Deewaar - A Masterpiece of Indian Film Industry

‘Deewar’ completes 40 years

Directed by Yash Chopra
Produced by Gulshan Rai
Story, screenplay, dialogue: Salim Khan, Javed Akhtar; Lyrics: Sahir; Music: Rahul Dev Burman; Art direction: Desh Mukherjee; Cinematography: Kay Gee

Deewaar is a 1975 Indian crime-drama film directed by Yash Chopra, written by Salim-Javed, and starring Amitabh Bachchan and Shashi Kapoor. Reflective of "the tumultuous politics of the early 70s" in India, Deewaar tells the story of two impoverished brothers who, after their family is betrayed by the misplaced idealism of their father, struggle to survive on the streets of Mumbai.

Deewaar was a ground-breaking work. It was one of a few films which established Bachchan as the "angry young man" of Bollywood cinema and Parveen Babi as the "new Bollywood woman" whose character Anita is "a liberated working girl, smoking, drinking and sleeping with her lover, defying every Hindi film heroine rule." This movie cemented the success of the writing duo Salim-Javed, who went on to write many more blockbuster films, and made them one of the most memorable writers in Hindi cinema. It is said that after the success of this film, the value of film writers skyrocketed, thanks to Salim-Javed, and they soon were being paid as high as some of the actors at the time.

Deewaar received the Filmfare Best Movie Award of 1975 in addition to six other Filmfare Awards and was a "superhit" at the box office, ranking as the 4th highest grossing Bollywood film of 1975. Indiatimes ranks Deewaar amongst the Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films.

'Deewar' had Amitabh Bachchan play the role of  Bollywood's first  'Angry Young Man'

This well-crafted and memorable saga is today widely recognized as one of the key Bombay films of the 1970s. It recapitulates the basic frame story of MOTHER INDIA (1957), in which a mother recalls in a long flashback the chain of events that led her to destroy the favorite of her two sons because he had turned against the Law. Yet it also reorients this tale to make the sons and not the mother its central focus, and to arouse viewers’ sympathy, above all, for the wayward, rebel son—an approach that was also followed in GUNGA JAMUNA (1961), though that film’s rural setting is here traded for the great city of Bombay, to which the mother and sons, like countless other migrants, come in search of a better life. Like its distinguished predecessors in exploring the divided-sons theme, DEEWAR aptly illustrates how the commercial cinema can use image, character, and emotion to subvert and question its own surface messages. Released in the same year in which Indira Gandhi declared a state of national Emergency and suspended basic constitutional rights (in part because of the kind of labor unrest depicted in the first part of the flashback), it shared top box office honors with SHOLAY and JAI SANTOSHI MAA, and is now regarded as one of the crucial films in establishing Amitabh Bachchan’s archetypal persona as an angry young (usually proletarian) hero who would dominate Indian cinema for the next decade. With its stylish editing and minimal songs, the film holds up remarkably well even today.

The Most Memorable Scene (“mere paas maa hai” (I have our mum))

The pivotal and most memorable scene in the film is the powerful confrontational scene between Ravi and Vijay during the second half of the film. They both meet under the same bridge in Bombay where they spent their childhood years living under whilst in poverty. Vijay stresses to Ravi that he has made many gangster enemies as a result of him putting an end to their crimes. He advises Ravi to transfer to another city where he will remain safe and afar from them. But Ravi strongly asserts that his principles do not permit him to leave and will continue doing what he deems to be ethical. Vijay angrily reacts to this by asserting that his righteous principles have done nothing for him whatsoever. All it has done is created enemies for him and provided him with a measly job and salary. Vijay highlights to Ravi how although his actions may have been deceitful, it has given him everything one could possibly desire: luxury cars, properties and immense wealth. Asking him what does he have, Ravi replies with the following iconic line: 
Aaj mere paas bangla hai, gaadi hai, bank balance hai, kya hai tumhare paas? Mere paas… Maa hai…
Their mother left in a previous scene to stay with Ravi after having discovered Vijay’s illegitimate actions.

What’s So Special?

It is perhaps one of the most remarkable scenes to have been produced in the history of Hindi cinema! Chopra no doubt deserves all the credit which he received for this film. The intensity displayed between Kapoor and Bachchan is difficult to erase from one’s mind. Moreover, their conflicting identities are brilliantly presented in this particular scene. Just watching this scene alone will give you a clear indication of what the film is generally about. The “mere paas maa hai”dialogue has now attained historical status in India and has often been cited by film stars and film buffs over the years. It is also a line which contains a great deal of substance. It aims to exemplify to the audience that no amount of material objects or money can act as a substitute for a mother. A mother is one of the most precious figures in a person’s life and being as close to them as possible can make you feel rich in a symbolic sense. Despite his material and financial success, Bachchan’s character was deprived from his mother. Such loneliness can make you feel poor, even if you are living a life of luxury. Hence, this crucial scene in Deewaar is one which exhibits humanism to a great extent and one which viewers will certainly find astounding to watch!

Accolades

Awards

Deewaar swept most of the major categories at the 1976 Filmfare Awards.

Won:Best Film (Gulshan Rai)

Won:Best Director (Yash Chopra)

Won:Best Supporting Actor (Shashi Kapoor)

Won:Best Story (Salim-Javed)

Won:Best Dialogue (Salim-Javed)

Won:Best Screenplay (Salim-Javed)

Won:Best Sound (M. A. Shaikh)

Nominated: Best Actor (Amitabh Bachchan)

Nominated: Best Supporting Actress (Nirupa Roy)

Rankings

Deewaar Ranked amongst the Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films. It was one of the three Hindi films in the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die list (the others being Mother India from 1957 and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge from 1995).

Notes:-

1.      "Deewar: the fiction of film and the fact of politics". Ejumpcut.org. Retrieved 22 June 2011.

2.      "Film legend promotes Bollywood". BBC News. 23 April 2002. Retrieved 22 June 2011.

3.      Bombay Cinema. Books.google.com. 23 April 2007. Retrieved 22 June 2011.

4.      Amitabh Bachchan and Parveen Babi in Deewar (23 January 2005). "As in life, so in death: lonely and lovelorn". Telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 22 June 2011.

5.      "'We'll never know her full story'". Inhome.rediff.com. 24 January 2005. Retrieved 22 June 2011.

6.      "'Cool' Babi broke Deewar of stereotypes". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 22 January 2005. Retrieved22 June 2011.

7.      "BoxOffice India.com". BoxOffice India.com. Retrieved 22 June 2011.

8.     ^b "25 Must See Bollywood Movies – Special Features-Indiatimes – Movies". Movies.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 22 June 2011.

9.      "When Kishore sang non-stop for Filmfare". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 28 February 2009. Retrieved22 June 2011.

10.    "1st Filmfare Awards 1953". Deep750.googlepages.com. Retrieved 22 June 2011.

11.    "1001 Series". Retrieved 22 November 2010.

12.    "Indian cinema@100: 12 fun facts about Deewar - NDTV". Movies.ndtv.com. 2013-05-02. Retrieved2014-08-05.

13.    http://movies.ndtv.com/bollywood/amitabh-bachchan-s-iconic-look-in-deewar-resulted-from-tailoring-error-552297?ndtv_rhs

14.    Amitava Kumar (23 December 2008). "Slumdog Millionaire's Bollywood Ancestors". Vanity Fair. Retrieved4 January 2008.

15.    Runna Ashish Bhutda, Ashwini Deshmukh, Kunal M Shah, Vickey Lalwani, Parag Maniar, Subhash K Jha (13 January 2009). "The Slumdog Millionaire File". Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 30 January 2009.