At first glance, the good son/bad son plot of Deewar seems to resemble the example set
by Mother India quite a bit, from the
telltale signs during childhood to the final scenes of mother holding dying son
in arms. However, there are key differences that result in two very different
films. One very important one is where viewer alliance is made to rest. Throughout
the latter half of Mother India, it
is clear to most that Birju’s actions are unjust. On the other hand, Deewar, as a film, seems to present
Vijay’s illegal actions in a less serious light. How does this contrast arise?
After all, both have very similar justifications for their actions, believing
the extent to which their family had been wronged enough to warrant their
chosen paths.
Why then, did I find myself so much more sympathetic toward
Vijay? Perhaps it is as simple as the nature of the criminal activity. In
comparison to Birju’s murder and kidnapping, smuggling seems like a relatively
victimless crime. Perhaps it is the fact that Vijay fully intends to turn his
life around upon learning Anita is pregnant, and I believe him. Even before
this point though, I found myself internally rooting for Vijay over Ravi – a very
sharp distinction from Mother India.
I think one of the most significant factors contributing
to this the choice of main characters in the two films. Whereas Radha was
always the first and foremost moral compass and focus of Mother India, Deewar was
much more centered upon Vijay, his mother or brother taking supporting roles.
It is interesting to think that a focus on Birju could have so drastically
altered our opinions about the end, but I think it could have. In both films,
we know that the mothers are very much against the activities of their
respective “bad sons” – it’s almost just as if we care more when Radha
expresses her disapproval. Her words hold more weight with us because of her
importance as an epic hero, representative of India itself and morally
infallible as a result. As much as viewers can be happy to see Radha with her bangles
back on her wrists, our approval of what Birju has done is immediately removed
when she expresses her own dismay. When Ravi’s and Vijay’s mother, Sumitra,
learns of Vijay’s smuggling, she is equally horrified. However, Deewar is Vijay’s story, not Sumitra’s –
that’s how it is presented. We haven’t seen the faces of any innocents Vijay
has harmed through his illegal activity (besides Samant), only the happy
lifestyle he’s been able to provide his mother after she has suffered so much. Sumitra’s
and Ravi’s objections, though they are essentially the same as Radha’s, are
undeniably less effective on me.
Other than the morality of the specific characters
involved though, the general tones of the 2 films effect response to the featured
conflicts as well. Deewar is rather campy
throughout, featuring over the top fight scenes and a main character too suave
for his own good. Compared to the stirring, epic, melodramatic style of Mother India, the story told in Deewar never seems to command as much
gravitas – it’s as though it doesn’t take itself as seriously. This, in many
ways, leads to a more enjoyable movie in terms of entertainment, but it also
contributes to viewers’ ability to side with Vijay. Because the entirety of the
film is less serious, it’s more difficult to take his crimes as seriously as we
might in a more realistic movie.
Consider
the long, cherished film history of Batman. The Joker could kidnap people in
the campy 60’s TV show, but he always remained a loveable, laughable villain. In
the recent Dark Knight film, the Joker
comes across as a horrible, disturbed man just by nature of the film’s more
serious, realistic tone. To some extent, this the difference that separates
Vijay and Birju. Their crimes are granted the moral seriousness of the movies
in which they are committed, leaving Vijay in a much better light when things
are said and done.
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