1975 · Film
Deewaar
Yash Chopra's Hindi crime drama, written by Salim–Javed, about two brothers raised in poverty in Bombay who end up on opposite sides of the law.
Reviewed by Movie Mandala, Sun, 18 Oct, 2026
Where to watch
IndiaAs of 18 October 2026, Deewaar is streaming in India on Prime Video with a subscription.
With subscription
Checked Sun, 18 Oct, 2026Open ↗
The story
Trade union leader Anand Verma is blackmailed into betraying striking workers, and his disgraced family is left to fend for itself. His wife Sumitra takes their sons, Vijay and Ravi, to Bombay, where she does manual labour and they live on the pavement under a bridge. Vijay, marked by a humiliating tattoo the workers gave him, works as a shoeshine boy and later at the docks so his younger brother can study. Ravi grows up honest and joins the police. When Vijay stands up to a crime boss's extortionists at the docks, a rival smuggler takes notice.
Spoiler-free: only the set-up.
Who it suits
Aimed at adults and older teens who like intense 1970s family-and-crime dramas. It runs close to three hours and includes gang fights, shootings, killings and a strong theme of revenge.
Curation to help you choose, not a review.
Background
Salim–Javed wrote the story, screenplay and dialogue, drawing on Gunga Jumna (1961) and Mother India (1957) and moving their themes to contemporary Bombay. Vijay's rise from dock worker to smuggler loosely parallels the life of the gangster Haji Mastan. The role cemented Amitabh Bachchan's "angry young man" image.
The film was released on 24 January 1975 and ranked as the fourth-highest-grossing Hindi film of the year, with an Indian gross of about ₹7.5 crore. It won seven Filmfare Awards, including Best Film, Best Director for Yash Chopra and Best Supporting Actor for Shashi Kapoor. It was remade in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Cantonese, and Danny Boyle has cited it as an influence on Slumdog Millionaire (2008). It is one of three Hindi films in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.
The facts
- Language
- Hindi
- Hindi
- Hindi original
- Genre
- Crime drama, Action
- Runtime
- 176 min
- Director
- Yash Chopra
- Cast
- Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Nirupa Roy, Parveen Babi, Neetu Singh
Questions people ask
- Where can I watch Deewaar in India?
- As of 18 October 2026, Deewaar is streaming in India on Prime Video with a subscription.
- Is Deewaar in Hindi?
- Yes. Deewaar is a Hindi-language film.
- How long is Deewaar?
- Deewaar runs for 2 hours 56 minutes (176 minutes).