‘Pyaasa’, one of Guru Dutt’s classics, was screened at Bharat Bhavan here on Sunday. The movie was screened at Bharat Bhavan, marking the third day of film festival Ekagra.
The movie was released in 1957 Indian film, produced and directed by Guru Dutt, written by Abrar Alvi, and starring Guru Dutt, Waheeda Rehman and Mala Sinha.
Vijay (Guru Dutt) is an unsuccessful poet whose works are not taken seriously by publishers or his brothers. Unable to bear their taunting that he is a good-for-nothing, he stays away from home and is often out on the streets.
He encounters a good-hearted prostitute named Gulabo (Waheeda Rehman), who is enamoured with his poetry and falls in love with him. He also encounters his ex-girlfriend Meena (Mala Sinha) from college and finds out that she has married a big publisher, Mr. Ghosh (Rehman) for financial security. Ghosh hires him as a servant to find out more about him and Meena. A dead beggar to whom Vijay gave his coat and whom he tries to save unsuccessfully from the path of a running train is mistaken for Vijay.
Gulabo goes to Ghosh and gets his poems published. Ghosh does so feeling he can exploit the poems and make a killing. The poems are very successful.
Ghosh and Shyam, Vijay's close friend, refuse to recognise him and he is committed to a mental asylum since he insists that he is Vijay and is thought to be mad.
Vijay, with the help of his friend Abdul Sattar (Johnny Walker) escapes from the mental asylum and reaches the memorial service, where he denounces this corrupt and materialistic world. Seeing that Vijay is alive, his friend and brothers side with a rival publisher for more money and declare that this is Vijay. He then leaves with Gulabo to start a new life.