When it was released in 1959, critics and viewers unanimously rejected Kaagaz ke Phool. On the day of the premiere, when Guru Dutt walked into the hall, the director inferred from the reaction of the gathering and knew that this piece of his heart had been straightaway thrown out of the window. In an interview later, he said, “The movie was good in patches. It was too slow and went over the head of the audience”.
Kaagaz ke Phool, which completes 50 years of artistic glory on October 2, was Dutt’s
autobiographical venture, an extension of his own life. He could never really come to terms to the fact that the movie flopped. The story of a successful director Suresh Sinha, who seeks comfort in a relationship with his
heroine Shanti, to escape from his tattered domestic life seemed to mirror his own relationship with actress Waheeda Rehman and his uneasy marriage with Geeta Dutt. In the latter half, Shanti becomes a
superstar while Suresh’s career slides down and many years later, he is reduced to playing an extra in other movies to make his ends meet. One day, Suresh is found dead on the director’s chair in the studio he once ruled, unknown and unlamented, save by a studio worker who recognises him.
Though many feel that this movie was an extension of his own life, there are chances that Dutt was inspired by the life of his mentor Gyan Mukherjee, to whom Pyaasa was dedicated. Mukherjee, the director of the blockbuster Kismet (1943), made many flops later in his career and slipped into obscurity.
So much has been written about Kaagaz ke Phool and its maker and yet, much remains to be discovered. What is the most outstanding feature of this film, besides being Dutt’s own story? Perhaps, it is the visual symbolism, laced with the haunting music of S D Burman and stunning photography of V K Murthy. Burman does not create much impact through his songs apart from Waqt ne Kiya and Dekhi
Zamaane ki Yaari. But the background score augments the element of lyricism, which Dutt intends to serve the audience.
In the movie, Suresh, in his heyday, makes a movie titled Devdas and is in search of Paro for his movie. The search ends with Shanti. The parallel between the lore and life is evident. Like Paro, Shanti too displays a higher level of emotional strength than her male counterpart, though they initially seek strength from them. Later, certain factors of the society divide both of them.
The striking similarity between the scene where Shanti, playing her successful innings, visits Guru Dutt in his dilapidated shack and the scene, where Paro visits Devdas after her marriage to find him devastated, cannot be missed. In both the films, there is a final meeting, which is almost missed by the lovers. It is the restrictions of a Zamindari household that stops Paro from meeting Devdas and the fans in Kaagaz ke Phool who mob Shanti for a photograph as she rushes behind Suresh. The tragedy of Devdas heavily influenced Guru Dutt in Pyaasa as well as Kaagaz ke Phool.
Posthumous fame seemed to haunt Guru Dutt. He showcases that in Pyaasa. He also talked of posthumous fame in one of his articles, drawing references to Homer and Narsi Mehta besides many painters of Europe.
Kaagaz ke Phool saw a revival in the 1980s, when it was released in Germany and France. Soon, it caught the attention of the critics and cinema-lovers and was hailed as a classic worldwide. Two decades after his death, Dutt too got his name mentioned in the same breath as other greats of cinema like Bimal Roy, Raj Kapoor and Mehboob Khan. His talk of posthumous fame turned out to be prophetic.
It is not that Kaagaz ke Phool is without flaws. The movie is drenched in self-pity and Dutt takes the idea of ‘the fall of a star’ too personally and seriously. The character of Johnny Walker seems forced for the sake of providing some comic relief. Like Devdas, the character of Suresh does not inspire, quite unlike the protagonist of Pyaasa, with whom the viewers are able to relate and in whom they see a reflection of their own thoughts. Despite all this, it was the finest comment on the film world to come from a filmmaker.
On October 10, 1964, Dutt committed suicide. The night before he was found dead, Dutt had a long talk with Abrar Alvi, at the end of which he said, “I think I want to die”. Abrar pushed aside this final comment away as one of his usual expressions of depressive thoughts. It was his third and final attempt.
Dutt was an artist’s artist. He successfully touched upon most of the popular genres of the day — crime thrillers, suspense dramas, comedies, period films, tragedy, musicals and biopics. No other filmmaker perhaps put the feelings of a creative person as effectively and beautifully on screen as he did.
As talks go strong about a possible remake of Kaagaz ke Phool by Rakeysh Mehra, with Aamir Khan and Katrina Kaif in the lead, the idea of this legendary genius takes yet another form. But will it be possible to recreate a classic, into which Dutt put his heart and soul, thus making it special? Only time will be the key to this lock but it rekindles the lines of a song from this movie — Daur yeh chalta rahe, rang uchalta rahe, roop machalta rahe, jaam badalta rahe!
— The writer is a management student
based in Delhi. arju1987@hotmail.com
(Part of the Picture will resume from next week)