Deewar: How Amitabh Bachchan's Cult Classic Is Woven Into The History Of Asian Action Cinema
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Deewar is a film that is celebrated universally. Not only did the film give Amitabh Bachchan his first break, establishing him as a superstar for his role as the “angry young man” but has also gone on to become an important part of pop culture as its evergreen dialogues are often quoted and spoofed even today.
But what’s really fascinating is the films’ role in major developments in the action film genre across Asia.
The most obvious impact of the film is on John Woo’s “A Better Tomorrow” (1986) with Chow Yun-fat in the lead role. The film was partially inspired by “The Brothers” (1975), a remake of none other than Deewar.
The film was a massive success, turning Chow Yun-fat into one of the top actors in Hong Kong and inspiring Woo to make his next film “The Killer” (1989). A classic action film that established the “gun-fu” genre whose influence can be seen in Hollywood as well.
After almost 25 years, Deewar's influence would be seen yet again “The Raid” (2011) is an Indonesian action film directed by Gareth Evans and starring Iko Uwais and Joe Taslim.
Even though the film as a whole has more in common with Die Hard than Deewar, there is a subplot in the film about two brothers on the opposite of the law which is quite reminiscent of the latter, The Raid would go on to become a film that would be considered an action masterclass by some of the best critics in the world, officially putting Indonesia on the map of world cinema.
The country on which Deewar has had the most impact of course is India. Its themes, motifs, and even action scenes in some cases can be seen pretty much everywhere in today's “Pan Indian” films like KGF, Pushpa, and RRR. Deewar is one of those rare films, a masterpiece that inspires another masterpiece.
Read more : A Better Tomorrow: How John Woo inspired S. S. Rajamouli's RRR
