Deewaar

Deewar poster for sale.

Featured here is an original vintage Bollywood poster of one of the greatest films ever made in Indian cinema, Deewaar (1975).

A blockbuster action Hindi drama, Deewaar was written by duo Salim-Javed and directed by Yash Chopra. The film starred the biggest superstar of Indian cinema, Amitabh Bachchan in the lead role. Shashi Kapoor, Iftekhar, Madan Puri, Parveen Babi, Neetu Singh and Nirupa Roy played supporting roles in the film.

Deewaar is considered one of the most iconic movies ever made in Indian cinema and finds mention among the cult films of Bollywood.

Printed and circulated a few years after the first release of the film (somewhere in the early 1980s), this original vintage Deewar poster was intended for publicity of the film but never ended up being used.

A large close up portrait of superstar Amitabh Bachchan (also known as The One-Man Industry) is seen dominating this original Bollywood poster. His face is over-painted with a knife using a colorful palette comprising a myriad of shades. The Angry Young Man of Bollywood’s persona has been captured with a rugged and macho texture in this original Deewar poster.

A key scene from the film in which the climax of a chase sequence between a newly recruited police officer (played by Shashi Kapoor) and a boy is seen at the bottom. Shashi Kapoor is shocked to discover that the thief he chased and shot down on the train tracks is just a young boy who had stolen a loaf of bread.

The title appears in English in a large font in yellow encased in blue at the top of this Deewar poster. A translation of the title in Devanagari Hindi appears alongside in blue.

Deewaar tells the story of two impoverished brothers (played by Amitabh Bachchan and Shashi Kapoor) who struggle to survive on the indifferent streets of Mumbai after the passing away of their father.

One of them, Shashi Kapoor chooses the path of good, becoming a police officer. Amitabh on the other hand turns into a mafia don and amasses quick wealth and success. This creates an obvious divide or enmity between them, inspiring the title of the film. Deewaar is believed to be based loosely on the real life of one of Mumbai’s iconic gangsters, Haji Mastan. For preparation of his character as a gangster in the film, it is further believed that Amitabh Bachchan met Haji Mastan in person to study his mannerisms.

Deewaar is widely credited for establishing Amitabh Bachchan as the “angry young man” of Bollywood. Actress Parveen Babi was seen as the new age woman in Indian cinema, whose character appears as a liberated woman smoking and drinking, living-in with her lover – defying all traditional norms of the time. The brilliant storyline and dialogues of the film established Salim-Javed as the most sought after writers in Indian cinema. It is believed they were paid as high as actors in subsequent films they worked on, thanks to the success of Deewaar.

Deewaar bagged numerous awards, and is credited as a must see film in Indian cinema. The music of the film was composed by RD Burman. The track “Keh Doon Tumhe” was a chartbuster and is fondly remembered and played till today.

One of the dialogues from the film, “Mere Paas Maa Hai” is regarded as one of the greatest dialogues ever in Indian cinema and has inspired countless spoofs over the years.

Danny Boyle, who described Deewaar as being “absolutely key to Indian cinema”, cited the film as an influence on his Academy Award winning Slumdog Millionaire (2008).