Pyaasa(Eternal thirst) - Guru Dutt's Classic

PYAASA (Eternal Thirst)

PYAASA is undoubtedly GURU DUTT'S Masterpiece and one of Indian cinema's Greatest films ever made, it is considered a Classic today......
But in 1957, when it was just released, these were some of the comments it drew....

Filmfare, 1957

The pace is considerably slower than the theme demanded, owing mainly to the somewhat heavy-handed treatment and direction, and the effect of this tempo is intensified by the sombre photography. The sets and décor are appropriate and the lyrics are most pleasing and the songs are very well sung. But the music is poor......(Today the music of Pyaasa is considered to be one of S.D.Burman's best compositions.)

Filmindia, 1957

For all Guru Dutt's desperate efforts to be taken seriously and for all the picture's thematic pretensions, Pyaasa emerges as little more than a lump of confusion. It is a picture which lacks coherence, a clear and cognizable theme and consequently any emotional appeal whatsoever. One cannot be moved by a thing which one finds incapable of conveying some definite meaning and in Pyaasa even after giving the picture all thought, one really fails to understand what precise thought it is trying to provoke, what exact message to convey and what definite theme to put across. Pyaasa leaves one confused because it is a confused product of a confused brain.( The same confused man is considered a genius today, and all the new generation of directors swear by him....)...

Perhaps one can understand these impressions by the media ,taking into account that the 50's were the Golden period of Hindi cinema, and it had the best of the best....quality films, directors, composers and actors...

Pyaasa despite all criticisms at the time of its release has gone on to become a much loved Classic with a large cult following and Guru Dutt remains one of the Greatest and Charismatic Directors ever seen on Hindi cinema...

And today, Pyaasa is rated as one of the best 100 films of all-time by Time Magazine....And it is a Time readers choice top 10 movie of all times..There are takers for the magical black and white cinema of Guru Dutt even some four decades after his death....