After the drug bust case of Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan and the unveiling of drug rackets in the industry after the death of Sushant Singh Rajput, the mainstream media is pouring a lot of attention on increasing incidents of alleged substance abuse these days. While the media have started talking about drugs a while ago, the Bollywood film fraternity has been talking about this youth destroyer since the start. From the straightforward message in Hare Rama Hare Krishna to a hidden warning behind the life story of Sanjay Dutt, the show biz industry has time and again talked about this abuse. Here is a look at the top 8 Bollywood movies that talked about the dark side of drugs.
1. Sanju: Helmed by Raju Hirani, Sanju is a take on the life of Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, who in his teen days fell into the trap of drugs and got addicted to it. From losing his love to drugs to making his father shame, the life story of Sanjay gives a message that how drugs not just affect your health but also ruin your life and family.
2. Dev D: The absolute cult classic of Abhay Deol, directed by Anurag Kashyap is the reprised version of Devdas. While Devdas just shedded light on alcohol, Dev D showed how a guy ruins his life after getting addicted to a smorgasbord of psychotropic substances.
3. Hare Rama Hare Krishna: A golden age classic featuring Dev Anand, Zeenat Aman, Mumtaz in lead, talks about the story of Prashant and Jasbir who gets separated due to the estranged wedding of their parents. The story shows, how Jasbir gets addicted to drugs while growing up and Prashant finds her and helps her get over it.
4. Udta Punjab: Starring Shahid Kapoor and Alia Bhatt in lead, Udta Punjab talks about how the drug is killing young people in Punjab. The movie clicked with the audience because of a couple of reasons and one of those was it steered clear of any attempts at being preachy, focusing instead on the harsh realities of substance abuse.
5. Fashion: Fashion is a Hindi language drama, directed and co-produced by Madhur Bhandarkar. The movie cast Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Kangana Ranaut as the lead characters. The plot of the film revolves around the dark underbelly of the fashion industry and the lives of supermodels who get caught in the world of drugs.
6. Charas: The story of Ramanand Sagar is the cinematic take on the story of Alistar Maclean’s novel The Puppet on a chain. It talks about a guy who to tried bust the illegal activities of a drug dealer who supplies drugs to a youngster but he gets trapped.
7. Dum Maaro Dum: Helmed by Rohan Sippy, 'Dum Maaro Dum' focuses on the substance abuse problem in Goa. There were several scenes in the film that showed drugs being consumed and the effect they had. The film stars Abhishek Bachchan, Bipasha Basu, Rana Daggubati, Prateik Babbar, and Aditya Pancholi. It was shot in Goa.
8. Gangs of Wasseypur: Anurag Kashyap's 'Gangs of Wasseypur' is based on the menace of the coal mafia of Dhanbad, power struggles, politics, and vengeance between three criminal families. Apart from this, the makers were successful in highlighting the issue of substance abuse.
