3 July, 8:30 pm, Gloria Kino

In 1964, Bengali actor and director Guru Dutt died from an overdose of sleeping pills at the age of 39. He had brought a strong sense of social commitment to commercial Indian cinema and introduced major technical and artistic innovations, such as the seamless integration of musical numbers into the narrative. Pyaasa, his masterpiece, tells the story of a poet, Vijay (played by Dutt himself), and his struggle for success: mocked by publishers and ignored by society, he is pronounced dead as the result of mistaken identity. While enjoying ‘posthumous’ success, he is admitted to a mental hospital, unrecognised by his friends and relatives. As indicated by its title, Pyaasa deals with the longing, the unquenchable thirst for love, recognition and spiritual fulfilment. As such, it is also a hidden autobiography of the director, an outsider who wanted to put his personal stamp on the formulas of Bollywood. The result is an extremely personal, moving and unflinching film which had a lasting impact on Indian cinema.



Pyaasa (Thirst)
Guru Dutt, 1957, 35 mm, b/w, Hindi, German Subtitles

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