Pyaasa

Vijay is an idealistic Urdu poet in Calcutta whose early works are dismissed by publishers. They mock him for addressing social issues like unemployment and poverty instead of romance. His brothers scorn his vocation and even try to sell his poems as waste paper. Unable to endure the ridicule, he leaves home.

Vijay leaves home after the mockery and learns that his brothers have sold his poems as waste paper. The betrayal hits hard as he confronts the idea that family profits from his labor. The incident fuels his resolve to pursue his own path.

In the city’s margins, Vijay meets Gulabo, a prostitute who admires his poetry and falls in love with him. She becomes a confidante and source of emotional support as his career struggles continue. Their bond highlights the poet’s isolation from his own milieu.

Meena, Vijay's former girlfriend, marries the wealthy publisher Ghosh for financial security. Ghosh hires Vijay as a servant to spy on Meena and her relationship with him, placing Vijay in a duplicitous role. This arrangement deepens Vijay's sense of betrayal and entrapment.

A beggar to whom Vijay once gave his coat is mistaken for Vijay after the beggar dies in a train accident. Public belief that Vijay is dead triggers a cascade of opportunistic moves by others around him. The tragedy also seeds the later turn toward posthumous fame for a poet who is still alive.

Believing Vijay is dead, Gulabo convinces Ghosh to publish Vijay's poems posthumously. Ghosh sees a lucrative opportunity in the fame and potential profits of the poet’s legacy. The decision catalyzes the posthumous success that follows.

The poems become a massive success, bringing wide acclaim and wealth to the publisher. Meanwhile, Vijay is actually alive and recovering in a hospital after the train incident. The ruse sustains as the public believes the poet is dead.

When Vijay returns to life, Ghosh and his ally Shyam refuse to acknowledge him. The denial exposes the mercenary nature of those who profit from fame and reputation. Vijay confronts the people closest to him who now pretend he never existed.

Vijay insists he is the real Vijay and is deemed insane, resulting in his commitment to a mental asylum. The institution serves as a trap where truth and identity are manipulated by those around him. The cycle of betrayal intensifies as his world closes in.

Ghosh bribes Vijay’s brothers to disown him, and a memorial service is held for the 'deceased' poet. The spectacle underscores the commodification of identity and art for financial gain. The community pretends to mourn a poet who is very much alive.

With help from his friend Abdul Sattar, Vijay escapes the asylum and makes his way to the memorial service. There, he confronts the crowd and condemns the corruption and materialism of the literary world. The escape marks a turning point in his fight for truth.

Vijay's supporters realize he is alive, but his friends and brothers side with a rival publisher for profit. They declare him to be the real Vijay at a ceremonial event, revealing the age-old bias toward wealth and status. The revelation catalyzes Vijay’s disillusionment with the system.

At the ceremony honoring him, Vijay becomes disillusioned by the hypocrisy around him and renounces his own identity, declaring that he is not Vijay. He walks away with Gulabo to start a new life, rejecting the fame and falseness of the world that surrounded him.