Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959)

 ●  Hindi ● 2 hrs 26 mins

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It tells, in flashback, the story of Suresh Sinha (Dutt), a famous film director. His marriage to Bina (Veena), the daughter of a wealthy parvenue (Mahesh Kaul), is wrecked because film directing is a job lacking in social status. Sinha is denied access to his beloved daughter Pammi (Baby Naaz) who is sent to a private boarding school. On a rainy night Sinha meets Shanti (Rehman) who turns out to be ideally suited to act the part of Paro in Sinha’s film Devdas. Shanti becomes a star and gossip columns link her with Sinha. The distraught Pammi pleads with Shanti to quit films, which she does, and her withdrawal leads to a rapid decline in Sinha’s fortunes. Soon he is a forgotten and destitute man. Eventually, after some painful adventures (reminiscent of Emil Jannings’s fate in Sternberg’s The Last Command, 1928) Sinha is found dead in the director’s chair in an empty studio.
See Storyline (May Contain Spoilers)

Cast: Guru Dutt, Waheeda Rehman

Crew: Guru Dutt (Director), VK Murthy (Director of Photography), Sachin Dev Burman (Music Director)

Rating: U (India)

Genres: Drama

Release Dates: 02 Jan 1959 (India)

Hindi Name: कागज़ के फूल

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Did you know? The film was a box office disaster in its time but was later resurrected as a world cinema cult classic in the 1980s. Read More
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as Suresh Sinha
as Shanti
as Pramila Sinha
as Veterinarian
Supporting Actor

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Film Type:
Feature
Language:
Hindi
Colour Info:
Black & White
Sound Mix:
Mono
Frame Rate:
24 fps
Aspect Ratio:
2.39:1 (Scope)
Stereoscopy:
No
Trivia:
This movie is a path breaking one in Indian cinema, being the first ever Black and White Cinemascope film.

Many claim that the film is semi-autobiographical and that Guru Dutt portrayed his angst in the movie. At the time of production of the film, Guru Dutt's marriage to Geeta Dutt was under strain due to attraction to Waheeda Rehman. This was openly known causing Guru Dutt's personal life to resemble that of the protagonist in the movie. However, the forecast of his own (Guru Dutt's) death, to parallel the sad and imminent death of the protagonist in the film, is debatable.

The film was a box office disaster in its time but was later resurrected as a world cinema cult classic in the 1980s.

This was Guru Dutt's final film as director.