A little bit about songs from an old classic, Pyaasa
Pyaasa directed by Guru Dutt, starring him as Vijay, a struggling poet and Waheeda Rehman as Gulabo, a prostitute, highlights social realities of the era it was made in. It brings out the love between a poet and a prostitute, both seeking liberation from their problems. Made in 1957, the setting, dialogues, music and lyrics portray each character’s personalities and the thread across their lives.
Two songs highlight the relationship that Vijay and Gulabo build through the course of the film. The first is when they first meet, on the streets, after a dejected Vijay is trying to find his sold poems and he is startled to hear one of his poems being sung by Gulabo. This scene is followed by the song Jaane kya tune kahi, where Gulabo, not knowing he is the poet, treats him like a prospective client and tries to entice him. All her feelings are conveyed through her brilliantly expressive eyes, both coy and unabashed at the same time. It seems like each part of her body is being brought alive through the lyrics. Imagery like San sanaahat and Thar tharaahat in her enchanting voice elevate the mood, where there is a lot of interplay of lights and shadows as he follows her through the streets. The song is a means of seduction for Gulabo as she pulls him and the audience in with her eyes but for Vijay, who is so caught up in his world of poetry, the viewer thinks of whether he is in fact, mesmerised by her charm or is it the shock of hearing his poetry and his curiosity to know how she knew them that makes him follow her. It can also be viewed as a song which gave Vijay an inkling of hope when he was in despair.
Courtesy: Shemaroo Vintage HD
A parallel can be drawn to the scene before Aaj sajan mohe ang lagalo where Gulabo is running away from a policeman after she is ill-treated by one of her clients. She is saved by Vijay, who calls her his wife. She is moved as she is not treated with respect often and though she hardly knew Vijay, she falls for him. In both situations, one leads and another follows. Here, she follows him out of a sense of yearning. Aaj sajan mohe ang lagalo represents various levels of love that a person can desire in this world. At one level, it is about her implied desire to be with him but at another, it is the spiritual desire of a devotee to unite with God, a transcendence from material desire to spiritual union and thus liberation from all worldly bounds. Gulabo’s profession is about material desire, but here, it is implied that her heart seeks union through love with Vijay. When the devotee sings Manahar giridhar pyas bujhalo, we can related it to the film’s title Pyaasa. The Jogini appeals to God to quench her thirst and liberate her from the material world. Vijay seeks this liberation from the drought of failure in his life and Gulabo, from the bounds of her profession and in this song, she possibly seeks this liberation through love.
Sung by Geeta Dutt, these songs are pivotal in introducing and establishing the relationship between two individuals from very different backgrounds who ultimately unite.
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