Deewaar (दिवार;The Wall) is a 1975 Indian action crime drama film written by Salim–Javed (Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar) and directed by Yash Chopra. Released worldwide on 24 January 1975, the film stars an ensemble cast of Shashi Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Neetu Singh, Nirupa Roy, Parveen Babi, Iftekhar, Madan Puri, Satyen Kappu and Manmohan Krishna. The music was composed by R. D. Burman. The film tells the story of a pair of impoverished brothers who, after their family is betrayed by the misplaced idealism of their father, struggle to survive in the slums of Mumbai, and eventually find themselves on opposing sides of the law. The title Deewaar ("wall") signifies the wall that has sprung up between the two brothers, drawn apart by fate and circumstances in a time of socio-political turmoil.

Plot

Anand Verma, a trade union leader working hard to better the lives of struggling labourers, lives in a modest home with his wife, Sumitra, and their two young sons, Vijay and Ravi. Anand is blackmailed by a corrupt businessman, Badri Prasad, who threatens to kill his family if Anand does not cease his protest activities. Forced into compliance, Anand is despised and nearly beaten to death for his betrayal by the angry labourers, who are unaware that he was blackmailed to do so. Unable to bear the humiliation, Anand escapes from the town and decides to spend his remaining life aimlessly travelling in trains, deserting his family for whom he had abandoned his principles and ideals. Meanwhile, the labourers also persecute Anand's family; some of them kidnap Vijay and tattoo his left arm with the Hindi words "" (English: "My father is a thief"). In desperation Sumitra brings Vijay and Ravi to Mumbai, and resorts to low-wage manual labour to raise her sons. Their home is on the footpath under a huge bridge that is home to millions of homeless urban poor who have been driven out in attempts at city development by the state.

Awards