I just watched 'Deewaar' on a plane flight from India to Canada. I wondered why the Anand Verma character who sacrifices his reputation to save his family, would simply abandon his wife and 2 sons to become a perpetual traveler on Indian railway trains.
The movie makes only a feeble attempt to explain why Vijay Verma (Amitabh Bacchan) gets drawn to a life of crime. Both Ravi Verma (Vijay's younger brother played by Shashi Kapoor) and his mother seem like idealized caricatures than like real people. In spite of that, I somehow prefer Shashi Kapoor's performance over Amitabh's. The former seems to have more screen-time and lines than Amitabh does, yet 'Deewaar' is remembered as an Amitabh Bacchan vehicle.
Ravi Verma's romance with Leena Narang (Neetu Singh) is a distraction and does not add anything to the movie. Poor Neetu Singh. She is absent during much of this movie. It would have been better to get rid of her character altogether. The 2 songs in this flick are so unmemorable that the movie would have been better without them. And unique too, since song sequences are considered de rigueur in Indian cinema. Not having any songs in this movie would have made 'Deewaar' a high watermark in Indian film history. Vijay Verma's love interest Anita (played by Parveen Babi) is a far more interesting character than Leena Narang. She should have been given more screen time.
The film's premise that a police officer would be ready to kill his own brother for the sake of justice is highly unrealistic. But then, this is one plot hole that the viewer should be expected to overlook.
However it must be admitted that 'Deewaar' is worth watching by fans of Hindi cinema, if only because of its reputation. I am happy that I was finally able to view this film.
The movie makes only a feeble attempt to explain why Vijay Verma (Amitabh Bacchan) gets drawn to a life of crime. Both Ravi Verma (Vijay's younger brother played by Shashi Kapoor) and his mother seem like idealized caricatures than like real people. In spite of that, I somehow prefer Shashi Kapoor's performance over Amitabh's. The former seems to have more screen-time and lines than Amitabh does, yet 'Deewaar' is remembered as an Amitabh Bacchan vehicle.
Ravi Verma's romance with Leena Narang (Neetu Singh) is a distraction and does not add anything to the movie. Poor Neetu Singh. She is absent during much of this movie. It would have been better to get rid of her character altogether. The 2 songs in this flick are so unmemorable that the movie would have been better without them. And unique too, since song sequences are considered de rigueur in Indian cinema. Not having any songs in this movie would have made 'Deewaar' a high watermark in Indian film history. Vijay Verma's love interest Anita (played by Parveen Babi) is a far more interesting character than Leena Narang. She should have been given more screen time.
The film's premise that a police officer would be ready to kill his own brother for the sake of justice is highly unrealistic. But then, this is one plot hole that the viewer should be expected to overlook.
However it must be admitted that 'Deewaar' is worth watching by fans of Hindi cinema, if only because of its reputation. I am happy that I was finally able to view this film.