Cinema
Kaagaz Ke Phool
कागज़ के फूल
Guru Dutt · 1959
Synopsis
In a deserted studio, a director aged before his time looks back on his life. A successful filmmaker, Suresh Sinha lived apart from his wife Veena, whose family despises his profession. One rainy evening, he meets a young woman, Shanti, in whom he discovers an actress: he gives her the lead in his next film, and the bond that forms between them soon feeds rumours.
Context
The first Indian film shot in CinemaScope, from a screenplay by Abrar Alvi, it was the last that Guru Dutt signed as director. The cinematographer V. K. Murthy had a shaft of light cross the empty studio floor in the sequence of the song Waqt Ne Kiya, set to music by S. D. Burman. A resounding failure on release, which left its author ruined, the film was recognised only long afterwards.
Who it is for
A two-and-a-half-hour film in Hindi, built as a flashback and punctuated by songs.
Prizes and reception
A commercial failure on its release, now regarded as one of the peaks of Indian cinema; Filmfare Award for best cinematography for V. K. Murthy.
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