‘Deewaar’,
the Yash Chopra film made in 1975, is a classic tale about two brothers, who
get caught on either side of the law.
The
principal characters of the film, labour union leader Anand Verma (Satyendra
Kapoor), his wife Sumitra Devi (Nirupa Roy), elder son Vijay Verma
(Amitabh Bachchan), younger son Ravi Verma (Shashi Kapoor) and Vijay’s love
interest Anita (Parveen Babi), are essentially victims of circumstances.
Anand
Verma is an upright labourer who stands up for his colleagues. However,
circumstances force him to go against his principles, and wrong the people that
he once stood for. The consequences of Anand’s actions are faced by his family.
Troubled
by the constant taunts and humiliation from Anand’s (who eventually runs away)
nemeses, wife Sumitra Devi is forced to move from their hometown to Bombay
city. Here too, she finds it difficult to earn enough to bring her two children
up. So much so, that Sumitra and Vijay have to go on about their menial jobs,
just so that they can earn enough to send Ravi to school.
Vijay,
who goes through the turbulent experience of having ‘mera baap chor hai’ (My
father is a thief) inked on his forearm, gets deeply disturbed by all that
happened to his family, and starts holding their poverty responsible for their
family’s condition. He even refuses to go to the temple, as he has lost all
faith in God!
The
two sons grow up and while Ravi ends up becoming a police inspector, Vijay,
owing to fate, gets on the wrong side of the law. ‘Deewaar’ is about how the
drama unfolds between the two siblings!
The
film captures several realities that we associate with the 1970s – the real
estate boom, labour strikes, clout of the underworld, victimization of the poor
etc. However, the basic essence of the film is about how there is no clear
‘wrong’ or ‘right’ on show. We may think of Vijay Verma as the villain of the
story, but the crux lies in what forced him to do what he did!
The
dialogues and the one-liners in the film are the scene-stealers. Who can forget
the iconic ‘mere paas maa hai’ dialogue? The confrontation scenes between the
Verma brothers are ‘power-packed’, not just for Salim-Javed’s writing but also
owing to Bachchan and Kapoor’s performances.
Amitabh
Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor and Nirupa Roy are terrific in their respective roles.
Neetu Singh does a good job in her limited part. Parveen Babi, who plays
Amitabh’s love interest, is shown as a liberated Indian woman who smokes,
drinks, gets into relationships and is modern-in-thought and spirit.
Watch
out for A.K. Hangal’s cameo in the film. The minor sequence, involving him,
leaves a huge impact on the viewer’s mind.
The
songs of the film are good, but certainly not extraordinary. ‘Keh Doon
Tumhein’, sung by Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhosle, is a nice, peppy track and the
pick of the lot! The plot may seem a bit bizarre at some portions, but
considering that the film was made in 1975 and has been a reference point for
so many screenplays written since then, ‘Deewaar’ should be watched!
‘Deewaar’
is not Yash Chopra’s best film. However, there are a couple of elements in it
which should not be missed – performances and dialogues!
Shivom Oza
I felt you misinterpreted one key aspect of the movie. Vijay is an intensely religious person.
ReplyDeleteHe does not lose faith in God - he has in fact a very personal equation with God. He has a score to settle and holds God responsible to inaction in face of injustice.
If you view the film from this perspective, Vijay's role makes a lot more sense.