Pyaasa - a movie ahead of its times

I am not going to lie when I say this, ‘I never intended to watch this movie’. Infact, the only reason I watched it was because of an assignment, where I had to watch an old hindi movie. I had a lot of movies in mind such as Guide, Awaraa etc, but my parents suggested that I watch a movie called ‘Pyaasa’.

Pyaasa is a bollywood movie that was released in 1957 produced by, directed by and starring Guru Dutt. The lead character Vijay is a struggling poet who is berated at by his family, other than his mother. Due to this he spends most of his time on the streets. On one of his strolls, he meets a prostitute named Gulabo; played by Waheeda Rehman; who is in awe of Vijay’s poems (although she doesn’t really realize it is his work until later).

Due to some mishap he ends up working in his ex- girlfriend (Meena) and her husband (Ghosh), who happens to be a big-time publisher. These instances according to me just seemed extremely cruel, making me angry for this fictional character. Later, Vijay tries to save a beggar, but is unsuccessful. He leaves his coat with the beggar leading to  the assumption that Vijay is dead. Simultaneously, Gulabo goes to Ghosh to publish Vijay’s work. Ghosh sees this as a personal profit. Vijay’s poems become a success. He later comes to claim his entitled profit, but his friends parade around saying that,”this is not Vijay”. This puts Vijay in a mental asylum. He later escapes the asylum with the help Abdul Sattar. His family finds an opportunity for personal benefit, they join a rival publisher, stating that he is the real Vijay. Vijay, however becomes tired of the materialistic world and states that he is not Vijay. He then sets out to make a new life with Gulabo.

I somehow seemed to have been able to write down the gist of the movie, didn’t know I could put it to words. This movie is way ahead of its time. I was honestly not ready for the last 50 minutes of the movie. I mean, the hypocrisy, the materialistic mindset, all of it is so understandable somehow (not that I have been put in similar situations). I just honestly am so glad I saw this movie and I recommend that everyone watch it.