Remember that great song of grief, loss, disappointment seasoned with the disdain for the heartless and feckless world? Yes, from the title of our blog onwards, I am referring to that ultimate anthem of lost love, "jane woh kaise log the /jinke pyar ko.." Why so? Well, our blog today is a tribute to the great genius, Guru Dutt, whose unparalleled film "Pyasa" thus captures the desolation of a poet deserted by the wily world.
In this centenary year of his birth, Guru Dutt, celebrated the world over for his sensitive films such as "Pyasa" and "Kagaz ke Phool" that explore the loneliness of the abandoned-n-distant/distraught artist, deserves such a celebration. Indeed sad is the fact that this director, who gave us the first film noir with a finesse that was absolutely world-class, is not the talk of the town in 2025! Hope Modiji would read my blog, and, may be, a stamp is issued in Guru Dutt's honour!
I am a devout fan of the Guru Dutt oeuvre. Indeed what tremendous variety! He has to his credit the genre, pretty rare in Hindi films, the film noir like "Baazi", for instance. Yet this thoughtful and sensitive soul could direct breezy comedies, intense love triangles, the typical Bollywood types, but with a richness that was absolutely unparalleled. Remember "Aaar-Par", "Jaal", "Mr. and Mrs. 55", "Chaudhavi ka Chand", for instance?
His legacy, much admired abroad as well, is great because of his 'finds', too. It is only an extraordinary artist who recognises and celebrates others' talents. Be it Dev Anand as an actor/director, Abrar Alvi as a script-writer, V.K.Murthy as a cinematographer, Johnny Walker as a comedian-cum- support system of the lone-n-distant protagonist he himself personified, and, of course, Waheeda Rehman, one of our finest and most beautiful and graceful actresses. Oh, yes, ''Kagaz ke Phool" is the first cinemascope film in Bollywood.
No wonder, the typical Bollywood bonanzas such as song-n-dance sequences come alive in his films that refuse to be the formula types. A trained dancer, this actor/director/author/cinematographer was a power-house of brilliant talent that expressed humane depth as well. So sad that he is not much remembered in his centenary year. He sure would have been hurt deep down though he would have exposed the worldly ruthlessness with yet another "ye duniya agar mil bhi jaye to kya hai?" Rest in peace, Sir, despite such "wakt ka sitam" because there ARE aficionados who may not be chatterati, but are cognescenti enough to admire deeply your superb contribution, the agony of a brilliantly talented but much ignored genius!
Pratima@ I wrote an analytical and detailed piece on "Pyasa" for the celebratory volume by the Hyderabad Film Club. Well, I did feel quite happy that the volume was released by his artist-sister, Lalita Lajmi, who sat next to me throughout the function, followed by a film screening.
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