutt’s style of putting his musical numbers as backdrops to his cinematic style. An example here is when street performers sing a song about the thirst for love, while Gulabo has finally realized that she is in love with Vijay. There are no loud instruments, or intricate choreography, just a melody that can distinctly mold into the film’s scenery, and lyrics that pertain directly to Dutt’s intentions. It is that marriage of all these elements that make Pyaasa a perfect film.
However, it is not only technical department of the film that merited in Dutt’s skill for discovering talent. Mala Sinha, who beautifully balances a materialistic exterior and an interior longing to love the poor poet, is also a newcomer. Also, Waheeda Rehman, that beautiful woman with perfectly sorrowful chestnut eyes, was handpicked personally by Dutt to portray the prostitute with the heart of gold. Years later, in Kaagaz ke Phool, Rehman would portray the director’s love interest, who is curiously, a newly discovered actress. Here in Pyaasa, Rehman provides the film with the focal point for Dutt’s rich emotions and perfectly drawn melodrama. She gives Dutt’s themes a visual form.
It is quite interesting to note that Pyaasa is not really original in its storyline. It resembles timeless tales of poets and sages falling for women of lower classes. The love triangle here is similar to that of Devdas, which was filmed two times by two different directors, before Pyaasa was released. In fact, Dutt’s themes aren’t all very new. They’ve been the topic of stories, novels, epics, poems written ages before Dutt’s time. However, the magic here is that Dutt borrows plots, themes, and characters, and breathes into them his personal touch and perfectionist eye, and the result is simply, the most beautiful (probably greatest) musicale ever made.
V K Murthy worked on almost all the Guru Dutt films, with the exception of Baazi.
An excellent cinematographer, his lighting techniques in Pyaasa, Kaagaz Ke Phool and Sahib, Bibi Aur Ghulam crafted some of the finest images in Indian cinema.
Murthy’s photography work in the film is breath-taking. The lighting is bleak throughout the film (apart from the romantic flashback sequences). The utter blackness of some of the scenes conveys the inner torment of Vijay’s character and the dark superficiality of the world that he is living in. In “Pyaasa”, there is a sense of doom, a sense that this world is coming to an end and it is the photography that helps establish this atmosphere. When Vijay and Meena meet in the elevator, everything around them is completely black. In the distance between the two of them, the screen is black. This highlights the gulf of distance that is between the both of them. They are so close together onscreen yet they seem so far apart. It is due to Murthy’s remarkable photography that this impression is established.
He was the first man in India to shoot in Cinemascope, and his famous ‘beam shot’ in the Waqt ne kiya kya haseen sitam sequence from Pyaasa is considered a classic moment in celluloid history.
Aside from the enthralling screenplay and first-rate performances, “Pyaasa” has also become very famous for its songs. Most of them are rendered inimitably by Mohammad Rafi. His powerful voice reigns with “Yeh Mahalon, Yeh Thakton” and “Jinhe Naaz Hai Hind Par”. He is given an opportunity to show his lighter side in the soft number, “Hum Aapki Aankhon Main” (with Geeta Dutt, who is on top form) and in the Johnny Walker vehicle, “Sar Jo Tera Chakraye Ya Dil Dooba Jaaye”. Geeta Dutt simply delights us with her sensuous voice in “Jaane Kya Tune Kahi” and “Aaja Sajan Mohe Ang Laga Le”. Hemant Kumar’s enigmatic voice brings a quiet resonance to the beguiling “Jaane Woh Kaise Log Tay”. Sahir Ludhianvi’s tranquil wisdom in the lyrics adds a haunting dimension to the film (though some of the poems were written beforehand separately and therefore were not originally meant to turn into songs). Besides songs, Ludhianvi’s forceful talent can be glimpsed in the non-musical poems recited by the protagonist, Vijay. The poems are very touching and contribute to the moody atmosphere created in the film. My personal favorite out of the poems is “Hum Tang Aa Chuke Hain”, which speaks about the relentless battering and trials that life often dishes out enough to make a person exasperated.
Dutt’s direction lends a smooth flow to the narrative proceedings. The master director that he was, there are a lot of interesting shots to treasure. A courtesan is desperate to end her session of dancing for the punters to attend to her ill baby crying in the next room. The pimp will not let her stop to care of her child. The dancer’s state of despair is then shown through a glass of wine. The yellow-tinted shot brilliantly essays the cruel immorality of this repulsive world (which links to Vijay’s point of view). It is wonderfully inter-cut with shots of Vijay’s reaction to the whole scene. His eyes well up with sorrow and grief. The liquid feel to the glass of wine shot is a metaphor for Vijay’s tears. Dutt’s influence can also be felt in the song picturizations. “Aaja Sajan Mohe Ang Laga Le” is particularly demonstrative in showing Gulab’s unfulfilled longing for Vijay. The song that comes at the climax, “Yeh Duniya…” is powerfully executed. The reaction shots of each character are captivating to watch. And then there is the unforgettable image of Vijay standing in the doorway with his chadar and a world-weary look on his face. Alone and dejected, he cuts a Jesus Christ figure as his return descends upon a morally bankrupt world…