rediff.com
News APP

NewsApp (Free)

Read news as it happens
Download NewsApp

Available on  gplay

Rediff.com  » Movies » Bollywood says yes to drugs!
This article was first published 12 years ago

Bollywood says yes to drugs!

Last updated on: April 19, 2011 18:56 IST

Image: Deepika Padukone in Dum Maaro Dum

When Bollywood wants to show sin, they turn to drugs.

With Rohan Sippy's Dum Maaro Dum out in theatres this Friday, here's a look at some truly memorable on-screen drug addicts.

Dum Maaro Dum

We haven't watched the film yet, but despite the inane lyrics, it's hard not to notice Deepika Padukone shaking her booty in the title track. She's at a rave, she's hopped on uppers of all sorts, and getting into quite the saucy groove. Not bad at all.

Hare Rama Hare Krishna

Image: Zeenat Aman in Hare Rama Hare Krishna

And then there's the original junkie icon from the classic song. Zeenat Aman, tripping on pot in a Nepalese love-in, looking every single technicolor shade of groovy.

She looked stunning, the scene was shot appropriately hazy, and the colours and chillums were quite perfect.

Dev D

Image: Abhay Deol in Dev D

In Anurag Kashyap's unforgettable take on Sarat Chandra's frequently adapted Devdas, Abhay Deol starts off looking like a heavy drinker who occasionally smokes some weed.

But as his depression increases, he spirals into the harshest kinds of substance abuse, drugging himself completely out of control.

Kaminey

Image: Chandan Roy Sanyal in Kaminey

In Vishal Bhardwaj's uproarious roller coaster actioner, Chandan Roy Sanyal played Michael, a Bengali gangster significantly in love with cocaine.

A hardcore addict thriving on the rush from the white powder, he was resultantly jumpier than Jack Flash and insanely, irresistibly reckless.

Khamosh

Image: Pankaj Kapoor in Khamosh

Vidhu Vinod Chopra's wonderful murder mystery had a stellar cast, most of whom were overshadowed by Pankaj Kapoor's disarmingly realistic junkie.

A depressed and completely unstable addict, his character was crippled by his dependence on heroin.

Saat Khoon Maaf

Image: John Abraham in Saat Khoon Maaf

Each of Susanna's husbands had fatal flaws in Bhardwaj's Saat Khoon Maaf, and John Abraham's Jimmy Stetson liked his drugs quite a bit.

Going from spliffs to cocaine to heroin, the rockstar tried to wean himself off but failed miserably.

Gulaal

Image: Jesse Randhawa in Gulaal

In this tale of red-faced revolution in Rajasthan, model Jesse Randhawa played a young teacher who gets ragged brutally by goons at her university, stripped naked and locked in a dark room with a stranger. She emerges from this trauma an apathetic junkie, looking to marijuana for comfort.

Jaanbaaz

Image: Sridevi in Jaanbaaz

Feroz Khan directed and starred in this steamy 1980s actioner, playing a cop married to Sridevi.

She gets forced into drug addiction and eventually dies as a result of it. Khan then vows to eliminate the drug menace, and wages war on the criminals responsible.

Charas

Image: Hema Malini in Charas

Borrowing liberally from Alistair Maclean's Puppet On A Chain, Ramanand Sagar's Charas features Ajit blackmailing Hema Malini and using her to smuggle drugs.

Lata Mangeshkar and Mahendra Kapoor sang the film's odd but amusing title track, Charas Charas.

Traffic Signal

Image: Ranvir Shorey in Traffic Signal

Madhur Bhandarkar's self-proclaimed 'hard-hitting' film about the streets of Mumbai cast Ranvir Shorey as Dominic, a hardened, helpless junkie.

Shorey delivers a brilliant, haunting performance and is without a doubt the best thing in an otherwise forgettable film.