Decoding Guide (1965)

June 15, 2018

Movie no. 17/100

The movie that I am attempting to decode in this post, featured on the list of Best Indian Classics, compiled by Time. Director Vijay Anand’s 1965 drama, ‘Guide’, with Waheeda Rehman and Dev Anand in the lead, was a poignant tale about human emotions and ambitions. The movie traces the journey of a tourist guide, and how he metaphorically turns into a beacon of light, that ‘guides’ others reach their destiny.

Set in a fictional city, Raju (played by Dev Anand) is a sought-after tourist guide with great equation with all and sundry. Rosie (played by Waheeda Rehman) is an aspiring dancer born to a ‘Khandani Devdasi’ – a courtesan. To keep her daughter away from the despised profession, her mother gets her married to a much older and wealthy archeologist, Marco (played by Kishore Sahu). The marriage is in shambles from the word go – incompatibility, lack of compassion and bitterness made them a quarrelsome couple. Marco arrives with his wife to excavate some ruins and hires Raju, as his guide. Amid their hostility, a young Rosie rekindles her passion for dancing, upon the encouragement by Raju. With Raju giving her dreams the wings it craved for, Rosie leaves her husband and takes refuge in Raju’s humble abode. But, the society is not as progressive and supportive as Raju. Rosie is looked down upon for being a dancer and living with Raju, outside wedlock. Raju turns against everyone and they end up falling in love with each other. He also steers Rosie’s rise to becoming a renowned dancer. This is where we see Raju transform, from a humble guide to a man engulfed by a life of riches and vices. His jealousy from his beloved’s immense success, coupled with his drinking and gambling habits, drive a wedge between him and Rosie. He realizes his folly, but not before it was too late. This realization transforms him into a sage-like being, where he remains unaffected by the World around him.

It is always difficult to adapt a book into a movie, while maintaining the sanctity of the story. Director Vijay Anand, who adapted R K Narayan’s novel by the same name for the screen, keeps the main plots intact and adds certain aspects, taking cinematic liberty. In the book, Raju is not headlining the story as much as he does in the movie. Nonetheless, the adaptation works seemingly well, owing to the brilliant performance by the Gregory Peck of India, Dev Anand.

His character sees a parabolic path – from a small-town tourist guide to a man consumed by power and money, and finally, to the life of a hermit! It is not easy to trace this transition, but Dev Anand, with his signature flamboyance makes it seem convincing. Delivering an equally convincing performance is the beautiful and gracious, Waheeda Rehman. She is as graceful in her dances moves as she is in her emotional scenes. While it was a norm in the 1960s and 1970s for the female lead to be overdramatic - Waheeda Rehman delivers a subdued and nuanced performance. The movie primarily belongs to its leads and hence, I find it difficult to comment on any supporting actor, in particular. The music by S D Burman and the brilliant lyrics by Shailendra, deserves an applause for its melancholic undertones. Each of the songs is a gem and my personal favorites are ‘Din Dhal Jaaye’ and ‘Piya Tose Naina Laage re’.

Though the movie seems a little uneven towards the climax, when the director tries to rush things, it makes for a pleasurable watch, and the end leaves you with a bitter-sweet aftertaste. If nothing else, I can watch this movie again just for the songs and its leads – Dev Anand and Waheeda Rehman!