By Jaideep Sen Salim Saab was once asked in an interview what he considered to be his biggest strength in writing and he instantly said, “characterisation”. Characterisation is at the heart of the story which is evident in every film that Salim and Javed Saab have written. In Zanjeer , a child who has witnessed - and is subsequently haunted by - the killing of his parents grows up to be in Salim Saab’s own words a “high strung” character who’s extremely combustible. Having been a victim of injustice, he cannot tolerate it, especially when it happens to others. The outrage of Inspector Vijay Khanna in the hospital when Mala, the knife sharpener, refuses to identify the truck driver is testimony to the hero’s characterisation. In their latter work, Vijay became a representation of the no-nonsense crusader of justice, whether against the system in Zanjeer , or against society for the ill-treatment of his parents in Deewaar or even against his biological father for aban...