(“Master, Mistress, and Servant”)
Directed by Abrar Alvi • 1962 • India
Starring Guru Dutt, Meena Kumari, Waheeda Rehman

In 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, according to some accounts, ghost-directed) enters the household as a servant, he observes with fascination and pity her decline as she desperately attempts to save her marriage. Adapted from a novel by Bengali writer Bimal Mitra, this exquisitely heartbreaking landmark contains one of the most iconic performances by Indian cinema’s “Tragedy Queen” Meena Kumari, whose own life sadly mirrored the fate of her character.