Angry ‘Vijay’ Characters | Under Lens

Amitabh Bachchan has lived the name Vijay innumerous times. With time, the name aged as a symbol of youth and rebellion. From Zanjeer to Agnipath, AB has donned the name and the color of rage many times with great charm.

In Zanjeer, he is a cop who is filled with ethics and anger against a person who wears a special bracelet. He is the villain. As a young cop he weeds out the criminals and poses a threat to that very person. Vijay is an ideal character in Hindi cinema. He fights against the criminals but don’t hesitate in helping ones who promise to change their ways. This once goes against him and on the other hand creates an iconic friend who stays with him till the end.

In ’75 saga Deewar, he is a coolie turned criminal. He is inherently a good person who indulges into the world of crime to earn all the luxuries of life. He has suffered so much that the difference between wrong and right is very minuscule for him. He is a criminal brother of a cop who prefers rags over tainted riches. The character loosely based on Haaji Mastan, is one of the most remembered images of Angry Young Man… Shashi Kapoor might have mother, AB had the whole movie with him.

Agnipath Agnipath Agnipath… Whenever AB has to recite a dialogue of his choice, he starts with Vijay Dinanath Chauhan. Why? Agnipath perhaps was the dusk of Angry Young Man’s Amitabh version but still made an unforgettable image of the character. His father was fixed by a local goon by sabotage and he vows to take revenge. He grows into a big don of Mumbai and begins his journey of bringing respect to his dead father. His principles are ethical and he is a righteous person in a wrong business. Very similar to his role in Deewar, though this is a loud avatar.

Looking forward to more such characters… see you.

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh

Statesmen: Prakash Mehra

There are certain people who create myths. Prakash Mehra was one of them. The showman who created the legendary myth of The Angry Young Man.

Born on July 13, 1939 in Bijnaur (U.P.), a small town by all means, he rose to the podium of Indian Cinema as a director. In his first attempt, he directed Haseena Maan Jayegi with Shashi Kapoor in lead. But his first big blockbuster was Zanjeer (1973) that carved a star out of Amitabh Bachchan. In Zanjeer, he created the myth of The Angry Young Man that was taken to a higher level by Saleem-Javed duo in Deewar.

Bachchan did seven more movies with him. The list included some timeless classics like Muqaddar Ka Sikander and Sharaabi. Laawaris and Namak Halaal were two other great movies of this Actor-Director team. As a team, Jaadugar was their last venture. As director, Bal Brahmachari was his last movie that was launching pad of Puru Raaj Kumar, son of Raaj Kumar who refused to play a role in Zanjeer. Amitabh Bachchan later essayed the dream role.

In Cinema, he is known as a great showman. He was not only a great director but also a fine critic. His cinema portrayed stories in a simple way. He always believed in the power of script and maintained that the power of leis in paper and not in camera’s artistic movements. He was also a musician in his own realm and the music in his movies had a lot from him only.

On 17th May, 2009, he left the materialistic world for ever. The connoisseurs of Cinema would never forget his contribution.

For The Reel; Written By: Sujoy Ghosh