Ansoo Ban Gaye Phool

Aansoo Ban Gaye Phool (1969) revolves around Ashok Kumar, the principal of a college, being a man of principles in his life and career, very firm on his ideals and never scared of calling a spade a spade. He and his doctor wife, Nirupa Roy have lost their only son long back and now to them, the students of the college only are like their own children. Ashok Kumar comes across a carefree but talented and self-made student of the college, Dev Mukherjee who is an orphan. Ashok Kumar guides and inspires him to become a man of ideals and principles in his life. However Ashok Kumar himself is framed in corruption charges by the corrupt owner of the college with the help of Ashok Kumar's younger brother Anoop Kumar. Being backstabbed by his own brother, Ashok Kumar feels disenchanted with his ideals and upon release from jail after his sentence is over, he resorts to unlawful activities with the help of his trusted old buddy Pran and his wife Helen. He stays away from his wife Nirupa Roy who has not left the path of piety and rightness. But one day he is stunned to see his beloved student, Dev Mukherjee on the other side of the things, in a police inspector's uniform. Dev catches Pran and Helen for their unlawful activities without being aware of the master brain behind them. Seeing his comrades arrested, Ashok Kumar's man of ideals sleeping within him for the past many years. wakes up and he surrenders to Dev, confessing his crimes. Dev is taken aback to see his role model and mentor as a criminal and he performs his duty of arresting him amongst tears. The ending scene justifies the title of the movie too - Aansoo Ban Gaye Phool (tears turned into flowers).

The story is very impressive and engrossing till the interval. However it lets down after the interval when Ashok Kumar chooses the wrong path after completing his prison sentence. Again it catches the viewer in a bit prolonged climax and leaves a lasting impression on his heart. The first half an hour of the movie contains laughs also through the innocent activities and gestures of Dev Mukherjee. The song picturised on him and others in the election compaign for the student association post - Ab Chaahe Kisi Se Pyar Karo, Inko Vote Do - is very much entertaining to listen to and to watch as well. The scene picturised on Ashok Kumar and Dev Mukherjee when Dev Mukherjee spends a night in Ashok Kumar's house after a violent encounter with the college bully, leading to his arrest and release on the security of Ashok Kumar, is in my opinion, one of the best Bollywood scenes related to teacher-student interaction. That scene left an indelible impression upon my heart and I consider that as the essence of this movie. One more scene which is very impressive and touching is the scene of Ashok Kumar's staging a scene showing him in proximity of Helen, to repel his pious wife Nirupa Roy from him because now their paths take opposite directions.

The movie mainly belongs to Ashok Kumar and he, right from as the idealist education-man in the first half to a harsh criminal in the second half, has delivered excellently; carrying the whole movie on his shoulders. Another protagonist in the movie is Dev Mukherjee, a confused youth, who does not understand which path he should adopt in his life until Ashok Kumar scolds him for his confusion and shows him the way. In the first half, he is charming and lovable, enjoying in the college and romancing with the pretty heroine, Alka. In the second half, he has not got much footage but the climax gives him a chance to showcase his talent and mettle which he exploits to the optimum.

The character of Pran as Ashok Kumar's jolly-nature buddy who is never hesitant to do the wrong things for money, has been very well developed. They are very close friends despite the fact that Ashok Kumar is highly righteous and honest as against the 'do it for money' type Pran and their chemistry is hilarious with Pran making a different mark with his mannerisms. The character of Helen as Pran's wife is also very well crafted. It was a big surprise for the audience to see Helen clad in a saari in that time of the sixties. She is shown as completely dedicated to her husband, supporting him in every hour and every activity of life. The role of Nirupa Roy as the kind-hearted doctor who sticks to the right path even after her husband's wrong arrest and consequential disenchantment with virtues, is also well-designed. All these three have done exceedingly well. Alka, who is in romantic lead with Dev Mukherjee has nothing much to do.

The music of the movie composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal is good. It contains only four songs out of which I have already praised - Ab Chaahe Kisi Se Pyar Karo, Inko Vote do. Jaane Kaisa Hai Mera Deewana is a great romantic song and my all time favourite.

The significance of this movie can be understood through two points : 1. The confusion of the youth as to which path to choose in their lives when the heart supports the ideals but the brains draws attention to the corruption rampant in the society and the plight of the honest, 2. The re-emergence of ideals in an originally idealistic person who has digressed from his path due to bad experiences. I believe that a good man always remains a good man from within. The harsh reality of life and the bad odour of the wrong path cannot suppress the fragrance of his goodness and virtues for ever. A day always comes when the ray of goodness flashes out in the open from the thick darkness of the evil which had taken over him.

Movie like this is can not bound In commercial or parallel cinema.

It has all elements of commercial, parallel, family , entertainment, emotions and drama. This is the only movie of Deb Mukherjee I have ever seen as hero. His performance was brilliant. His voice is also good.

This is one powerful movie with a story that make you think about the values,morals,principles and the human psyche.Such stories are rare.I have seen the original play in Marathi.Though the original play and the acting of Mr.Panshikar etc was even adored and admired by Late AshokKumar,I liked this movie. Though Ashokkumar doesn't look like a criminal after being transformed to one in a later half ,his acting is still excellent.The original actor in the play Mr.Prabhakar Panshikar could look like a real criminal in the other half.Deb Mukharjee is great despite of his first movie as a major actor.Pran is a soul of the movie.Songs are great and music of LP is up to their reputation.I strongly suggest to watch this movie.This is one movie that should have been gone for the best foreign film to win the Oscars in those days.

Aansoo Ban Gaye Phool has a very good story, and Satyen Bose makes it into a very engaging movie. The movie is not without its flaws, but it is an overall enjoyable and well-made picture. The film's first half is far more interesting and convincing because it deals with different social and cultural values and presents a rather inspiring portrayal of youth. The second half is more of a mini-thriller and the characters are turned upside down to create a story of revenge.

Ashok Kumar stars as Vidyanand, a respected college principal who has a very special bond with one of his students, Chandu, who considers him a role model. A few years later Vidyanand is convicted and prisoned for no fault of his own, and once he released, he is totally determined to take revenge on all those who destroyed his reputation. What he does not know is that his old student Chandu is now an honest and strong-willed policeman.

The film's concept is based on an ironic paradox which has often been used as a conflict in Hindi movies, and it's handled well in this movie. The second half suffers from some dramatisation of the story. I for one was not particularly convinced by Vidyanand's sudden transformation. It's hard to believe a man of such high moral values and principles, who has taught his students to fight for justice and not war, would now be so decisive about taking revenge. The fact that he did not want to keep contact with his wife was also quite strange.

Ashok Kumar as Vidyanand is excellent at first, gets a bit let down by the script in later portions, but ultimately recovers and leaves a mark. Pran is hilarious and wonderful as his loyal friend Shambhu Mahadev Rao. Nirupa Roy, who was at her late thirties at the time, already started playing women much ahead of her years, and sadly so. She is cast as Vidyanand's supportive wife Sumitra. Deb Mukherjee is okay as Chandu, and Helen is smashing hot as Neelam.

Despite the aforementioned flaws, the film does get better later on, some of the suspense sequences work, and the ending is totally great (you just have to see it). The film's music is quite good, and one song that I found outstanding is "Mehrban Mehboob Dilbar", brilliantly performed by Asha Bhosle. Aansoo Ban Gaye Phool is not a perfect film but it is enjoyable and entertaining, and it successfully conveys its message, showing the two faces of justice. I like it, I recommend.