A Relook at Pyaasa

Pyaasa is a story of a neglected writer finding a place for his love and expression in a vicious world.

The film in its imagery and narrative is an attempt to re-invoke the popular figure of the truthful Christ crucified at the hands of mean, self-centered, deceitful individuals and society.

Vijay a young struggling poet, is unable to get his poems published. No one is ready to take Vijay's work for its merit, as publishers are only willing to publish the well established poets.

Vijay also finds criticism, insults and expulsion from his brothers because of his poetic pursuits.

Vijay’s inspiration, Meena, his love from his college years, left him to pursue a comfortable, prestigious life with a wealthy husband.

Meena’s husband, Ghosh Babu, suspects an association between Vijay and Meena and keeps Vijay as an employee in his office to check his suspicion.

Like others, Mr. Ghosh is also not interested to engage with poems of an unknown poet like Vijay, and sees no scope of publishing his poems.

While everyone is acting deaf to Vijay’s writings, Gulabo, a prostitute who bought Vijay's poem's from a scrap dealer finds enormous appreciation and love for his writings.

She empathizes with his writings and his feelings, and she is also surprised that Vijay does not look at her with same desire, disgust and ridicule that she customarily receives otherwise as a prostitute.

Vijay is dejected to see selfishness, lust, abuse especially of the women, and sings to the adulators and celebrators, those proud of Hind (Indian region and its culture), to come and witness the exploitation, tiredness and abuse that is rampant on its streets.

One evening, a beggar whom Vijay had given his coat, ends up getting killed by a train. Vijay also gets hurt in the incident but manages to save his life.

Since the beggar was wearing Vijay’s coat which had a poem signed in his name, the news that a young poet has committed suicide got circulated.

After the news of Vijay’s demise, Ghosh Babu receives the manuscript of Vijay's poems from Gulaboo, along with all her life’s saving as the payment for publishing the poems. 

Vijay’s book of poems becomes a huge success at the bookshops.

A healing Vijay on the other hand is surprised to see a book of his own writings. But he is considered mad for claiming to be the writer of these poems, as Vijay is known to be dead.

Vijay's brothers, his friend and Ghosh Babu refuse to recognize him in the mental-asylum in order to keep earning monetary gains that come from representing his works.

Somehow escaping the mental-asylum Vijay arrives at a hall full of people praising the dead Vijay. 

Witnessing the surge of appreciation that his writing is given, he is left singing in anguish about the worthlessness of praises and admiration of a selfish world that thrives on abuse and deceit.

The film is not only the story of a rejected writer, but a depiction of a corrupt, self-engrossed, consumerist society that we have all collectively brought-up: a society that has no real scope to embrace a tender, poetic imagination of love.