Guide

Vijay Anand's 1965 film adapts R. K. Narayan's 1958 novel and is among the most argued-over adaptations in Indian cinema. Raju, a tourist guide, meets Rosie, the unhappy wife of a wealthy archaeologist; he supports her wish to dance and makes her a successful artist, and success corrupts him. From there the story runs to a fall and to an unexpected identity as a holy man. The film's courage lies in telling, in India in 1965, of a married woman leaving her husband to live with another man and become an artist, without moral punishment. Dev Anand also had a hundred-and-twenty-minute English version made, written by Pearl S. Buck and directed by Tad Danielewski; Narayan was pleased with neither version. S. D. Burman's score is among the most cited in Indian film music. Who it's for: viewers interested in classic Indian cinema, literary adaptation and 1960s musicals. Who it's not for: anyone who will find a runtime past three hours excessive, or who will not be convinced by the spiritual turn in the final section.