Love
is increasingly becoming risqué- taking in bollywood . But the same bollywood
will always be obliged to the work of Vasanth
Kumar Shivashankar Padukone popularly known as Guru Dutt. In remembrance of Guru Dutt, IAAN Express commemorates
one of the most acknowledged work on celluloid -“Pyasa”.
“Pyasa” is the journey of a poet who is struggling
to get recognition from the world. The world continuously declines Vijay which
was played by Gurudutt himself with utmost conviction. He lived the tragedy
relentlessly and absorbed the disgust. His pain convinces the audience.
Unlikely, Vijay never broke into tears or blasted into anger during rejections.
He accepts all thrust upon him.
His eyes nethier got red nor got filled with salty water. He neither blamed
destiny nor the world. His patience and persistence evokes the love which was
inspirational but unrealizable. The character of Vijay is devoid of any kind of
violence and gimmick. When pain became unsustainable all agonies imbibed into
poetry. It was the same poetry which failed to reach to the acclaimers. Vijay
gets an admirer as Gulab. Wahida Rehman impressively gets in the character of
Gulab. This was a bold attempt to shatter the perceived image of a Heroine in
that era. She played the role of a prostitute with dignity. At any stage no one
can find the objectionable cheapness in her performance. She is immensely
beautiful in the deglamorised role. As Vijay grew on the audience mind because
of irrefutable pain Gulab settled in the heart of same with her unconditional
love. Meena the lady love of Vijay played by Mala Sinha rejects him for being
poor and unsuccessful. She regrets on her decision. The rich man to whom she
gets married gives him all but not the love she wanted. Meena was an
unsatisfactory and helpless, almost dejected by her husband. She cannot break
the golden shackles neither she could be with his love. Relation and encounters
between Meena and Vijay cannot be perceived as extra marital affair. The three
central characters of “Pyasa” are derived from love. Three of them keeps urging
for the love which is not in their destiny. They all choose harsh destiny.
Pyasa created in 1959 still makes sense in 2013. It
is a painful story of unending suffering experienced by Gurudutt as Vijay.
Gurudutt as a director holds large canvas in which he draws all shades of love
in all the characters he emulated from imagination. Vijay is poor and
struggling poet who is patiently endeavouring to get recognition for his work.
He had a widowed mother played by Leela Mishra and two elder brothers played by
Mehmood and Radheyshyam. Just in few scenes of beginning gurudutt gains immense
sympathy for Vijay. Vijay who had left his house because of his misery avoids to
get caught by his mother who was desperate to see her wandering son. She takes
Vjiay home where he was barbarically taunted for being a poet and eventually
kicked off from house after a diatribe by his elder brothers. He lefts home in
despair and leaves her mother there. Again Gurudutt the director amazingly
conveys the emotional suffocation of helpless relation between Vijay and his
mother. From here onwards audience experiences a rare romance which overflows
from bleeding heart of Vijay and Gulab. Waheeda Rehman as Gulab tries to get
naughty and cosy with expressions while in effort of catching Vijay. In the
role of a prostitute, young and attractive Wahida Rehman doesn’t shed her cloth
neither reveals her body. Gurudutt captures the appeal from Gulabs expressions
in close shots and body movements which cannot be called dance, but just
strolling through the street. In the song “ Baat Kuch Aisi Hui” Wahida Rehman
wrapped in plain Sari delivers an unforgettable performance which is still
iconic in its own terms. Well, that was not enough to tremble all the cords of
emotion. Gurudutt introduces Vijays love interest from college days, Mala Sinha
in the role of Meena. Meena is married to a rich and shrewd man with gloomy
anger on face Mr. Ghosh played by Rehman. Vijay, Meena and Mr. Ghosh meets at
the alumni association of college, where Vijays anguish gets expressions of
barbed wire taunt poetry by seeing her beloved married to Mr Ghosh. Mr. Ghosh
smells the smoke of Vijays burning heart for Meena and decides to take on his
wife’s ex-lover. He offers him job at his publishing house, Vijay unknown to
the fact that Ghosh is husband to Meena accepts the offer with the hope that
his poetic creation wil get inked some day. Gurudutt have a powerful
imagination of creating impressionable scenes. In the party scene at the house
of Mr. Ghosh where Vijay is made to do slavery not knowing that this is the
house of his married beloved faces soft toned harsh insult shatters all the
hearts sympathized with the protagonist. On the other hand Gulab, who was
enthralled by the poetry of Vijay falls in love with him. She waits at the
places where she can suppose off Vijay. The sudden transformation of her
character from attractive and naughty into a wandering gloomy soul searching for
Vijay was brilliantly personified. Gurudutt designs another encounter of Vijay
and Gulab. Gulab who was searching for a customer was chased by policeman.
During her chase she colloids and get embraced to Vijay. She pleads him to save
her from being caught. On asked by policeman he acknowledges Gulab as his wife.
As acknowledgement pours into the years of Gulab, she surrenders herself to
Vijay completely. She gets devoted to Vijay with inadmissible love. Mighty
hearted Vijay who imprisons all sobs all this long finally breaks into tears
when he gets the news of his mother’s death. No loving son can survive the pain
of mother’s death. Vijay fails to contest against this dejection from destiny
and ends up at alchohol. Every time when Vijay’s heart bleed unexpressed hate
and anger freezed into poetry for the world which continuously rejected him,
this time it “Jinhe Naaz Hai Hind Par Wo Kaha Hain”. Gulab holds hand of lost
Vijay and shares his grief, inspires the man she loves to live for poetry and
her lady love Meena. Vijay being in an unfortunate accident while saving a
beggars life, suffers mental injury and beggar dies but news of Vijay’s death
spreads. Gurudutt, the Maestro of capturing emotions emulates how the two
ladies who are in love with Vijay conceive the death news of him? Mr. Ghosh
gets relentlessly emotionless when he reads out death news aloud deliberately
from news paper for his wife who is carrying soft corner for Vijay. In another
scene Gulab who is just about to apply sindoor gets news and shatters. She gets
windowed even without getting married. Gulab decides to publish the poems of
Vijay. She takes his poetry collection to the publishing house of Mr.Ghosh. Mr.
Ghosh finally publishes poetry collection of Vijay which becomes an outrageous
hit. The fact that the creator of gem of a collection is no more sympathises
readers more and lures friends and elder brothers of Vijay. Vijay gets the
deserved recognition after his death. Drama does not end here. More harsh
reality of world unfolds on celluloids as climax starts building from Gurudutts
understanding. Vijay appears from nowhere and witness the world recognizing and
admiring his work. Since he is dead to people, he saw how people try to relate
with him to get recognized. Stark realties of human made relations are painful
and gets nastier yet loving as it is seen through the spectacles of
Gurudutt. Finally, when the world
recognizes and hails him, he rejects it.He punishes the world by not availing
the poet in him to the needy world. As the celluloid journey of Pyasa reaches
destination Vijay gets the true love in Gulab. “Pyasa” is an unparallel work of
Maestro who in real life also lived like Vijay.
Pyasa
will loose its emotions in subtraction Sahir Ludhiyavis powerful and painful
poetic lyrics. SD Burmans original tunes makes lyrics seep deep in heart.
Intelligent use of spot lights at crucial stages adds divinity to the character
of Vijay especially in the song "Tang Aa Chuke Hain Kashm-e-Kashe Zindagi
Se" in the climax. Mohd. Rafi gets four songs and creates the melody in
pain. "Sar Jo Tera Chakraye" is a funny song and perfectly enacted by
Johny Walker was huge hit then and tremendously used from movies to commercials
even now. Hemant Kumars lends voice to
"Jane Woh Kaise Log", a situational song in which Vijay realises that
Meena is married to Mr. Ghosh. Legendary singer Geeta does playback for all the
songs pictured on Wahida Rehman and Mala Sinha. Geeta Dutts magical voice
relishes in "Jaane Kya Tune Kahi" and in the Duet song with Mohd Rafi
in romantic song "Ham Aapki Aankhon Me". Pyasa is complete package
which touches every emotion of love. It is a master piece by a maestro of
expressing love on celluloid. When love
is expressed on screen with acceptable intimacy and sometime with limitless
intimacy, it is necessary to remind that there was a filmmaker who found
romance in hardships and tragedies of life. Gurudutts romance was infinite and
incompetent. Gurudutts camera captured intimacy of emotions instead of physical
intimacy. He conquered in trembling thought space and provoking emotions of
positivity instead of titillating. His heroines were never just symbolic. His
story narration is incomplete without woman in central position. His stories
were not gender oriented. Each character has its own gravity. He used high
quality literary work in songs and dialogues which was not less than collection
gems. Gurudutt was a rare combination of film making attributes of high
quality.
If filmmaking is an art then Gurudutt will always be the most exquisite
artist. His understanding and courage of sketching characters on celluloid was
a metaphor in itself. Among all the emotions that he successfully stimulated in
the heart of audience was romance. He was so natural with his approach that
audience have rarely seen protagonist embracing beloved and yet he made felt
what he wanted. “Pyasa” one of his most acclimatised creation got space in
TIMES MAGAZINE in the list of all time romantic movies ever made. Pyasa is not
just romantic story. It is about sustaining anguish of undeserved failure. 
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