Kaagaz Ke Phool...Unaccepted yet adoring.!!

Kaagaz Ke Phool- Unaccepted yet adoring                            

  A lot of films fail commercially, and garner much praise and sometimes a cult status, long time after.  Kaagaz Ke Phool (1957) endured a lot of criticism for different reasons, and enjoys a cult status presently. I saw the film, and   tried to learn as much as I could about this declared masterpiece worldwide. So much love for the film has entangled me in perplexes. I would acknowledge acclaim bestowed at the film to a certain extent.

Crazy though, but I saw the film twice to elicit if I missed out anything. All I could realize was it remains technically the best film made in India. The awesomeness of camerawork in a scene where sun breaks through a stream of light entering tangentially on Guru Dutt sitting on a chair, musters an eye warming effect .Such an attempt stayed a hard puzzle for people until the cameraman for the film V.K MURTHY revealed he produced this effect with exposing light on pieces of mirrors. And guess what, today cinematographers say they couldn’t attempt this without cameras equipped with modern features. Also KAAGAZ KE PHOOL was the first Indian film made with cinemascope technology (technology that projects films on wide and large screens).But still, such attributes are not enough to label a film as classic. Why didn’t I like the film that much? Did it go over my head? I do enjoy serious old films. Pyasaa (by Guru Dutt himself) is a worthy classical display of solitude.

Kaagaz ke phool was a controversial film. It is believed viewers threw stones at the screen because the 50’s audience of India was amateurish to accept such audacious subjects. Also, the then president DrRajendra Prasad walked out of the premier after as he felt embarrassed. I am  scared to debate on the film against the ones deeply in love with it. Surely, the film is amongst the most influential works in India.

However, the freedom of expression still remains an unanswered quest decades after the film.  Unfortunately, our liking towards repeated stereotypical entertainment is never ending. Films like Kaagaz Ke Phool that absorb tremendous potential to expose loopholes in our customs are left deprived of their due accolades and have to wait for years, for the future generation to imbibe the philosophy and then label such films  as ‘cult’.

Cinema is predictable, but its influence is unpredictable. Whatsoever it was, I might have found Kaagaz ke phool 'boring' but I do admire the makers who poured in their heart, for the brave effort to challenge the ethics of Indian society then and introduce latest technology to India something present day film makers are not eligible of, for Guru Dutt who was an amazing film maker because his films showed how we think and not how we should think, the only definition for cinema I understand.