Shakti was the first and only film that starred Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan. The film only achieved a modest success, which was surprising considering that it had very strongly etched roles for all major characters. It did, however, become very popular on the video-circuit.

Amitabh has played Vijay before – in Deewar, in Trishul, in Kala Patthar – and they were all characters who had a backstory that explained their bitterness, their anger against an unjust society, and who skated over the thin line that divided legal and illegal. He has also played a version of a character who is setting himself against his father – in Trishul, the year before. To do it again, and to do it in such a way that audience sympathy veers toward the underdog Vijay is a feat that could not have been bettered. Amitabh’s Vijay smouldered on screen. The intensity he brought into his performance as the embittered son of a conscientious father was unmatched. It’s sad to see him do good (though he takes the law into his own hands) and have his father criticise him. Ashwini’s constant criticism keeps reinforcing the idea that his father has never cared for him. It’s only with Roma that he can afford to let his guard down – in a moment of bitterness, his tortured self breaks down, Mere baap ne do shaadiyan ki. Pehle shaadi ka beta main hoon; mere baap ki doosri biwi ka beta hai, kanoon. His expressive eyes reflect both his hatred and his love for his father. 

Raakhee took a calculated risk when she signed this film; the same year, she was playing his heroine in Barsaat ki Ek Raat and Bemisaal. Of all his heroines, she probably did the most number of romantic films with Amitabh; and he was noticeably more tender with her (and Jaya) than he was with any other heroine. 

Both Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan were nominated for the Best Actor award but it was Dilip Kumar who eventually won it. Considered to be one of the greatest films in the history of Indian cinema, it went on to win four Filmfare Awards, which were Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Sound Editing, and Best Actor, which was awarded to Dilip Kumar.

The film was critically acclaimed and won many accolades listed below