Amitabh Bachchan ko gussa kyon aaya?

Nikhil Dwivedi reminisces about a time when home viewing of newmovies was difficult. “It was before the DVD era, which also meant that if a movie left the hall there was no way to get your hands on it for a long time,” he says.

So it was in his teenage years that he saw Deewar and fell in love with it instantly. “I loved Amitabh Bachchan in this movie, because of his flawless portrayal of angst and the simmering bitterness that characterises Vijay, the main protagonist.”

He applauds Salim-Javed for the incredible script and Yash Chopra’s groundbreaking direction.

“My favourite scene in Deewar was at the dockyards where one of Vijay’s colleagues is killed off by goons. He then goes on to say that from the next day onwards another coolie will refuse to pay, leading to the subsequent fight scene.” He feels that the scene brought out the confidence of the new Indian hero who was about to arrive on the Indian scene.

He also admires the ‘sheer brilliance’ of the climax. Another one his favourite movies is Scarface. “Al Pacino plays a character that is very flamboyant and he plays the role well. It is one of the finest pieces of acting, and that role is every actor’s dream.”

He also feels that Brian De Palma’s direction, the ambience set in the movie and the back ground music, all contribute towards making the movie one of the best he’s ever seen.

“The scene where Pacino’s character, Tony Mantana, is being subdued by the goons as his friend is hacked off into pieces by a saw machine; Tony has no fear in his eyes. He looks like a caged lion, which if let out, will tear them all into pieces. Pacino conveys all this with only his eyes.”

He likes both movies for the same reason and there is a lot of similarity between the chief protagonists, although he saw Scarface much after Deewar.