On the realm of Hindi film industry of the primitive period, there were two celebrity figureheads whose names enjoyed a special resonance in my subconscious which gradually stimulated an instant curiosity within me to google them, get acquainted with their styles and also their filmography on an automatic pilot.
One was the divinely beautiful Waheeda Rehman_ the extraordinarily talented, South-Indian Born Bharat Natyam Dancer/ film actress whose “body of work” and “screen persona” were tipped by many, including Mr. Dutt himself, to have superimposed the silver screen for more than a decade with one of the most soulfully expressive eyes and gorgeous maneuvering’s ruling the roost on Cinema-scope.
And the other, stemming from a different part of South India, is a man named Vasanth Kumar Shivakumar Padukone by-lined GURU DUTT, whose films seems to have resonated the most in the cyber spectrum in the last decade or so, alongside some of Ray’s films, Benegal’s, Mira Nair, Kethan Mehtha and Shekhar Kapoor breed of cinema.
I revisited Shekhar Kapoor’s “Bandit Queen” the day before I saw Guru Dutt’s Pyaasa and in an instantaneous manner, the visual syntax, the art design and the costume design of that film just bowled over simply on an auto-pilot not to mention the reverberating percussion score composed by Ustad Fateh Ali Khan.
But having said that, having been in unequivocal awe and wonderment with all of the above said films and personages we’ve had in the country- I left this movie – “Pyaasa” - and its creator – Guru Dutt - a touch belated to be seen and then be reviewed even when it was a genre of films, which was well within my tastes and preferences….
Let’s stop beating around the bush and get this straight – “Guru Dutt” and his precociously profound cinematic/musical poem entitled “PYAASA” stands in a different league from all the above mentioned personages and their filmography, with only Satya Jit Ray and his Apu Trilogy series, deserving of being counted as a worthy eternal, (bootleg) companion to PYAASA, as long as the film remains in the silver screens and also on home video.
Film critics, albeit social or professional, are not supposed to reveal their physical stimuli towards a film or an art form after the show is over, since a perennial rule of thumb limits them from doing so by the syndicate or the principal channel partner, on whose behalf the review is presented. (It’s okay to do it but a substantial group of audience consider it as petty and improper gauging, just like pinning theater status in a review!)
But truth be told, this film, Pyaasa stalked my senses unlike any other Indian film have ever done before or after, for it left with a throbbing in my heart, a painstaking situation from which, it took at least 10-15 minutes for me to overcome.
This is a tremendous film! Make no mistakes about it!
A Film full of moments from beginning till end with either Guru Dutt or Rehman or V. K. Murthy’s sumptuously sketched black n’ white cinemascope, dominating the proceedings all the way through to its two and a half hour long running time along with its unequivocal, universal theme complimenting the material.
Pyaasa opens on a happy note. A very benign note let’s put it this way.
In a typical, Mehboob studio-reminiscent opening prologue, we see its protagonist lying on lap of a sophomoric green garden mat, with flowers, sunlight, open air and a black honey bee decorating the locals with an idyllic countryside looming behind the background, accompanied by the protagonist and his innermost subconscious thoughts crooning on a rather subdued voice.
As the camera rolls along and Dutt’s “Vijay Babu” recites his – “ Ye Hanste Huye Phool” – succinct, poem, we instinctively realize that not all of its inhabitants are all that idyllic per se and not everything in this town is in a happy mood, happy state of mind, per se!. (A sequence which presumably inspired David Lynch’s opening prologue in the 1980’s cult classic named “Blue Velvet”)
In the tradition of all great movies, Pyaasa’s opening prologue hardly took only 4-5 minutes for the director/screenwriter to divulge the tip-of-the iceberg of its cynicism –evocating its universal theme which is what Mr. Dutt, is self-efficaciously trying to symbolize here.
Pyaasa is about his “Vijay Babu”; a novice poet who struggles desperately to make a living out of poetic literature Post WW II; where the society in the countryside’s, most of them, were characterized by trenchant cynicism, shameless taboo’s – adultery, alcoholism, prostitution – and a general lopsidedness towards selfishness and idiosyncrasy of all the other humanitarian virtues – Empathy, Sympathy or whatever the case may be – which they believed, would bind the society forward towards a fruitful future.
It’s about his tumultuous encroachment to personal enlightenment and/or wisdom whilst grappling with a cynical society whose mundane hobby it was to clap for the unknown, boast off narcissism, criticize the talented and put down the one-in-a-billion working class overlooked prodigy, whose sole intention back in the day was mainly concerned with following his ambition and his intuitions and in-turn reach somewhere in life whilst purging off vanity, family binding’s and personal glory for the ultimatum.
I found it fascinating to discover through Pyaasa’s screenplay as to how well Dutt have dovetailed an incredibly diligent balancing act on 60 mm cinema; for he, of all people, has to tell this tumultuous story of the protagonist’s rise to fame, whilst without ever compensating the entertainment quotient/musical numbers and without ever failing to carve out a metaphor on society which was also fundamentally way too ahead of its time albeit fortunately albeit unfortunately.
There’s a painstakingly authentic love story which roots back to Dutt’s twilight college period(to till date) featuring Mala Sinha and a parallel love story of present which pits none other than “Waheeda Rehman’s” Gulaab opposite to Dutt’s “Vijay Babu”.
I guess he hasn’t intentionally woven the shape of a love triangle in Pyaasa but when Waheeda Rehman and Mala meet face-to-face in the film’s penultimate of narrative threads, you can’t help but be bemused and poke at that situation so as to who’s gonna get/withhold our Hero and how.?
There’s a subtly villainous whiz-kid publisher in the form of “Mr. Ghosh” played by Rehman who seems as if, is etched straight out of a Frank Capra epic albeit co-incidentally! (Remember Mr. Potter from “It’s a wonderful Life."?)
And Johnny Walker who’s every single appearance in this movie so filled me with unflinching anticipation more than any other character might have perpetuated in all of Guru Dutt’s cinematic universe.
Despite getting the limited screen space in Dutt’s luscious poem, the veteran carved out a humdinger of a caricature in Pyaasa’s screenplay with his vaudeville fidgety maneuverings’ and titbitty cameo song "Sar Jo Tera Chakraye“ elevating the proceedings; a performance which will be remembered for as long as the bootleg of this film is kept reserved in the bittorrent archives…(That means infinity! Well. Hopefully infinity!)
And then there’s Dutt, Rehman and their wonderfully poised cat and mouse cameo song photographed lusciously by Mr. Murthy himself.
When Rehman lip-sings “Jane Kya tune kahi” with her soulful expressionist’s wink at the camera posture alongside the cinemascope sedatively capturing of her beautiful screen persona by loiting around her body in a single long-tracking song sequence with Dutt’s Vijay Babu following her in the process – You’ll come to know the true meaning of the around the trees Bollywood romance clandestine which is as good, if not better than the 90’s Yash Johar romantic extravaganza’s.
The performances are outstanding from its leading duo Waheeda and Dutt but even when the exquisitely rendered romantic sequence in itself would have independently carved out a pure romantic gem; this movie sours on the wings on untamed imagination.!
I don’t want to give the wrong impression but the more I got to know off the quintessential auteur of Indian cinema i.e., Dutt; I was reminded of another quintessential auteur of Hollywood cinema who once produced films of similar aesthetics combining music, comedy, tragedy and visual aesthetics with none other than “Marilyn Monroe” in the leads.!
This film has nothing to do with “Some Like it hot” but in an uncanny manner, the irony, the humor, the musical numbers, the cynicism and the metaphoric symbolism of Guru Dutt’s Pyaasa draws a subtle comparison of him with Billy Wilder and the latter’s breed of cinema as I mentioned in an uncanny manner.
Rating this inimitable classic would be counted as nothing but superfluous in today’s times but as a one-line verdict – I tag “PYAASA” as the story of a poet’s life which scavenges an emotional throbbing in the viewer’s naive, softened heart not once but twice in the film en-route to its final revelation…!
The result is a magnificent cinematic artichoke of a film worthy of an annual visit every year if not every summer.!
An Absolute Must-Watch.!