Deewar Film Analysis

Kapil Kanagal

COMPLIT 247

Deewar Film Analysis

27 April 2015

Rogue Masculinity

            In the film Deewar, director Yash Chopra seeks to highlight the increasingly reflective role of the rogue young man. Specifically, Chopra addresses this by utilizing the role of the “underworld” to depict the increasing discontent regarding poverty in India. The film opens with a labor strike ongoing, as Anand Babu represents the workers’ party in the strike. His boss struggles to find a way to win the strike, but finally comes up with a solution after threatening Anand Babu’s family. Anand Babu acquiesces to the boss’s demands and all of his fellow workers are extremely disappointed in him. He is forced to leave the village and ends up aimlessly riding trains for the rest of his life.

            Anand Babu’s actions have far reaching consequences throughout the rest of the movie, namely shaping the lives of his two sons, Ravi and Vijay. Vijay seeks to end his family’s dire financial situation and ends up working for a smuggler, while Ravi chooses a life of honor and joins the police force. Vijay is seen as the alpha-male between the two brothers, namely since he is able to fight off Savanth, another mob boss. While Vijay smuggles for Davar, Ravi finds himself working on a case, in which Vijay is the prime suspect. This effectively pits brother against brother in the plot, creating a dichotomy, which serves to separate the two throughout the rest of the movie. While Vijay amasses wealth, he desperately struggles to find true happiness, instead relying on materialistic possessions to fill this void in his life. This is most evident when his own mother, Sumitradevi, explains that he has gone too far by trying to “buy” his own mother. Vijay’s lifestyle forces her to turn to her less financially successful son Ravi, who seems to have found happiness in life, namely through his wife and work.

            The story ultimately leads to Ravi shooting and killing Vijay, as Vijay runs into the temple and dies in his mother’s arms. Thus, though Vijay serves as the antihero in this film, his character furthered the concept of “rogue masculinity” in Bollywood cinema. Specifically, his association with the underworld reflects the changing dynamics of the time regarding poverty in India. This idea is further explored in the readings. Specifically, Banerjea supports the idea that Deewar highlights the role of the male outlaw, social dysfunction, and violence. Banerjee explains that this stems from the increasing uncertainty regarding the turbulent political situation of the 1970s in India. Deewar also brought light to the increasing role of smuggling and underground crime in India, highlighting that it was a way for those in poverty to catapult themselves into financial success. However, Deewar also criticizes this method of gaining wealth, specifically through the line, “Mere pas ma,” which highlights the importance of intangible things, like love, that money cannot buy. All in all, Deewar utilizes rogue masculinity to reflect on the political and social struggles of the urban poor in 1970s India.