Best Movies Ever #1 - Pyaasa (1957)

Cast: Guru Dutt, Mala Sinha, Waheeda Rehman, Rehman, Johnny Walker.

Directed and Produced By: Guru Dutt
Written by: Abrar Alvi
Music by: S. D. Burman

A movie from the heart, a movie for the heart, Pyaasa is the gem of Indian cinema, a pinnacle which is difficult to overthrown. Pyaasa is a 1957 intense drama flick directed by legendary actor-director Guru Dutt, who fulfilled his dream of making a good movie without apprehensions of commercial success with this movie. Pyaasa has been rated as one of the 100 best films of all the time by Time Magazine in year 2005. Earlier, Sight & Sound critics' and directors' poll of all-time greatest films ranked it at #160.

Pyaasa is a journey of a talented but unsuccessful poet Vijay (Guru Dutt) and his pursuit for recognition for his literary work. His failed because of his unprecedented style and un-contemporary genre of writing and his stubbornness of not to succumb to unrealistic though popular literature. His brutal and blunt poems involving sorrows of life and moral crisis of civil society were too arrogant to be published. His journey ends with revelation of hypocrisies exists in the society which is motivated by greedy and inhuman intentions.

Waheeda Rehman with the role of Gulaabo, a prostitute who falls in love with Vijay because of his poems, announced her entry to Indian cinema with an excellent performance. Though she is a prostitute and represents an abhorrent section of society but has a golden heart and played a pivotal role in publishing Vijay’s work. Rehmaan with his royal and charismatic look able to represents upper class of society. He marvelously represents greedy and materialistic society using cruel means for gaining more power and money. Meena (Mala Sinha) as an ex-girl friend of Vijay and wife of Rehmaan beautifully depicts her dilemma for choosing money over love. Other character like brothers of Vijay and friends of Vijay did a fantastic job in caricaturing a society of different dimensions. Even all characters gave their best performances, but this movie solely belongs to Guru Dutt. His performance is one of the best of Indian cinema. His sullen face with failed pursuit for better world represents the forlorn humankind.

Pyaasa is incomplete without its songs and poems. All poems were penned by Sahir Ludhianvi, one of the finest writers of Urdu poems. He rephrased most of his poems to suit common public. Music is composed by legendary S. D. Burman and it is worth mentioning that Mohd. Rafi did a wonderful job in representing the true feeling behind each word through his voice.

Though, this film belongs to an era of black and white cinema, it does not let you down with any technical flaws. From Impeccable cinematography to outstanding screenplay and direction, the whole saga consummate for a finest and incomparable endeavor.