When any person expresses his/her thoughts or opinions through his/her own experience, the outcome is nothing more than a gem. In a similar instance, for a writer/artist it is quite important to portray his experiences through his work. There have always been a debate on the true purpose of a film, many say it is meant for entertainment while others stick to it’s philosophical purpose, but when a film educates and entertains at the same time we can say that it has met it’s actual purpose.
The 1957 classic ‘Pyaasa’ by Guru Dutt is a well analyzed story of a struggling poet, Vijay and his life within a hypocritical society. Though the story highlighted the struggles of youth in post colonial India, but it is more than relatable even today after more than 60 years of it’s release. The film gets intensifies even more if you carefully go through each and every song from the film.
“The story of Pyaasa emphasises upon the reality that every human being, how may ever wretched by his conditions, is capable of love and worthy of being loved.” The film makes it a visionary way of storytelling and also the balance kept between matching the commercial as well as artistic interests. Guru Dutt’s story also highlights the complex nature of human psyche: Vijay, rejected by his lover (Mala Sinha) and family, is embraced by a prostitute, Gulabo (Waheeda Rehman), who is moved by the power of his poetry. While the world finds her an outcast and treats her like it, she seems to be the only soul capable of reciprocating someone’s love and respect.
This classic, “Tragedy of a Writer” is relevant even today.
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