1957 · Film
Pyaasa
Guru Dutt's Hindi drama about Vijay, a struggling Calcutta poet rejected by publishers and his own family, and Gulabo, the kind-hearted woman who believes in his work.
Reviewed by Movie Mandala, Sun, 18 Oct, 2026
Where to watch
IndiaAs of 18 October 2026, Pyaasa is streaming in India on Prime Video with a subscription.
With subscription
Checked Sun, 18 Oct, 2026Open ↗
The story
In Calcutta, Vijay is an idealistic Urdu poet whose verses about poverty and unemployment are turned down by publishers, who want romantic poetry instead. His brothers mock his work and even sell his poems as waste paper, so he leaves home. Drifting through the city, he meets Gulabo, a kind-hearted prostitute who loves his poetry. He also crosses paths again with Meena, his former girlfriend, who has married the wealthy publisher Ghosh for security. When Ghosh hires Vijay as a servant, a chain of events begins that tests Vijay's faith in the world around him.
Spoiler-free: only the set-up.
Who it suits
Best for viewers curious about classic Hindi cinema, poetry and films about poverty and hypocrisy. This black-and-white, song-filled drama runs about two and a half hours and deals with prostitution and despair, so it works better for older children and adults than for young kids.
Curation to help you choose, not a review.
Background
Pyaasa grew out of Kashmakash, a story idea Guru Dutt wrote around 1947–48, and was developed with writer Abrar Alvi. It is also said to draw on the life of its lyricist, Sahir Ludhianvi. Dutt played the lead himself after Dilip Kumar turned the role down. S. D. Burman composed the songs, his last collaboration with Sahir.
The film opened on 22 February 1957 and, after a slow start, became one of the year's major commercial successes. It found new audiences in Europe in the 1980s, including a 1984 release in France. Ultra Media & Entertainment later restored it from a badly damaged original negative, and the restored version was screened in the Venice Classics section of the 72nd Venice International Film Festival in 2015. In 2005 Time magazine named it on its "100 Greatest Films of All Time" list, the only Hindi film included. It was remade in Telugu as Mallepoovu (1978).
The facts
- Language
- Hindi
- Hindi
- Hindi original
- Genre
- Drama, Musical romance
- Runtime
- 153 min
- Director
- Guru Dutt
- Cast
- Guru Dutt, Waheeda Rehman, Mala Sinha, Rehman, Johnny Walker
Questions people ask
- Where can I watch Pyaasa in India?
- As of 18 October 2026, Pyaasa is streaming in India on Prime Video with a subscription.
- Is Pyaasa in Hindi?
- Yes. Pyaasa is a Hindi-language film.
- How long is Pyaasa?
- Pyaasa runs for 2 hours 33 minutes (153 minutes).