(I thank my friend, Sriram Krishnamoorthy, for giving me the germ of the idea for this blog post, in a conversation we had.)
Deewar, the Hindi word for wall brings to my mind two public performers who have given me lots of happiness. One is Rahul Dravid, the noted Indian cricket player who was known as The Wall. Understated to the core as he was, it took fans and critics the end of his illustrious career to understand the depth of his impact on Indian cricket. This blog is not about him though but the other public performer, a film star.
Amitabh Bachhan, the other person who has given me much joy too can be called a Colossus of India's film world. Among his many memorable screen personae was his role as Vijay Verma, the intense brooding gang boss of the 1975 film Deewar. This was the phase he was reinventing himself as an 'angry young man' and carving a big niche for himself. Deewar was released forty five years ago, in 1975 and to me, in this genre of films, has many clones but hardly any equals. Apart from the skill in Yash Chopra's craft as the director and Bachhan's towering performance, the real heroes of the film were its tight screenplay and powerful dialogues - both written by the duo of Salim-Javed. After the success of Deewar, Salim - Javed were virtually the first writers who could command a fat price for their services.
Deewar is the story of how Vijay Verma gets transformed from an innocent child into one of the most notorious gang bosses of Mumbai. Bachhan's smouldering presence almost sets the screen on fire, especially when he renders the fiery dialogue conceived by Salim - Javed. A few pieces of punchy dialogue at crucial junctures of the film not only stay in memory but also act as milestone markers in the main protagonist's hurtle towards a pinnacle before falling as drastically to his doom.
Let me take you along these markers.
1. Mera baap chor hai (my father is a thief)
The film starts with showing the idyllic life of Anand Verma, a trade union leader, his wife and two small boys. Sure enough the peace is shattered. The crooked seth, a Hindi film trope kidnaps Verma's family before a crucial union negotiation and Verma is forced to concede all the gains he has made earlier. Unable to face the wrath of his constituents who feel let down, he just slinks away from home in the dead of night. It is now the turn of his wife and the two boys to bear the brunt of Verma's forced comedown. The climax to this happens when a bunch of drunk workers seize the older boy, Vijay and get 'Mera Baap Chor hai' tattooed on to his forearm. This sears the young child's mind and is the first step to make him a non-conformist and a fighter. This event also forces the family to move to the relative anonymity of bustling Mumbai and eke out their living there.
2. Ye lamba race ka ghoda hai (this is a horse for the long race)
Vijay Verma who is the child with the tattoo on his forearm helps his mother, a construction worker to run the household by shining shoes. Since his younger brother is good at studies, Vijay sacrifices his education to meet the bills. Two goons who go to the races, always get their shoes polished at a stand where Vijay plies his trade. One day one of them throws the coin in payment at the little boy. He asks his customer to respect him and give the money in his hand, saying he doesn't pick up money thrown at him. While the goon demurs and is about to beat the boy, his boss tells him to give the money in the child's hand and tells the assistant in an aside that this boy has staying power - he will go far. You can expect that there will be a link to this 'significant' dialogue when Vijay Verma grows up .. and there sure is!
3. Taala me kholunga, Peter (I'll open the lock, Peter):
By now, Vijay has grown up and has become a dockyard worker. On pay day, a group of goons corner all workers and force them to pay a substantial part of their wages as 'hafta' or protection money. One new boy who protests and refuses is brutally killed to silence any recalcitrant labourers. Something snaps in Vijay's mind and he decides to take the goons on, despite the entreaties of the workers' overseer. Knowing that the goons are looking for him, Vijay waits for them in a warehouse and when they rush to lock the door to stop him from going out, he in turn locks it before them, takes the key, puts it in the pocket of Peter, the head of this small group of rowdies and tells him that the door will be opened only by him after taking the key from Peter, meaning after he beats the goons up. In true filmi style, an unarmed Vijay single-handedly beats up seven or eight tough, armed goons, takes the key out of Peter's pocket and comes out to the applause of the suppressed workers. This gets him the attention of a master goon, Dawar, who surprise surprise is the person who predicted earlier that Vijay is one for the long race. Peter's boss is Samant, who is Dawar's biggest rival in crime. Dawar now takes Vijay into his gang and sure enough, the first payment is thrown across a table. As expected, Vijay reminds him of his visits to the races and asks Dawar to give the money respectfully.
4.Mere paas ma hai ( I have our mother with me)
Vijay joins Dawar's gang and has many skirmishes with Samant. He invariably wins, because of his street smartness and some luck. He becomes very rich and moves the family to a much bigger house. In the meantime, the younger brother, Ravi, completes his studies and joins the Police. The first case file handed to him is that of apprehending a big gang of smugglers. When he goes through the file, he is shocked to see Vijay's photo staring at him. He and his mother move out to their old house and this shakes Vijay. Both the brothers meet near a deserted bridge in one of the memorable scenes from the film. During the confrontation, Vijay tells Ravi that he has all the comforts money can buy which the police uniform cannot even attain in its dreams. Ravi retorts that he has their mother with him, an iconic punch line of the film. He then entreats Vijay to surrender to the police. The title refers to the Deewar or wall between the brothers.
5. I am falling in love with a stranger
These are the opening words of a song played softly in the background in a high-end bar when Cupid strikes Vijay. (Ravi is already attached to his class mate, the Police Commissioner's daughter). Vijay meets Anita at the bar, they decide to get married and he seriously contemplates turning himself in to the law. While looking for Vijay, Samant and his men barge into his house when he is not there and kill the hapless Anita. In rage, Vijay chases Samant to his lair and literally throws him out of the window. This intensifies the gang war and the police also enter the fray
6. A long conversation with God at a temple
One day, Vijay finds himself being chased by the police. While trying to escape, his talisman falls out of his pocket and his brother's bullet grazes him. He manages to get to his car and during the chase, gets seriously injured when the car hits a wall. By coincidence, it is the wall of the temple where he would take his mother daily but not go inside. He realises he is dying and has a conversation with the deity talking about all the injustice done to him and trying to justify what he did. His mother reaches the temple during this diatribe and he just about manages to fall in her lap and die.
Hopefully these milestone dialogues help you to remember the film if you have already seen and if you haven't seen it, give you a framework to follow the movie.
In postscript, that year, Deewar swept the Filmfare awards, winning in six categories of the nine for it which it received nominations. The irony here was Bachhan as Vijay Verma did not win - he was pipped at the post by an equally consummate actor, Sanjeev Kumar for the latter's role in Aandhi. To add to the irony. Shashi Kapoor got the award for Best Supporting Actor at the Filmfares.
Forty five years later, when I look back at Deewar, I see many of the cliches and standard tropes of Hindi films, especially of those from that era. What made the film memorable was Yash Chopra's craft, the taut story and screenplay and punchy dialogue with the pair of Salim - Javed being responsible for all the three. Amitabh Bachhan's delivery of the dialogue and his portrayal of the angst of the little hurt boy transforming into rage at society is what remains in the mind of the viewer, especially this one.
--
Deewar, the Hindi word for wall brings to my mind two public performers who have given me lots of happiness. One is Rahul Dravid, the noted Indian cricket player who was known as The Wall. Understated to the core as he was, it took fans and critics the end of his illustrious career to understand the depth of his impact on Indian cricket. This blog is not about him though but the other public performer, a film star.
Amitabh Bachhan, the other person who has given me much joy too can be called a Colossus of India's film world. Among his many memorable screen personae was his role as Vijay Verma, the intense brooding gang boss of the 1975 film Deewar. This was the phase he was reinventing himself as an 'angry young man' and carving a big niche for himself. Deewar was released forty five years ago, in 1975 and to me, in this genre of films, has many clones but hardly any equals. Apart from the skill in Yash Chopra's craft as the director and Bachhan's towering performance, the real heroes of the film were its tight screenplay and powerful dialogues - both written by the duo of Salim-Javed. After the success of Deewar, Salim - Javed were virtually the first writers who could command a fat price for their services.
Deewar is the story of how Vijay Verma gets transformed from an innocent child into one of the most notorious gang bosses of Mumbai. Bachhan's smouldering presence almost sets the screen on fire, especially when he renders the fiery dialogue conceived by Salim - Javed. A few pieces of punchy dialogue at crucial junctures of the film not only stay in memory but also act as milestone markers in the main protagonist's hurtle towards a pinnacle before falling as drastically to his doom.
Let me take you along these markers.
1. Mera baap chor hai (my father is a thief)
The film starts with showing the idyllic life of Anand Verma, a trade union leader, his wife and two small boys. Sure enough the peace is shattered. The crooked seth, a Hindi film trope kidnaps Verma's family before a crucial union negotiation and Verma is forced to concede all the gains he has made earlier. Unable to face the wrath of his constituents who feel let down, he just slinks away from home in the dead of night. It is now the turn of his wife and the two boys to bear the brunt of Verma's forced comedown. The climax to this happens when a bunch of drunk workers seize the older boy, Vijay and get 'Mera Baap Chor hai' tattooed on to his forearm. This sears the young child's mind and is the first step to make him a non-conformist and a fighter. This event also forces the family to move to the relative anonymity of bustling Mumbai and eke out their living there.
2. Ye lamba race ka ghoda hai (this is a horse for the long race)
Vijay Verma who is the child with the tattoo on his forearm helps his mother, a construction worker to run the household by shining shoes. Since his younger brother is good at studies, Vijay sacrifices his education to meet the bills. Two goons who go to the races, always get their shoes polished at a stand where Vijay plies his trade. One day one of them throws the coin in payment at the little boy. He asks his customer to respect him and give the money in his hand, saying he doesn't pick up money thrown at him. While the goon demurs and is about to beat the boy, his boss tells him to give the money in the child's hand and tells the assistant in an aside that this boy has staying power - he will go far. You can expect that there will be a link to this 'significant' dialogue when Vijay Verma grows up .. and there sure is!
3. Taala me kholunga, Peter (I'll open the lock, Peter):
By now, Vijay has grown up and has become a dockyard worker. On pay day, a group of goons corner all workers and force them to pay a substantial part of their wages as 'hafta' or protection money. One new boy who protests and refuses is brutally killed to silence any recalcitrant labourers. Something snaps in Vijay's mind and he decides to take the goons on, despite the entreaties of the workers' overseer. Knowing that the goons are looking for him, Vijay waits for them in a warehouse and when they rush to lock the door to stop him from going out, he in turn locks it before them, takes the key, puts it in the pocket of Peter, the head of this small group of rowdies and tells him that the door will be opened only by him after taking the key from Peter, meaning after he beats the goons up. In true filmi style, an unarmed Vijay single-handedly beats up seven or eight tough, armed goons, takes the key out of Peter's pocket and comes out to the applause of the suppressed workers. This gets him the attention of a master goon, Dawar, who surprise surprise is the person who predicted earlier that Vijay is one for the long race. Peter's boss is Samant, who is Dawar's biggest rival in crime. Dawar now takes Vijay into his gang and sure enough, the first payment is thrown across a table. As expected, Vijay reminds him of his visits to the races and asks Dawar to give the money respectfully.
4.Mere paas ma hai ( I have our mother with me)
Vijay joins Dawar's gang and has many skirmishes with Samant. He invariably wins, because of his street smartness and some luck. He becomes very rich and moves the family to a much bigger house. In the meantime, the younger brother, Ravi, completes his studies and joins the Police. The first case file handed to him is that of apprehending a big gang of smugglers. When he goes through the file, he is shocked to see Vijay's photo staring at him. He and his mother move out to their old house and this shakes Vijay. Both the brothers meet near a deserted bridge in one of the memorable scenes from the film. During the confrontation, Vijay tells Ravi that he has all the comforts money can buy which the police uniform cannot even attain in its dreams. Ravi retorts that he has their mother with him, an iconic punch line of the film. He then entreats Vijay to surrender to the police. The title refers to the Deewar or wall between the brothers.
5. I am falling in love with a stranger
These are the opening words of a song played softly in the background in a high-end bar when Cupid strikes Vijay. (Ravi is already attached to his class mate, the Police Commissioner's daughter). Vijay meets Anita at the bar, they decide to get married and he seriously contemplates turning himself in to the law. While looking for Vijay, Samant and his men barge into his house when he is not there and kill the hapless Anita. In rage, Vijay chases Samant to his lair and literally throws him out of the window. This intensifies the gang war and the police also enter the fray
6. A long conversation with God at a temple
One day, Vijay finds himself being chased by the police. While trying to escape, his talisman falls out of his pocket and his brother's bullet grazes him. He manages to get to his car and during the chase, gets seriously injured when the car hits a wall. By coincidence, it is the wall of the temple where he would take his mother daily but not go inside. He realises he is dying and has a conversation with the deity talking about all the injustice done to him and trying to justify what he did. His mother reaches the temple during this diatribe and he just about manages to fall in her lap and die.
Hopefully these milestone dialogues help you to remember the film if you have already seen and if you haven't seen it, give you a framework to follow the movie.
In postscript, that year, Deewar swept the Filmfare awards, winning in six categories of the nine for it which it received nominations. The irony here was Bachhan as Vijay Verma did not win - he was pipped at the post by an equally consummate actor, Sanjeev Kumar for the latter's role in Aandhi. To add to the irony. Shashi Kapoor got the award for Best Supporting Actor at the Filmfares.
Forty five years later, when I look back at Deewar, I see many of the cliches and standard tropes of Hindi films, especially of those from that era. What made the film memorable was Yash Chopra's craft, the taut story and screenplay and punchy dialogue with the pair of Salim - Javed being responsible for all the three. Amitabh Bachhan's delivery of the dialogue and his portrayal of the angst of the little hurt boy transforming into rage at society is what remains in the mind of the viewer, especially this one.
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