There are movies, after which there’s Deewaar — the blueprint of Bollywood’s brooding antihero. Half a century later, Yash Chopra’s 1975 traditional is a cultural touchstone that refuses to fade — a wall that divided Bollywood into earlier than and after. However past its legendary traces and Massive B’s smoldering depth, Deewaar harbours a trove of little-known artistic detours, and behind-the-scenes tales that formed its legacy.
The position that just about wasn’t
A nonetheless from ‘Deewar’
It’s now the stuff of trade folklore that Deewaar’s Vijay Verma, the embittered smuggler with a bruised coronary heart and a tattooed disgrace, was first supplied to a distinct actor. Not Rajesh Khanna, as one may assume, (although he was thought of) however Shatrughan Sinha. Then a rising star with a aptitude for dialogue-baazi, Sinha turned the position down, earlier than it fell to Bachchan, whose profession was on the verge of slipping into obscurity after a string of flops. Deewaar saved his profession and created the ‘Indignant Younger Man’ determine that will dominate Bollywood for years.
The various Vijays of Amitabh
A nonetheless from ‘Deewar’
If there was ever a reputation synonymous with Massive B, it wasn’t simply his Indignant Younger Man moniker — it was Vijay. Deewaar marked one of many earliest situations of Bachchan taking part in a personality named Vijay, a reputation he would go on to embody in over 20 movies, together with Zanjeer (1973), Trishul (1978), Kaala Patthar (1979), and Agneepath (1990). The title turned an identification, a logo of the brooding, rebellious outsider who challenged destiny and fought towards an unjust world. Whether or not by superstition or sheer artistic intuition, Bollywood’s screenwriters appeared to imagine that if Bachchan was Vijay, the movie was destined for greatness.
Roping in an error
A nonetheless from ‘Deewar’
Vijay’s rugged look — denim shirt knotted on the waist, khaki pants, and a thick rope slung over his shoulder — wasn’t the product of intelligent costume design; reasonably, the shirt, it seems, was too lengthy. A fast repair? Tie it up. The rope was merely mendacity round on set and was added on a whim and have become an adjunct so symbolic it felt deliberate. The outcome? A trend assertion that each street-smart robust man of the ’70s wished to duplicate.
The unscripted ink
A nonetheless from ‘Deewar’
The notorious phrases inked on Vijay’s forearm — ‘Mera Baap Chor Hai’ (My father is a thief) — weren’t initially a part of the screenplay. The concept got here throughout a brainstorming session, impressed by a real-life incident the place a labor chief’s little one was taunted with related phrases. It turned the movie’s visible shorthand for injustice, a mark of each destiny and fury that haunted Vijay for the remainder of his life.
The forgotten martial arts connection
A nonetheless from ‘Deewar’
Lengthy earlier than Bollywood found wire-fu and stylised motion, Deewaar flirted with Hong Kong cinema. The battle sequences, significantly the dockyard brawl, had been impressed by the gritty hand-to-hand fight of Bruce Lee movies, mixing kung fu with a desi pehelwani aesthetic. In some ways, Deewaar pioneered the uncooked, street-fighting motion that will develop into a Bollywood staple.
The 786 Badge
A nonetheless from ‘Deewar’
Vijay’s badge numbered 786, gifted by Rahim Chacha, served as a fortunate talisman. In Islamic numerology, 786 symbolizes Bismillah, invoking divine safety. And certainly, so long as Vijay had it, he remained unscathed. However the second he misplaced it? His downfall started. Name it destiny, name it foreshadowing.
The various lives of Deewaar
Rajinikanth in a nonetheless from ‘Thee’
A movie as highly effective as Deewaar was sure to echo past Bollywood. Rajinikanth swaggered into Amitabh Bachchan’s brooding footsteps in Thee (1981), molding Deewaar’s angst-ridden antihero right into a Tamilian pressure of nature. In the meantime, Telugu’s Magaadu (1976) and Malayalam’s Naduvazhikal (1989) recast the movie’s tensions via their very own cultural lenses. It was proof that Deewaar wasn’t merely a Hindi movie however a narrative that spoke to India at massive.
The movie that influenced the world
A nonetheless from Joh Woo’s ‘A Higher Tomorrow’
Danny Boyle known as Deewaar “completely key to Indian cinema,” and its fingerprints are seen throughout world popular culture. The movie impressed Hong Kong’s The Brothers, which in flip influenced John Woo’s A Higher Tomorrow, the progenitor of the heroic bloodshed style. Even Slumdog Millionaire borrows its fraternal battle from Deewaar, with Anil Kapoor as soon as remarking that the Oscar-winning movie was basically Deewaar set in Twenty first-century Mumbai.
Printed – February 14, 2025 11:51 am IST
