Kagaz Ke Phool [1959] : Guru Dutt

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Watching Kagaz Ke Phool [1959] immediately after Pyaasa [1957] is a roller-coaster experience. While Pyaasa’s Bijoy dedicates himself to his artistic journey leaving every precious thing in his life, Kagaz Ke Phool’s Suresh surrenders himself to every destructive thing in his life leaving his artistic expedition.  It seems they originated from the same source of creative passion then branches out to the different channels. Thus, Pyassa ends with the beginning of the future path with the hope of a new life and Kagaz ke Phool ends with the ending of the present path with the despair of death.

 

I have found some semblance of Suresh’s contour of his passionate life for arts and compact intricacy of his private and professional life in Guru’s Kagaz Ke Phool [1959] with Alamgir Kabir’s Lenin in Rupali Saikate [1979]. The same vibes I have noticed between Bijoy from Guru’s Pyassa [1957] & Lenin from Kabir’s Surjya Kannya [1975]. Even the years of the theatrical releases unintentionally shared similar numbers like 1957 with 1975 and 1959 with 1979. They show the same gap years between the two pairs releases.  

 



The dealings with the crowd shootings had been so delicately crafted and handled and the using of cinemascope lenses and camera firstly in the movie was a splendid one and the dance and music choreography in this camera seemed more matte and marvelous.  The close-ups in photography and overlapping and superimposing the scenes are always enchanting for the period as much as now. There are some magnificent cinematic frames and lighting contrast and shadows that raised  Kagaz Ke Phool to a high level of classics. 

 


The subplot of shooting scenes of Devdas are quite fascinating while Bimal Roy made Devdas two years ago in 1955. Certainly, it was a great inspiration for emerging movie directors and actors to learn how to handle this complicated situation in the cinema making.

 

Kagaz Ke Phool [1959]

Guru Dutt

Hindi, India

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