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“Time passes so quietly and quickly,” writer Javed Akhtar reflected on X (formerly Twitter) as he celebrated 50 years of his iconic film Deewaar. The Amitabh Bachchan-starrer, written by the legendary duo Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, stands as a landmark in Indian cinema. Both Salim and Javed entered the film industry as outsiders, bringing with them the raw angst and struggles of the middle class, which they infused into their characters in films like Zanjeer and Deewaar. For these stories, they mindfully chose Amitabh Bachchan as their leading man to channel this societal discontent to audiences. However, casting Bachchan was no easy task, as producers initially preferred the reigning superstar Rajesh Khanna for the role.
“The 1970s was the period when you needed somebody to create heroes who would get things done, clean up the system,” said late filmmaker Shyam Benegal in Angry Young Men, a documentary chronicling the professional partnership of Salim-Javed. In Amitabh Bachchan, Salim-Javed found the perfect hero for their vision. “Whether it is Vijay from Trishul, Deewaar, Zanjeer, or Shakti, these characters were called Angry Young Men. But where did this anger come from? Maybe this anger and hurt were within us,” Javed Akhtar shared in the same documentary.
At the time of Deewaar, Amitabh Bachchan’s career was in a precarious state, with several flops to his name. Yet, Salim-Javed saw his potential and cast him as Vijay in their 1973 hit Zanjeer. Two years later, they would repeat the magic by casting him as Vijay again in Deewaar. Their discovery of Bachchan as a leading man stemmed from an unexpected source. One day, Salim-Javed happened to watch his film Bombay to Goa, and they were convinced he was the ideal choice.
Salim-Javed’s films were pivotal in transforming Amitabh Bachchan into Bollywood’s biggest male superstar, dethroning Rajesh Khanna and establishing the archetype of the ‘Angry Young Man.’ In an old interview with Lehren Podcast, Salim Khan recounted the decision to choose Amitabh Bachchan over Rajesh Khanna. He said, “There is something like ideal and compromising casting. We strongly felt that Amitabh Bachchan was the ideal casting for Deewaar. Rajesh Khanna was signed by Deewaar’s producer Gulshan Rai but we very strongly felt that the story’s right casting is Amitabh Bachchan and we insisted that if you want to make this film then only Amitabh will work in this. Maybe the film would have worked with someone else but it wouldn’t have been an ideal casting. It would have been a compromise.”
In another interview on the SAM YouTube channel, Javed Akhtar recalled that though they had collaborated with Rajesh Khanna previously in films like Andaz and Haathi Mere Saathi, they later found it tough to work with him. “There came a time when we realised that it would be difficult for us to work together. He was surrounded by so many people, so many sycophants and yes men, it was difficult to work with him. So, we parted ways,” he added, “The kind of films that we were writing, and the kind of films that we had in our mind, were much more suitable for an actor like Amitabh Bachchan.”
Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar wrote the script of Deewaar in 18 days. Marking the golden jubilee of the film of Tuesday, Javed Akhtar wrote on social media, “Deewaar was released on 21st January 1975 . Theek pachaas saal pehle . How time passes so quietly and so quickly. It is happening all the time but remains a wonder !!”
Following Zanjeer, Deewaar was instrumental in solidifying Amitabh Bachchan’s image as Bollywood’s ‘Angry Young Man’ and the new superstar of the 1970s. The film, which also starred Shashi Kapoor in a prominent role, became one of the year’s biggest hits and continues to be celebrated as one of Indian cinema’s greatest films.
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