Deewaar (other)

''Deewaar'' ( ''Wall'') is a 1975 Indian Hindi-language action crime film written by Salim–Javed and directed by Yash Chopra. The film stars an ensemble cast of Shashi Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Neetu Singh, Nirupa Roy, Parveen Babi, Iftekhar, Madan Puri, Satyen Kappu and Manmohan Krishna. The music was composed by R. D. Burman. The film tells the story of a pair of impoverished brothers who struggle to survive in the slums of Mumbai, and eventually find themselves on opposing sides of the law. The title signifies the wall that springs up between the two brothers, drawn apart by fate and circumstances in a time of socio-political turmoil.Virdi, Jyotika.
Deewaar: the fiction of film and the fact of politics.
" ''Jump Cut'', No. 38, June 1993:26–32.

''Deewaar'' was released worldwide on 24 January 1975 to critical acclaim and praise for its story, script, music cast performances (especially Bachchan, Kapoor and Roy). The film was commercially successful and is considered a ground-breaking cinematic masterpiece, with ''India Times'' ranking ''Deewaar'' amongst the ''Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films.'' It is also one of three Hindi-language films to be included on the list of ''1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die''.

The film had a significant impact on Indian cinema, as well as the wider Indian society, with the film's anti-establishment themes and Bachchan's anti-hero vigilante character resonating with audiences. The movie cemented Bachchan's popular image as the 'Angry young man' of Bollywood cinema. ''Forbes'' included Bachchan's performance in the film on its list of "25 Greatest Acting Performances of Indian Cinema". The film also cemented the success of Salim-Javed, who went on to write more blockbuster films, and their value skyrocketed and they were being paid as well as the leading actors of the time. ''Deewaar''s influence also extends to world cinema, influencing films from Hong Kong and British cinema.

Plot

Anand Verma, a trade union leader working hard to better the lives of struggling labourers, lives with his wife Sumitra and their two sons Vijay and Ravi. Anand gets blackmailed by a corrupt businessman Badri Prasad, who threatens to kill his family if Anand does not stop his protest activities. Forced into compliance, Anand is almost beaten to death by angry labourers for his perceived betrayal. A humiliated Anand deserts his family and leaves town. The labourers persecute Anand's family and tattoo Vijay's left arm with "" (English: "My father is a thief"). A desperate Sumitra brings Vijay and Ravi to Mumbai, and resorts to low-wage manual labour to raise them. Their home is on the footpath under a huge bridge home to millions of homeless urban poor driven out by the state in its attempts at city development.

Growing up in the slums of Mumbai Vijay is forever reminded of his past humiliation by the tattoo. He refuses to enter the temple and vows to chart his own destiny. In the process of fighting for his rights, Vijay begins as a shoeshiner boy and growa up to become a dockyard labourer. Ravi is unwavering in his commitment to law and righteousness. When his attempts to find a job after obtaining a degree go in vain, DCP Narang, the father of his girlfriend Veera, sends him for police training.

When Vijay beats up several henchmen of crime lord Samant, Mulk Raj Daavar (Samant's rival) hires Vijay to steal back smuggled gold from Samant. When Vijay sells the information to Samant to help him hijack the gold, takes money from Samant and captures the gold back for Daavar, he is rewarded with a huge sum of money and purchases a palatial house.

Ravi earns the rank of Sub-Inspector and his first assignment is to arrest some hardcore criminals and smugglers of Mumbai. Ravi is shocked to find Vijay on the list and is faced with the hard choice of either apprehending his brother or quitting the police force. Initially reluctant, Ravi agrees to take up the case, when he mistakenly shoots at a poor boy stealing a loaf of bread, remorsefully visits the boy's family, and is forgiven by the boy's father who justifies the shooting since stealing anything is a crime. When Ravi discovers that wealth Vijay has acquired is based on crime, he leaves the palatial house for police quarters. Sumitra who disapproves of Vijay's activities as well, goes with him.

When Ravi arrests many gang members and theirs leaders a disgruntled Daavar causes a feud to develop between Vijay and Ravi. Vijay enters into an intimate relationship with Anita, whom he meets at a bar. Anand Verma's dead body is discovered inside a train, and Vijay performs his father's last rites. Anita reveals that she is pregnant but does not force Vijay to marry her. Not wishing anyone to tattoo on the arm of his own child that his father is a criminal, Vijay decides to abandon his life in the underworld so that he can marry Anita.

However, Samant and his henchmen thrash Anita, and she dies in Vijay's arms. An enraged Vijay retaliates by murdering them all. Ravi pleads with Vijay to surrender but he ends up shooting Vijay in the arm as he tries to escape. Vijay reaches the temple, where he reunites with his mother and pleads forgiveness. Just as Ravi arrives Vijay dies in the arms of his mother. The film ends with Narang and the Maharashtra police presenting an award to Ravi or his successful pursuit of justice.

Cast

* Shashi Kapoor as Sub-Inspector Ravi Verma
*** Raju Shrestha as young Ravi Verma
* Amitabh Bachchan as Vijay Verma
*** Alankar Joshi as young Vijay Verma
* Nirupa Roy as Sumitra Verma (mother of Vijay/Ravi)
* Neetu Singh as Veera Narang
* Parveen Babi as Anita
* Iftekhar as Mulk Raj Daavar
* Madan Puri as Samant
* Satyen Kappu as Anand Verma,(father of Vijay/Ravi)
* Manmohan Krishna as DCP Narang
* A. K. Hangal as teacher
* Kamal Kapoor
* Sudhir as Jaichand (Vijay and Daavar's associate)
* Jagdish Raj as Jaggi
* Yunus Parvez as Rahim Chacha
* D. K. Sapru as Mr. Agarwal (building owner)
* Aruna Irani as item number in "Koi Mar Jaye" song (Cameo)

Production

Story and screenplay

The film's screenplay, story and dialogues were written by Salim–Javed ( Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar). The main inspiration for the plot was the film '' Gunga Jumna'' (1961), starring Dilip Kumar, which had a similar premise of two brothers on opposing sides of the law, with the elder criminal brother as the main character. ''Deewaar'' is thus considered to be a spiritual successor to ''Gunga Jumna''. Salim-Javed credited ''Gunga Jumna'' as well as Mehboob Khan's '' Mother India'' (1957) as the main inspirations for ''Deewaar'', which they described as a "more urban, much more contemporary" take on their themes; while ''Mother India'' and ''Gunga Jumna'' took place in a rural context, Salim–Javed reinterpreted their themes in a contemporary urban context with ''Deewaar''.

Amitabh Bachchan's character, Vijay, was loosely inspired by the real-life Mumbai underworld gangster Haji Mastan. Vijay's story arc in the film parallels that of Mastan's life, such as the rise from a humble dockyard porter to a powerful smuggler, and Mastan's rivalry with smuggler Sukkur Narayan Bakhia is similar to Vijay's rivalry with Samant (Madan Puri).

Salim–Javed's screenplay had dynamic dialogues and incorporated a number of symbolic motifs. For example, the scene where the two brothers meet as adults takes place under a bridge, symbolizing a bridge forming between the brothers. Set in the Dharavi slums of Mumbai, the film's story of gangsters in Dharavi was a critique of socio-political inequality and injustice in Mumbai. The characterisations of the two brothers are sociologically contextualised to represent a form of urban conflict and drama, aimed at presenting a causal explanation for the sequence of events and Vijay's social alienation, with the narrative explaining his every action and decision, grounded in his memories and experiences.

The script generally has an atmosphere of secularism, while incorporating subtle religious motifs. The mother Sumitra (Nirupa Roy) and police brother Ravi (Shashi Kapoor) are religious Hindus, whereas the criminal brother Vijay (Bachchan) is generally not religious and "upset with God", yet he carries a badge numbered 786 which his Muslim co-worker, Rahim Chacha ( Yunus Parvez), points out to be a number of religious significance in Islam (representing '' Bismillah'') and has its own subplot. The 786 badge plays a powerful and symbolic role in several scenes, saving Vijay at key moments and signifying something ominous when he loses it.

Salim-Javed initially showed the script to Bachchan, who they had in mind for Vijay's role after having worked with him on '' Zanjeer'' (1973). At the time, Bachchan was working on another film with Yash Chopra, and told him about the script. After some initial scepticism, Chopra was eventually convinced to direct the film after Salim-Javed narrated the storyline to him.

Casting and filming

Bachchan's "angry young man" performance as Vijay in the film was inspired by Dilip Kumar's intense performance as Gunga in ''Gunga Jumna'', which Bachchan sharpened and reinterpreted in a contemporary urban context reflecting the changing socio-political climate of 1970s India.

Salim-Javed "felt only Bachchan could do justice to Vijay's role." According to Akhtar, they "saw his talent, which most makers didn't. He was exceptional, a genius actor who was in films that weren't good." At Salim-Javed's insistence, Bachchan was cast in the role. Director Yash Chopra's first choices for Vijay and Ravi's roles were Dev Anand and Rajesh Khanna respectively. After Anand rejected the script, casting plans changed and Khanna was to play Vijay and Navin Nischol was considered for Ravi. However, Salim-Javed had Amitabh Bachchan and Shatrughan Sinha in mind when they wrote the script; Sinha turned down the film when he heard Khanna was initially cast in the lead, due to a fallout between the two. Nirupa Roy's role as Sumitra Devi was also first offered to Vyjayanthimala; Nischol and Vyjayanthimala turned down the film after they found out Khanna would no longer be in the film. Shashi Kapoor was subsequently cast as Ravi, and Nirupa Roy as Sumitra Devi.

In 2014, Bachchan revealed that his iconic look in the film – a "denim blue shirt worn with khakee pants and a rope dangling over the shoulder" – was the result of a mistake by the tailor. He said, "The knotted shirt and rope on the shoulder in 'Deewaar''was an adjustment for an error in stitching, shirt too long so knotted it". In certain scenes, Bachchan had some input on Chopra's direction, such as the father's funeral scene where Bachchan, instead of lighting the pyre with his right hand, suggests to use his left hand to show off the tattoo, "Mera baap chor hai" ("My father is a thief"). The film was shot mostly at night because Bachchan was shooting for Ramesh Sippy's '' Sholay'' at that time.

The film contains a fight scene that involves Bachchan performing martial arts inspired by Hong Kong martial arts cinema, which ''Deewaar'' was one of the first to do in Indian cinema. Rather than following the Hollywood model, it follows the Hong Kong model, with an emphasis on acrobatics and stunts. The style of fighting seen in ''Deewaar'' combined kung fu (as it was perceived by Indians) with Indian martial arts (particularly Indian wrestling).

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of the movie was composed by R. D. Burman, and the lyrics were penned by Sahir Ludhianvi. The soundtrack received praise.

Release and reception

Release and sales

At the Indian box office, the film grossed

" target="_blank" class="mw-redirect" title="Box Office 1975">Box Office 1975
Box Office India. ( $9million). In Mumbai alone, the film grossed . In terms of footfalls, the film sold an estimated tickets at an average 1975 price of per ticket. Adjusted for inflation, this is equivalent to an estimated () at an average 2017 price of per ticket.

Numerous DVD editions, from companies such as Eros Entertainment, Shemaroo Entertainment and Eagle Home Video, entered the market. These were released as non-restored, non-remastered editions, void of supplementary features. Eagle Home Video came out with a restored edition of this movie, preserving the original aspect ratio in a 4:3 pillar box and a DTS Master Audio (HD) in 2.0. The restoration took place in Shemaroo studios.

Critical response and international impact

Upon release, ''Deewaar'' was a major commercial success, ranking as the fourth-highest-grossing Bollywood film of 1975, and received critical acclaim, with critics praising the story, dialogue and screenplay, as well as the performances of the cast, particularly those of Bachchan, Kapoor and Roy. ''Indiatimes'' ranks ''Deewaar'' amongst the ''Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films''. It is one of the three Hindi films featured in the 2017 edition of the book ''1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die'', the others being '' Mother India'' (1957) and ''Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge'' (1995).

It was perceived by audiences to be anti-establishment, while Amitabh Bachchan's character Vijay was seen as a vigilante angry hero, establishing Bachchan's image as the "angry young man" of Indian cinema. With the unprecedented growth of slums across India at the time, Vijay was seen as a new kind of hero, with his suppressed rage giving a voice to the angst of the urban poor. ''Deewaar'' is also remembered for its iconic dialogues written by Salim-Javed. The most famous is when Shashi Kapoor delivers the line, "Mere paas maa hai" ("I have mother"), a line that is widely known in India and has become part of Indian popular culture. The film ''Loins of Punjab Presents'' (2007) mocked how the line is sometimes wrongly attributed to Amitabh Bachchan. It also established Parveen Babi as the "new Bollywood woman".

The film cemented the success of the writing duo Salim-Javed, who went on to write many more blockbuster films. After the success of this film, the value of film writers skyrocketed thanks to Salim-Javed, and they soon were being paid as highly as some actors at the time. Amitabh Bachchan described Salim-Javed's screenplay for ''Deewaar'' as "the perfect script" and "the best screenplay ever" in Indian cinema. ''Deewaar'', one of the first Indian films with an action sequence modelled after Hong Kong martial arts cinema, popularised the use of martial arts sequences in Bollywood films from the 1970s to the 1990s. The style of fighting popularised by ''Deewaar'', with acrobatics and stunts, and combining Chinese kung fu (as it was perceived by Indians, based on 1970s Hong Kong films) with Indian pehlwani wrestling, became the standard model for Bollywood action scenes up until the 1990s.

The film was later remade in Telugu as '' Magaadu'' (1976), in Tamil as ''Thee'' (1981), in Malayalam as '' Nathi Muthal Nathi Vare'' (1983), in Persian as ''Koose-ye Jonoob'' (1978), and in Turkish as ''Acıların Çocuğu'' (1985). Another remake of ''Deewaar'' was the 1994 Bollywood film '' Aatish: Feel the Fire'', starring Sanjay Dutt as the older criminal brother, Atul Agnihotri as the younger police brother, and Tanuja as the mother. Hong Kong's Shaw Brothers studio remade ''Deewaar'' as '' The Brothers'' (1979), which in turn inspired John Woo's internationally acclaimed breakthrough '' A Better Tomorrow'' (1986). ''The Brothers'' also starred a Hong Kong actor that would later be known for heroic bloodshed films, Danny Lee (playing Shashi Kapoor's character), with a police officer persona later seen in Hong Kong crime films such as Woo's '' The Killer'' (1989).

''Deewaar'' had an influence on Hong Kong cinema and in turn Hollywood cinema, by playing a key role in the creation of the heroic bloodshed crime genre of 1980s Hong Kong action cinema. ''Deewaar'', along with several later 1970s "angry young man" epics it inspired, such as '' Amar Akbar Anthony'' (1977), had similarities to elements later seen in 1980s Hong Kong heroic bloodshed films.

British director Danny Boyle described ''Deewaar'' as being "absolutely key to Indian cinema" and cited the film as an influence on his Academy Award winning film '' Slumdog Millionaire'' (2008). The film's co-director Loveleen Tandan noted that "Simon Beaufoy studied Salim-Javed's kind of cinema minutely." Actor Anil Kapoor noted that some scenes of ''Slumdog Millionaire'' "are like ''Deewaar'', the story of two brothers of whom one is completely after money while the younger one is honest and not interested in money." ''Slumdog Millionaire'', which pays homage to Amitabh Bachchan, has a similar narrative structure to ''Deewaar''. Composer A. R. Rahman referenced the film in his Oscar acceptance speech.

Awards and nominations

''Deewaar'' received the Filmfare Best Movie Award of 1976, and also won six more Filmfare Awards for Best Screenplay, Best Dialogue, Best Director, Best Sound, Best Story, and Best Supporting Actor (Kapoor), and received two other nominations for Best Actor (Bachchan) and Best Supporting Actress (Roy).

Further reading

* Dwyer, Rachel.
Amitabh Bachchan: the Angry Young Man
. British Academy of Film and Television Arts, 16 November 2007.
* Lal, Vinay.
Deewaar (The Wall)
" Revised excerpt from ''The Secret Politics of Our Desires: Innocence, Culpability, and Indian Popular Cinema'', ed. Ashish Nandy. London: Zed Press / Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1998, pp. 228–259
* Mazumdar, Ranjani. ''Bombay Cinema: An Archive of the City''. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 2007.
* Virdi, Jyotika.

''Jump Cut'', No. 38, June 1993:26–32.

Notes

References

External links

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{{FilmfareAwardBestFilm 1971–1990

1970s action drama films
1970s crime action films
1970s Hindi-language films
1970s Indian films
1970s Urdu-language films
1975 crime drama films
1975 films
Fictional portrayals of the Maharashtra Police
Films about brothers
Films about organised crime in India
Films directed by Yash Chopra
Films scored by R. D. Burman
Films set in Mumbai
Films shot in Mumbai
Films with screenplays by Salim–Javed
Hindi films remade in other languages
Indian action drama films
Indian crime action films
Indian crime drama films
Trimurti Films
Urdu films remade in other languages
Urdu-language Indian films
Indian gangster films
Hindi-language films based on actual events