Did the film 'Kaagaz Ke Phool' flop due to the reviews of film critics or...?

Man comes and goes, but leaves behind many things, which future generations keep evaluating. Guru Dutt, a famous actor and filmmaker of his time, directed and acted in eight films. The films made under his direction created records of success and were appreciated globally. But the eighth film made under his direction “Kaagaz Ke Phool” was disliked by the audience. After that Guru Dutt retired from film direction. Ultimately he died after five years in 1964. But after the failure of 'Kaagaz Ke Phool', Guru Dutt's work, his personality, and the film 'Kaagaz Ke Phool' have been evaluated from time to time.

Was the film flopped because of the reviews by film critics?

It has been said since 1960 that the film flopped because of the reviews by film critics. Film critics had described this film as very bad and the failure of this film became the reason for Guru Dutt's death. To underline this point, some time ago famous filmmaker R Balki made the film “Chup”. The film 'Chup' was also completely rejected by the audience. R Balki, citing the film 'Chup' as the backdrop of the failure of 'Kaagaz Ke Phool', even got the film critics murdered in the film 'Chup'. But with the failure of the film 'Chup', it became clear that the audience does not consider the film critics as the reason for the flop of 'Kaagaz Ke Phool' nor does it consider Guru Dutt as the reason for the flop of 'Kaagaz Ke Phool'. But we also talked to filmmaker Ashok Tyagi about Guru Dutt's classic film 'Kaagaz Ke Phool', who has directed more than 15 successful films including 'Surkhiyaan', and 'Return of Jewel Thief' and is also a director of Delhi. He has also been teaching the film genre in a school.

Who was Guru Dutt?

Famous producer, director, actor, writer, and choreographer Guru Dutt, born in Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin family on 9 July 1925 in Padukone, present-day Karnataka state of India, died on 10 October 1964. It is said that the main reason behind his death at the age of just 39 was the failure of the film 'Kaagaz Ke Phool', which is considered a cult film today. Guru Dutt, one of the greatest filmmakers of Indian cinema, was praised for his artistry, particularly his close-up shots, lighting, and depictions of sadness. He directed a total of 8 Hindi films in a short period, many of which gained international popularity. This also includes 'Pyaasa', released in 1957, which made its place in Time magazine's list of 100 greatest films of all time. As a producer, Guru Dutt kept experimenting with every film. Guru Dutt directed his first film “Baaji” in 1951. Then, along with producing and directing 'Jaal', 'Aar-Paar', 'Mr. and Mrs. 55', 'Sailaab', 'Pyaasa' and in 1959, 'Kaagaz Ke Phool', he played the important role of hero Suresh Sinha. But it was completely rejected by film critics and audiences.

What was the reason for the Failure?

After the failure of 'Kaagaz Ke Phool' in 1959, Guru Dutt retired from film direction. But he produced 'Chaudhvin Ka Chand' and 'Saheb Biwi Aur Ghulam' and acted in them. Not only this but from 1960 to 1964, he also acted in 'Sautela Bhai', 'Bharosa', 'Bahurani', 'Suhagan' and 'Saanjh Aur Savera' directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. But he could not digest the failure of ‘Kaagaz Ke Phool’. There were many reasons for this.

Summary of the film ‘Kaagaz Ke Phool’

The film 'Kaagaz Ke Phool' is a romantic story film, in which Guru Dutt plays the role of film director Suresh Sinha, Waheeda Rehman plays the role of actress and teacher Shanti, and Beena plays the role of Suresh's wife Veena. According to the story, Suresh Sinha and Veena are married. He has a younger daughter Pammi. The wife's parents are rich and they do not like their son-in-law being a film director. That is why a situation of separation arises. Then peace comes in the life of Suresh, who is an actress, but under the pressure of Veena, she leaves everything and becomes a teacher, but she has to return to acting again. By then Suresh's career is ruined. But their self-respect is very big for them. Overall this film tells about the film industry.

Was it an autobiography of Guru Dutt?

Some consider the film Kaagaz Ke Phool a widely written autobiographical account of Guru Dutt's personality, his deep disillusionment with the film industry and the nature of the fame it brought, and the alleged relationship between Guru Dutt and his disciple Waheeda Rehman. It is considered as a reflection of his autobiography.

The best self-reflective film in India

The film Kaagaz Ke Phool was the first Indian film to use the wide-screen, ‘Cinemascope format’, which was used “under license from 20th Century Fox (India) Pvt. Ltd.” The credit for bringing a technical revolution in Indian cinematography also goes to Guru Dutt and the film “Kaagaz Ke Phool” made under his direction. ‘Kaagaz Ke Phool’ is part of the curriculum in many film schools. It is considered to be the best self-reflective film ever made in India. At present, 'Kaagaz Ke Phool' is also counted as a cult cinema.

Guru Dutt thought his name was a curse for the box office

Despite this, "Kaagaz Ke Phool" was the biggest failure of 1959. Its failure seriously affected Guru Dutt and brought his studio to the brink of ruin. After the failure of 'Kaagaz Ke Phool', Guru Dutt resigned from direction saying that his name had become a curse for the box office. Whereas actor Dev Anand, who remained silent after the failure of 'Kaagaz Ke Phool', had said after Guru Dutt's death - "He was a young person, he should not have made a disappointing film."

The reason for the failure of the film 'Kaagaz Ke Phool' was the director's narcissism: Ashok Tyagi

However, when we talked to director Ashok Tyagi in this context, Ashok Tyagi, while referring to the art of film direction, blamed the failure of 'Kaagaz Ke Phool' on the director's narcissism. Ashok Tyagi said - "I have also talked to many old filmmakers, they don't even know that there is a system behind the technique of filmmaking, the hidden pattern, the style of screenplay and characterization, which did work. Whatever work has been done on cinema in India, it has been done intuitively. When a scientist does a new experiment, he keeps writing down all the data. This way things did not work in Indian cinema. If the work had been done in this manner, Guru Dutt would not have made 'Paper Flowers'. The director is narcissistic in the film ‘Kaagaz Ke Phool’. In ‘Kaagaz Ke Phool’ Guru Dutt is fascinated by himself. The director is also identifying his personal life with his character. In the film the hero is crying look how tortured I am, how much I am being exploited. This quality is not the quality of a hero. The hero never indulges in self-indulgence or laments like this. If the hero starts crying, then what is he a hero for? A hero does not cry himself, but the audience cries while watching him on the screen. An actor emerges as a hero on screen only when he does not get the emotion on screen that he should get according to the audience. This is a very complex thing and this is the real film direction. Director does not mean that he acts as per the script. Rather, it is the director's job to see what the audience's response will be to that scene, and what the audience's reaction will be, it should be incorporated into the scene even without filming it. Meaning, that when the film is going on, the scene should be created along with the scene. If the audience reacts to the film, if it is working, then understand that the film is successful. If it is working wrong, then the film is unsuccessful.

It’s considered to be a cult cinema now

That is, do you believe that a 'cult cinema' film like 'Kaagaz Ke Phool' did not get success because of the hero crying? On this, director Ashok Tyagi says - "This is a cult film because its directors are very great. Secondly, the audience knew that this was his autobiography. Thirdly, with time, our film critic community also becomes humble and starts ignoring his shortcomings. Today we will watch 'Kaagaz Ke Phool', so we will see it in this We will not see it the way we would have seen it after buying a ticket in 1959. Today we will see it differently. The story of 'Kaagaz Ke Phool' is a misguided false story. Within it, the director is saying that my family life is in disarray. Whereas in 1959, it was not the time of 1931. The Film Society was in full swing. By 1959, cinema was well established. If a girl from an upper-middle-class family gets married to a director and he is earning, so the question of fighting does not arise. They had no reason so they were forcefully showing all that. Why did Waheeda Rehman leave the industry, why does she teach, the script completely deviates. But the opening and ending of the film is amazing. Its moments are amazing.

- Shantiswarup Tripathi

 

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