Vaasna (1968)
After Deepak Chander celebrates his coming-of-age birthday in a bar, his mother, Lakshmi, warns him of the consequences of drinking alcohol. She narrates to him how his alcoholic Bombay-based father, Kailash, a wealthy businessman, lost everything after the cotton market crashed; their house was seized; and they had to re-locate to Hyderabad to live with their servant, Shyamu; while Kailash, himself, disappeared from their lives – and unbeknown to her – was on the run from the law. The question remains: will this knowledge keep Deepak from drinking, or will he continue in his father’s footsteps?
This film’s stern message is pretty much summed up in my “Effects of Alcohol” poster, although the poster is more efficient in delivering it. But the poster does not have Raaj Kumar and his gravelly voice, Padmini emoting as a put-upon wife and mother, a Comic Side Plot (Laxmi Chhaya being romanced by Rajendranath), lovely songs by Chitragupta with lyrics by Sahir Ludhianvi, Memsaab’s favorite victim Biswajeet, or—most importantly—a Helen dance.
In short: if you have a few hours to spend being bashed over the head with examples of the ruination alcohol will bring to you and your melodramatic loved ones, the film offers some worthy extras.
