Review of Pyaasa (1957) by Nannina G — 21 Mar 2008

Pyaasa has some moments of incredible beauty, most of which are centred around the songs. Written by S.D. Burman and poet Sahir Ludhianvi the music and the lyrics draw you in far more than the story itself which is a rather pedestrian one of the artist who is above the world, and the virtuous prostitute who loves him. The movie would have been much better if Guru Dutt had found someone else for the lead (he did hire an actor who failed to turn up so he took the role instead). As an actor Guru Dutt is not a compelling screen presence and for a character who spends his time chastising the world and bemoaning his lot in life one needs a really strong performance in order to sympathize with him. Dutt did not deliver that, but as a director he proves much more accomplished. The actresses fare better, though that is due, in some degree, to their luminous beauty.

I have actually given it a half star more than I felt while watching it because the quality of the DVD was wretched. The editing and sound mixing were jarring, and the subtitles went 15 seconds out of sync with the dialogue half an hour from the end. All of which detracted from my experience. The film itself though did at times overcome these flaws, and reached its height for me in a scene where Vijay is reciting one of his poems at a literary party where he had been humiliated by being hired to act as a servant. That song and the way that it was filmed are both so beautiful that for those moments I was willing to forgive the film of almost anything.