Pyaasa

Pyaasa (Hindi pronunciation: [pjɑːsɑː]; transl. Thirsty) is a 1957 Indian Hindi drama film directed and produced by Guru Dutt, who stars alongside Mala Sinha, Waheeda Rehman, Rehman, and Johnny Walker. Set in Calcutta, it focuses on the disillusioned Urdu poet Vijay (Dutt), whose works are underestimated by publishers and panned for writing on social issues rather than romantic topics. The film follows his encounters with the golden-hearted prostitute Gulabo (Waheeda Rehman) and his former girlfriend Meena (Sinha), how the former helps him to get his poetry published, the success of his works, and his romantic relationship with Gulabo.

The role of Vijay was initially offered to Dilip Kumar which he declined owing to the impact of doing intense films on his health. Later, in an interview, he also said that he found the character of Vijay in Pyaasa similar to that of Devdas and admitted Pyaasa was one of three movies he regretted turning down. Guru Dutt, later accepted the role himself and the film went on to become one of the most commercially successful movies of the year. Pyaasa is a classic and is considered one of the best films of Indian cinema. It was remade into the Telugu film Mallepoovu (1978).