Hindi cinema cops a lot of flak for its escapist fluff, and rightly so, when it churns out drek like MPKK, HSSH and HTHS with depressing frequency. It was, however, not always so. Pyaasa reminds us that the Golden Age of Hindi cinema was just that, truly golden. There is almost nothing at all to fault with this gem. I'm listening to Sar Jo Tera Chakraye while I type this, but the whole soundtrack is outstanding, and the story, both in design and execution is a great demonstration of the fact that commercial cinema _can_ be fine art, too.
The evocation of atmosphere is well-done, and the main characters are well drawn. Johnny Walker is, as always, excellent in the comic relief. Some have said that they found him an intrusion, but for me, this very un-comic movie benefited from a little lightening touch from the inimitable Johhny. Subhaan Alaah that it wasn't Johnny Lever!
I love every song in the soundtrack, and think that it is the best soundtrack from any of the 320 or so Hindi films I've seen. It is, in my opinion, rare to find a Hindi film in which the songs work very well both in the film AND on their own. Sometimes, there are boring films with great songs, like Swades, and sometimes there are unremarkable songs that work well inside the film, like Dhadak Dhadak from "Bunty aur Babli". In Pyaasa though, every song fits AND every song survives apart from its context in the film.
However, the clincher for me the ending. There are maybe three or four Hindi films I've seen with almost perfect endings, in terms of being right for the film. I would say that they are, Dil Se (breathtaking and brave, but absolutely right for that film), Page 3 (the 21st century Pyaasa in its storyline, to me) and at the top of the heap, Pyaasa. The fade out to Yeh Duniya Agar is utterly perfect. I love this film to bits, and it was the ending that sealed it for me.
