Pyaasa (1957)

Interesting facts

Pyaasa is a 1957 Indian Hindi drama film directed and produced by Guru Dutt, who also stars in the film alongside Waheeda Rehman, Mala Sinha, Rehman, and Johnny Walker. Set in Calcutta, the film tells the story of Vijay, a disillusioned poet whose works are underestimated by publishers and criticized for focusing on social issues rather than romantic themes. The narrative follows Vijay's encounters with Gulabo, a kind-hearted prostitute, and Meena, his former girlfriend. Gulabo helps him get his poetry published, leading to the success of his works and the development of a romantic relationship between the two.

Production

Pyaasa was based on a story idea called Kashmakash, written by Guru Dutt sometime in 1947 or 1948, when he was 22. The film's theme and philosophy was inspired by his life experiences in the early struggles of his career. It is also surmised that the story is based on the life of the film's lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi, who had a failed affair with poet and writer Amrita Pritam.

Until production commenced in 1956, several changes were made to the original story with the assistance of Abrar Alvi, such as changing the protagonist originally being a painter. The film was originally titled Pyaas (thirst), but Dutt later changed it to Pyaasa to better describe the film. In the original ending, Guru Dutt wanted to show that Vijay being left all alone, but on the distributors' insistence this was changed.

Waheeda Rehman's character was inspired by a real life character. Abrar Alvi and his friends were visiting Bombay and decided to visit the red light area. Alvi began talking to a girl who called herself Gulabo. According to Alvi, "As I left, she thanked me in a broken voice, saying that it was the first time that she had been treated with respect, in a place where she heard only abuses. I used her exact words in the film.

Dutt wanted Dilip Kumar to play the lead role, which the 'tragedy king' declined, a major reason cited being the impact of doing intense films on Kumar's health. Reportedly, his doctors had advised him to take up lighter roles. Another possible reason that is cited is the alleged disagreement between him and Dutt over the film's distribution rights.

The role of Shyam was originally to be played by Dutt's real life friend, Johnny Walker, but was then assigned to one of Dutt's assistant directors. Pyaasa was to be made with actresses Nargis Dutt and Madhubala in the roles Mala Sinha and Waheeda Rehman played, but the two actresses couldn't decide which role they wanted to play and Dutt eventually opted for the two, then new actresses, Mala and Waheeda.

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