How Die Hard influenced Bollywood

Die Hard (1988) is a rarity amongst cult films. It not only transcends certain trappings of its action genre, which would be a result of the passage of time, but also enjoys constant revisionism thanks to both critics and fans.

One of the earliest examples where a major studio, a skilled director (John McTiernan) and great effects people were able to create a bonafide action star out of someone who hadn't made his name in the genre - Bruce Willis - Die Hard has been universally acknowledged as the one that ushered in a new phase of action films.

Released on July 15, 1988, the film became a metonym for the genre and its impact can be seen in popular Hindi cinema too.

The year that Die Hard released popular Hindi cinema was witnessing a transformation of the hero. The elements of the hero in Die Hard - a nominal everyman who finds himself thrust into an extraordinary situation was different from the action hero Hindi cinema has been used to.

The Angry Young Man was common all right, but went looking for trouble as opposed to finding himself stuck in a situation.

More importantly, the template had become jaded and with films such as Mashaal (1984), Meri Jung (1985) and Arjun (1985) the action hero was moving towards a more nominal phase. Here unlike Zanjeer (1973), Deewar (1975) or Trishul (1978) anger wasn't necessarily carried as a burden and this came to a near fruition with Tezaab (1988).

Also, with Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988) releasing in the same year the boy next door, too, had become the hero's new identity. One of the reasons why Die Hard managed to become a new prototype for action films, and moreover, the leading man was its fulfillment of the genre's three classic criteria.

In his piece on the American action movie in the New York Times Adam Sternberhg found Die Hard provided (a) a loner hero who excels at combat, (b) a perverse fetishisation of firearms, and (c) explosions. Die Hard's action hero still continues to dominate and with the likes of White House Down (2013) it's more than apparent that Hollywood isn't able to see beyond the template.

Die Hard's two other major contributions are more apparent in the context of commercial Hindi cinema. The film made the element of action cerebral and a throwback to the yesteryears where the human element overpowered gizmos and also changed the appearance of the villain.

Die Hard's antagonist Hans Guber (Alan Rickman in his first film appearance), a sartorial leader of robbers and "terrorists", was unlike the standard mercenary and could be mistaken for a banker.

Both these elements can be seen in Rajkumar Santoshi's Ghayal (1990), a film credited to have changed the way action was seen in Bollywood.

Here the villain, Balwant Rai (Amrish Puri) was a far cry from the suave and smooth-talking Shakaal from Yaadon Ki Baraat (1973) and Shaan (1980) as well Dr Dang from Karma (1986) or Mogambo from Mr India (1987).

Rai wasn't larger than life as the others but appeared menacing without trying too hard. The manner in which he engages with Ajay (Sunny Deol) displays his power without making a great show like Gabbar in Sholay (1975).

Even Main Azaad Hoon's (1989) Seth Gokuldas (Manohar Singh), a newspaper baron who hates the average Indian and compares them to vermin, could be Hans Gruber's distant cousin.

The villains in Parinda (1989), Zulm Ki Hukumat (1989), a remake of The Godfather (1972), also appear to be influenced to some degree by Die Hard. But the one that truly seems to be cut from the same fabric as Hans Gruber, is Nana Patekar's Majid Khan from Angaar (1992).

Speculated to been based on the life of real life don Karim Lala, played by Kader Khan in the roman-à-clef, the film saw Patekar playing his estranged son Majid, a sociopath and a new-age gangster in a suit.

Like Gruber, Majid believes that his superior intellect when compared with the large-hearted don father Jahangir Khan (Kader Khan) or the tough-as-nails-but-actually-a-softie younger brother Farid (Mazhar Khan) ought to make him the authoritative figure and his masks his criminal bent with a businessman-like ethos.

Many action films that followed Ghayal such as Phool Aur Kante (1991), Ghatak (1996) and Ziddi (1997) incorporated the components of Die Hard in the form of cerebral action and explosions, but also the concept of the second motivation for the hero.

In Die Hard, John McClane (Willis) must not only ward off Gruber and his gang but also save a loved one, his wife Holly (Bonnie Bedelia), in the greater scheme of things.

In Ghayal, Ajay starts off to avenge his brother's death but by eliminating Balwant Rai he would free society of evil, in Ziddi, Deva (Sunny Deol) becomes a gangster, but when his family is killed by his rivals his struggle becomes more than a gang war, in Ghatak, Kashi (Sunny Deol) killing Katya (Danny Denzongpa) is not just to punish him for his father and brother's death, but also to empower the community of hapless traders and even in Krantiveer (1994), Pratap's (Nana Patekar) battle against Chatur Singh Chitah (Denzongpa) is both personal as well as for the greater good of the country.

Despite Ghayal and Ghatak, popular Hindi cinema found it very difficult to underplay the hero when it came to action.

Between the early 1990s and early 2000s it managed to keep it subtle but unlike the 1970s when the angry young man took on larger than life villains, the new template for action made the heros near superheroes beyond reproach - Ghajini (2008), Wanted (2009), Dabangg (2010), Singham (2011), and Rowdy Rathore (2012).

Even when Bollywood tried to remake Die Hard as Baazi (1995) with a gross casting error where Aamir Khan played John McClane, the narrative had in-built elements such as the hero's genius, his untiring physicality and such that made surpassing the odds a no-brainer.