Anti-Establishment, Dangerous, Prone To Crime [Yet Audience Loved The] Angry Young Man

Recent south films have shown that the brawny, alpha male hero is alive and kicking (some butt)! While these films break records and rake in hundreds of crores, Bollywood seems to have given up on evergreen movie tropes. Yet, kasam paida karne waale ki, it was Hindi cinema that introduced the most enduring potboiler themes - the Angry Young Man, the double roles, the heinous villain. In a special series, we examine what made these films click over the decades. With Zanjeer's 50th anniversary coming up next year, here is the first instalment - on Amitabh Bachchan as the Angry Young Man

IN THE MINDS AND IN THE HEARTS OF THE YOUTH OF INDIA. THERE WAS SOME KIND OF SUPPRESSED ANGER... PERHAPS IN THESE ROLES... HEY FOUND A HIDDEN RELEASE... THERE WAS A TREMENDOUS IDENTIFICATION BY THE PEOPLE, BY THE YOUTH, WITH THE CHARACTERS THAT I WAS DOING - Amitabh Bachchan, speaking in an interview on playing the Angry Young Man

FIVE MEMORABLE FILMS THAT CEMENTED AMITABH’S ANGRY YOUNG MAN

IMAGE ZANJEER (1973): The one that started it all. Amitabh is Vijay, a police officer and a tortured soul, who is haunted by images of his parents’ murder in his childhood.

DEEWAR (1975): Amitabh is one of two brothers (the other is Shashi Kapoor, playing a cop), who has become a criminal after the injustices and poverty he faced in his childhood.

MUQADDAR KA SIKANDAR (1978): Amitabh plays Sikandar, who was wrongfully accused of theft as a child and banished, which is the reason for his angst.

TRISHUL (1978): Amitabh is Vijay, who comes back in his adult life to take revenge on his biological father (Sanjeev Kumar) as he had abandoned his family for money and professional success.

SHAKTI (1982): Amitabh as Vijay grows up as a resentful man who becomes a criminal after his police officer father (Dilip Kumar) puts morals and duty above family ties.

JAVED AKHTAR

‘TODAY’S INDIAN CINEMA HAS MORE ACTION HEROES THAN ANGRY YOUNG MEN’