Aansoo Ban Gaye Phool (ABGP) is based on a Marathi play by writer Vasant Kanetkar and is presented by Ashok Kumar. His brother Anoop Kumar is the producer and direction by Satyen Bose. ABGP is a tale of principles, the right way and the wrong way. What happens if your life long principles crash in an instant? Where does this lead you?

The Plot

Principal Vidyanand (Ashok Kumar) is the “adarshwadi” college principal. He was appointed by the current trustee Seth Dharamdas’s father on account of his honest and non-corrupt nature. He has dedicated his life to the well being of the college. The vice principal Shyam Rao (Anoop Kumar) has been Vidyanand’s protégé and is like a family member. Vidyanand’s wife Sumitra (Nirupa Roy) is a doctor. And he has a not so shareef friend Shambhu (Pran) with a third wife Neelam (Helen).

Things are happy going. Vidyanand and Sumitra have lost their own son and treat the college children as their own. 

There is an extra smart student Chandrashekhar/Chandu (Deb Mukherjee) who keeps playing new pranks like coming to college on a donkey. He is a poor boy who aims to be educated as well as rich one day. His love interest is played by Krishna (Alka). The other professors are fed up of Chandu’s antics and complain to Vidyanand.

Vidyanand has a strong conversation with Chandu regarding his ongoing education and future plans. He admonishes him of his casual approach towards education and money. He has to be clear of his life’s ambition and how to pursue it. The dialogue between Vidyanand and Chandu is one of the more impactful scenes of the movie.

Later, Chandu is selected for police training and leaves the city. He is happy he has found new parents in the form of the kindly principal and his wife. And has assurance from Krishna she will wait for his return and they can get married. Which they do!

But things cant be calm for long. Seth Dharamdas (Raj Mehra) is the college trustee and main antagonist. He wants a free hand in the running of the college and invest in new buildings meaning more profit. But Vidyanand is not agreeable as the building contractor is Dharamdas’s close relative with a dubious reputation who was recently involved in a newly constructed building’s collapse.

One thing leads to the other. Dharamdas manages to corrupt the other professors including Shyam to do his bidding. Shyam gets Vidyanand to sign a blank cheque. The police arrest Vidyanand for the embezzlement of college funds worth Rs 1,35,000. Vidyanand assures Sumitra and Shambhu that Shyam will tell the truth in court and all will be sorted. But Shyam points to Vidyanand as the source of the crime leaving Vidyanand shattered. In a fit of rage and disbelief, he admits to the crime.

Vidyanand is jailed and after release has only one ambition – to destroy Seth Dharamdas. He joins hands with Shambhu and Neelam, open up a luxury hotel and engage in shady activities including gold smuggling. His various tips about Dharamdas’s smuggling operations help the police come closer to the villain. Things reach a point when he kidnap’s Dharamdas’s son Naveen and is ready to kill him in order to save himself. Shambhu is not agreeable to the scheme as murder was never supposed to be part of the revenge saga. He tells Vidyanand he should consider leaving the country.

This leads to an interesting climax at the airport involving Vidyanand and the newly appointed DSP Chandrashekhar, who happens to be his old student and has looked up to him for his infallible ideals and principles all these years.

The Music

Songs composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal. There are 5 songs which slow the progress of the story. The duet “Jaane kaisa hai mera diwana” is well known.

There are 2 songs picturized on Helen. One of them Meherbaan Mehboob dilbar janeman is the last song of the movie and is performed wonderfully by Ashok Kumar and Helen. It is placed at an important plot point in the story.

My Thoughts

The movie showcases the tale of morals and principles nicely. Ashok Kumar brings out the shock of betrayal with his exaggerated mannerisms. From the non-corruptible principal to seasoned smuggler, Ashok Kumar plays both roles impactfully. Vidyanand goes on his revenge spree and doesn’t know where to stop. Here he displays a different kind of anguish as he seems to have lost control and is even ready to justify murder. Thankfully he receives redemption at the end bringing him peace. He shines in the climax scene.

Deb Mukherjee, with his unconventional looks actually acts well in the movie. His initial irritating character to his transformation as a police officer is remarkable. Alka doesn’t have much to do.

Pran, Nirupa Roy, Helen are excellent. The villains are the weak link and appear as caricatures. There should have been a stronger character to take on Vidyanand which would have made it a more convincing watch.