Pyaasa

*ing : Mala Sinha, Guru Dutt, Waheeda Rehman
Director : Guru Dutt

Well made Bollywood film by one of its exceptional filmmakers. The story seems to be based on the novel "Devdas" by Saratchandra Chatterjee, though not credited so (poor poet is still in love with his former girlfriend who has married for money, despite that he is himself loved by a selfless prostitute). The ending is different of course, as it is not tragic here but rather educative. The quite open and bold social criticism - especially in the song on prostitution - is also well worth noticing.

The music is beautiful, the actors are convincing, especially Guru Dutt as the poor and misunderstood poet with an attitude and Waheeda Rehman as the prostitute with a heart of gold. It is interesting that the songs are often inserted in the story itself (many of them are REALLY songs sung in the story), and are not only musical picturizations of fantasies, dreams, etc., as it is often the case in Bollywood films. Though this also occurs of course, as in the Guru Dutt-Mala Sinha duet scene. Well worth seeing for lovers of heart-wrenching melodrama and vintage Bollywood music.

Rating :
*** & ½