By Jaideep Sen
As an avid viewer of Kaun Banega Crorepati, I’m struck by the fact that every time a contestant praises Amitji’s (Amitabh Bachchan) glorious body of work, the reference point is always one of the two milestone films of Indian Cinema: Deewaar or Sholay.
In one of my previous posts I have already mentioned that my
personal all-time favourite is Sholay. Not just for its epic writing but also
the sheer scale of the film: for once the powerful writing was more than backed
up by an audio-visual extravaganza that had never before been seen by the
Indian cinegoer. I would not be wrong in saying that it would have come as a
surprise for even the veteran writing duo of Salim Saab and Javed Saab. And for
this the Indian viewer will forever be grateful to the father-son combine of
G.P. Sippy Saab (producer) and director
Ramesh Sippy Ji.
The tsunami effect of Sholay and the reverence that the
writing of Deewaar has achieved draws me to that one game-changer of a film
which has somewhere got a bit relegated to the periphery – Zanjeer. This is the
film where it all started and is the
origin of the everlasting phenomenon of the “Angry Young Man”. Zanjeer, the
brainchild of the Father of Film Writing in India, Salim Khan which was later
nurtured by him and his writing partner, Javed Akhtar, was brought to life
thanks to the relentless pursuit of its compelling story teller director, Late
Prakash Mehra Ji. Despite the many roadblocks and rejections the film initially
faced, Prakash Ji’s doggedness made it possible for viewers to enjoy one of the
classics of Hindi cinema.
 |
| Amitabh Bachchan with Prakash Mehra: one from the archives |
A lesser known fact about this blockbuster is that the idea
of Zanjeer was conceptualised solely by Salim Saab. This little nugget of
information was revealed by legendary actor Dharmendra Ji in a recent TV show when he mentioned that he was so impressed with
the story of Zanjeer that he’d bought it from Salim Saab and intended to
produce it as well as act in the film. However, due to some circumstances this did not
happen and the rest as they say is history.
Javed Saab in an interview had once analysed his and Salim
Saab’s signature traits as writers. According to him, Salim Saab had the
“courage” while he had the “intricacy” and that history repeatedly proved that
revolt has always been fuelled by courage. In cinematic terms, the outburst
against injustice resulted in the volcanic and iconic Zanjeer.
I don’t think any other name has left as permanent an impact
on the psyche of the Indian filmgoer as Vijay. Much thought had gone into the name of the protagonist as Vijay would come to symbolise victory over evil. Salim
Saab firmly believed that the audience had had enough of a “passive” central
character who would tolerate all kinds of injustice meted out to him. There was
a need to revolutionise the Hero – and the fiery Vijay was thus born.
He is a
cop who is a no-nonsense man from the word go, completely duty bound and self-less
and till the very end he is unaware that the antagonist Dharamdayal Teja who he
has locked horns with is the same bracelet-clad murderer who’d killed his
parents which he had been witness to. That one event has permanently scarred
him and when the revelation happens in the finale, it is cathartic. The shift
from anger to hatred is hair raising and is encapsulated with the searing
dialogue: “Barson tak yeh zanjeer ek saap
banke mujhe dastaa raha”.
The tonality of the film – edgy and simmering – had a huge
impact on the audience. Never before had such emotionally aggressive language
been used and the audience lapped it up wholeheartedly.
Salim Saab very recently shared with me how at times what
initially is considered a handicap, in retrospect unintentionally becomes a
terrific asset. The limited financial resources available to produce Zanjeer forced
the crew to film in some very claustrophobic, minimalistic and stark locations.
This, in the final analysis, added a raw and gritty dimension to the film.
For me, the trendsetting blockbuster Zanjeer birthed Hindi
Cinema’s two most remarkable sons, Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar. The latter has often declared that Salim Saab’s
body of work is a treasure trove for generations to come. He has put his
creative footprint on the sands of time with his sensational talent and
unwavering dedication.
Jaideep Sen is a filmmaker and a connoisseur of the art of
storytelling.
Previous Episodes in this Series:
Comments
Post a Comment