Indian Film Festival of Melbourne to screen Guru Dutt's Pyaasa and Kaagaz Ke Phool

Guru Dutt in Pyaasa

Few could explore themes of love, disillusionment, and artistic struggle on screen as beautifully as Guru Dutt did. That's probably why the actor and filmmaker's cinema continues to strike a chord over 60 years after his demise. To mark the late filmmaker's birth centenary, the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) will honour his legacy with special screenings of his most celebrated works, Pyaasa (1957) and Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959).

The screenings, the dates of which will be announced early August, are expected to draw over 2000 cinephiles from across Australia to Melbourne. The event will be part of a curated retrospective celebrating Indian cinema's golden age. Dutt greatly influenced Hindi cinema in his two-decade career, giving us classics like Pyaasa, Kaagaz Ke Phool, Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960), and Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam (1962).

Noting that he continues to inspire today's generation of filmmakers, Mitu Bhowmick Lange, festival director, said, "Guru Dutt was far ahead of his time, both in terms of cinematic technique and the emotional depth of his narratives. His films, Pyaasa and Kaagaz Ke Phool, are not just classics, they are cultural treasures that speak to the soul of Indian cinema. This tribute is our humble way of remembering his genius and introducing his timeless work to new global audiences."