Kaagaz Ke Phool

PAPER FLOWERS
KAAGAZ KE PHOOL
India
1959
148 Min
Black and White
2.35:1
Hindi
DIR Guru Dutt
PROD Guru Dutt
SCR Abrar Alvi, Kaifi Azmi
DP V.K. Murthy
CAST Waheeda Rehman, Guru Dutt, Kumari Naaz, Johnny Walker, Mahesh Kaul
ED Y.G. Chawhan
MUSIC Sachin Dev Burman
My Rating : 5/5 (Great Movie)

It is sad that I took so long to watch this movie. Unfortunately, like the movie, Guru Dutt has been more or less forgotten by the people. He is highly revered by film makers in India and his films are often taught to film making students but amongst the common people he is just a figure from the past.
Paper Flowers is pretty much Guru Dutt’s own story and reflects a time in his life when he must have been already on the road to disaster. The movie reeks with emotions and is beautifully shot in black and white. In many ways this movie could be compared to Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard which is equally tragic in its portrayal of forgotten artists. Dutt has effectively captured the loneliness and despair of the forgotten director through shadows, the empty studios, the montages, the protagonists reduction to poverty and most importantly, S.D Burman’s moving music.
There are too many memorable moments in this movie but I would like to point out one particular scene that beautifully depicts the essence of this movie. The protagonists feet appear walking on a wet beach leaving footprints, but almost immediately they are washed away by the waves. It is moments like these that define Guru Dutt’s greatness. In a single scene he has conveyed the fleeting nature of success and the fact that nothing is permanent in this world. The title of the movie refers to the fact that stardom is like a garden of paper flowers which only appears beautiful but in essence is lifeless and odorless paper.