50 years of Deewaar EXCLUSIVE: “Casting for the mother was a STRUGGLE, it took time,” reveals Rajiv Rai of Trimurti Films; also speaks about 2 unsung heroes of the film who HAVEN’T got their due
The new year has just begun, and we already have a major film anniversary. Yash Chopra and Trimurti Films’ classic Deewaar completes 50 years today. Despite being released five decades ago, the film continues to rule the hearts of the viewers by being a roller-coaster of emotions. Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor and Nirupa Roy in pivotal roles, the movie told the story of two brothers Vijay (Bachchan) and Ravi (Kapoor) who end up on different sides of the law and face its consequences.
Deewaar was produced by the founder of Trimurti Films’ banner, the late Gulshan Rai. His son and prolific filmmaker Rajiv Rai went down memory lane in an exclusive chat with Bollywood Hungama and shared some interesting incidents related to the film.
Gulshan Rai’s contribution Deewaar
When asked why, according to him, Deewaar continues to rule hearts, Rajiv Rai went deep into thought and said, “There are some films in every country, region and language that are iconic, classic or memorable. It’s very hard to say what actually works. The foremost reason I will always say was my father. I am not saying this as a son. But I feel a producer is the most important factor in a film. Even though I have directed 4-5 films that have done really well, I will never take credit (for them). I will always give it to my father because if there is no money, how do I do it? A producer makes key decisions, and they make a film. I feel my father was one of the greatest producers of India. I will maintain that till I am alive.”
Yash Chopra’s expertise
Unsurprisingly, Rai also mentioned the fine qualities of the legendary Yash Chopra in making Deewaar what it turned out to be. “There was, obviously, the great expertise of Yash Chopra ji. He was a very experienced director. He got the subject, emotions and work out of the actors. He translated that script into celluloid,” he said.
The role of the mother was rejected by a few actresses
Going into the trivia mode, Rai revealed that the role of the mother was rejected by quite a few actresses before Nirupa Roy came on board. “For the mother’s role, 4-5 ladies of that time didn’t want to do it,” he said. “They rejected it. Maybe they didn’t want to play a mother. I don’t want to take names. The mother, as you have seen, is the key person in the film. That took time. There was a struggle for that.”
Deewaar went as per plan
Rai also shared that otherwise, the entire making of Deewaar went as per plan. “Some of the discussions happened in front of me,” he said. “My father would talk a lot about this film to me. It was shot in a correct span of time. There was not even an hour of over-shooting. Not even one shift went wrong. They planned 72 days or shifts, whatever it was, and it finished. I remember the number ‘72’. It wasn’t an over-budget film. It’s a film that went right from the day go. It is a magical film.”
Amitabh Bachchan’s ace performance as Vijay
Deewaar remains one of Amitabh Bachchan’s classic performances. Rai said, “Amitabh Bachchan ji holds a lot of responsibility in Deewaar because he, with his hard-work, experience and talent, executed a performance, which is going to be the most memorable performance ever in Hindi cinema,” said Rai.
Salim-Javed’s iconic dialogues like “Mere paas maa hai” and “Aaj khush toh bohat honge tum” are still favourites among film lovers
Rai added that an actor alone can’t do much if there is no script. “So, the first feather in the cap I will give to Salim-Javed,” he said. “I never want to take their credit away. The dialogues and screenplay they wrote were par excellence. Those lines deserve to be famous when you have people like Salim-Javed in the film who come with tons of talent. It’s not like they have done one film; they have done many. Sometimes you get a character in a film or a subject where you can write (such dialogues). You can’t start throwing lines in every film.”
He added, “They realized that this was a subject where they could play with the situation, and they played it to the hilt. They put the entire history of Bollywood cinema into the film. That is the way they wrote it and the challenge they took.”
Unsung heroes of Deewaar, who haven’t got their due
Rai also mentioned the unsung heroes of Deewaar, who haven’t got their due. “You had an absolutely ace cameraman Kay Gee (Koregaonkar). Why not give him credit for whatever he captured?” asked Rai. “People tend to forget the editor Pran Mehra, who was above all. If you ask people who lived in that era, they will say that every film he did was a hit. He could give life to any film. Everybody craved working with him. And he was a hard-headed man. I have never worked with him. But the stories I have heard say that you couldn’t tangle with him. You couldn’t argue with him. He would ask you to take out this song, etc. He was fabulous. He was legendary. I don’t think he has got his due. He is the unsung hero of Bollywood.”
Gulshan Rai’s rapport with Yash Chopra
Gulshan Rai did a number of films with Yash Chopra, apart from Deewaar. “Our rapport with Yash Chopra ji was fabulous,” said Rajiv Rai. “We did eight films together. We would have continued doing so, but Yash ji came on his own. He had his own banner and ideas. My father also felt that he (Chopra) needed to now make his banner, cement it and be on his own. So, we parted as friends. We also distributed some of his films after we parted. So, there was never a conflict.”
Gulshan Rai didn’t believe in being emotionally attached to any film, including Deewaar
Rajiv Rai gave a surprising answer when asked whether his father Gulshan Rai would talk fondly about Deewaar years later. “My father was never emotionally attached to anything,” he said. “My dad was not like he would live in the glory of Deewaar. We always feel that God has blessed us. There is a saying that you never live in the past, you always live for tomorrow. What is done is done. Thank God and now it is time to do better. And it is not easy to do better. My dad would never reminisce Deewaar.”
Deewaar teaches cinema
Classics always end up being examples of how to make films. Rajiv Rai believes Deewaar is one such film. “This is one of those films that teaches you cinema – how to make cinema, write a great script, act, produce, edit, do the right camerawork and how to do it in the right budget,” he said. “It teaches people who are learning cinema, who are not just viewers. It’s a textbook (on cinema).”
Also Read: Trivia Tunes: When Shammi Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan co-composed a song that was later used in Silsila
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