What does art, and the poet stand for, and how does he handle the onslaught of the banal and mediocre lie at the heart of this marvellous, moody meditation on the state of the nation by Guru Dutt...

Pyaasa runs the gamut of musical mood and tone, and yet it feels like following a wild butterfly along a singular journey as it flutters on the wind.

The final third of this 1957 Indian musical is convoluted but also moving, as dramatic compositions heighten the narrative conflict between artistic idealism and an avaricious society.

Pyaasa’s narrative mustn’t be viewed as realistic. It is an expressionistic peek inside a depressed mind.