Synopsis One of Guru Dutt's masterpieces, this film tells the story of a poet struggling to find recognition in a materialistic world in which only social outcasts are his true friends. Vijay is an unsuccessful poet whose writings are sold by his brothers as waste paper. Unable to bear the philistinism, he chooses to live on the streets where he meets a young prostitute, Gulab. She falls in love with him and his poetry while Vijay's former girlfriend marries an arrogant publisher for comfort and security. When a dead beggar to whom Vijay has given his coat is mistaken for Vijay, Gulab has his poetry published in a book, which becomes a bestseller. Everyone who had previously rejected Vijay now gathers to pay tribute to the 'dead' poet. Vijay disrupts the celebration with his appearance and calls for the violent destruction of a corrupt world.