Guru Dutt's final film as a director Kaagaz Ke Phool Paper Flowers (1959) follows the
successful film-maker Suresh Sinha (played by Dutt himself) as rumours of his affair with his
actress Shanti (Waheeda Rehman) lead him to lose his family descend into alcoholism and
ultimately retreat from the film industry. Initially met with critical and commercial failure
the film is now revered for its technical prowess and considered one of the finest
self-reflexive works in Indian cinema. Lalitha Gopalan explores Kaagaz 's innovative visual
style being the first Indian film shot in CinemaScope highlighting cinematographer V. K.
Murthy's essential contribution. She also analyses the soundtrack composed by S. D. Burman
with lyrics by Kaifi Azmi examining the now-classic picturisations of songs such as 'Waqt Ne
Kiya Kya Haseen Sitam'. Drawing on interviews with practitioners and people close to Dutt
Gopalan reconstructs the original contexts of the film's production and reception. Finally
using Kagaaz as a lens she assesses Dutt's influence on popular Indian cinema during the 1950s
as well as on global film melodrama more broadly.
