(“The Thirsty One”)
Directed by Guru Dutt • 1957 • India
Starring Guru Dutt, Waheeda Rehman, Mala Sinha
Often cited as the crowning achievement of director Guru Dutt’s career—and as one of the greatest Indian films of all time—PYAASA stars Dutt as the talented but destitute poet Vijay, who experiences love, rejection, and betrayal as he struggles to have his work recognized. When he finally does achieve success, however, it comes at a terrible price. Masterfully incorporating poetic musical numbers and stunning camera work by V. K. Murthy, Dutt powerfully dramatizes the conflict between the idealism of the artist and the naked greed of capitalism.
Up Next in The World of Guru Dutt
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Paper Flowers
(KAAGAZ KE PHOOL)
Directed by Guru Dutt • 1959 • India
Starring Waheeda Rehman, Guru Dutt, Kumari NaazPrefiguring Fellini’s 8 1/2, Guru Dutt’s deeply personal, poetic drama draws on his own experiences within the film industry to express an artist’s increasing disillusionment with the world. Pl...
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Chaudhvin ka chand
(“Full Moon”)
Directed by M. Sadiq • 1960 • India
Starring Guru Dutt, Waheeda Rehman, RehmanProduced by Guru Dutt in the hopes of making a commercial comeback following the box office disaster of his now-classic PAPER FLOWERS, this megahit romance traces the love triangle that forms between two...
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Sahib bibi aur ghulam
(“Master, Mistress, and Servant”)
Directed by Abrar Alvi • 1962 • India
Starring Guru Dutt, Meena Kumari, Waheeda RehmanIn nineteenth-century India, a decadent zamindar neglects his wife (Meena Kumari) in favor of alcohol and other women. When a poor young man (Guru Dutt, who also produced and,...
