Sholay

Opening Scene

From the opening shots in a desolate train station to the opening music, reminiscent of Stagecoach (1939), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) and Blazing Saddles (1974), you know you are watching something very different. Sholay (1975) is something very different: it is the curry western, and one of the biggest, best, and most enduringly popular films ever made in Bombay. People don’t quote Sholay, they recite it. It’s a cultural touchstone, like A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965), The Sound of Music (1965), and The Godfather (1972) all rolled into one.

Veeru and Jai meet Basanti

 Retired police officer and local landowner Thakur Baldev Singh (Sanjeev Kumar) arranges for small-time crooks Veeru (Dharmendra) and Jai (Amitabh Bachchan) to be released from jail and brought to his village. There he offers them a deal- the capture of local psychotic dacoit (bandit) Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan) in exchange for lots of money. In the village they meet tonga-driver Basanti (Hema Malini) and Thakur Singh’s widowed daughter-in-law (Jaya Bhaduri, real-life spouse of Amitabh Bachchan). Romance, dance sequences and shoot-outs ensure.

Holi!

The film was shot in the rocky landscape of Ramanagara, in the Indian state of Karnataka. Just as the premise- evil bandits vs roughish men of honor- tracks classic tropes of the Western genre and makes them specific, director Ramesh Sippy chose a setting that is reminiscent of American west but fundamentally South Asian.

Jai + Radha + harmonica

The director makes the most of the sparse scenery with wide shots and interesting camera angles. Some of the Holi scene was shot from the Ferris wheel, a creative touch that gives Holi an unusually festive touch. The fascinating little scene before the dacoits first attack, in which the rhythms of village life are amplified, is visually and acoustically inspired. The filmmakers understood the power of sound; in one key scene the director omits background noise entirely in favor of the sound of a squeaking swing, to great effect. The delicately realized love story between Jai and Radha are accompanied by plaintive tunes played on Jai’s harmonica.

Basanti dancing for Veeru's life

Sholay has some interesting things to say about gender and family. Both the independently-minded Basanti and the demure widowed Radha are shown to be desirable women, in spite of the fact that neither of them are the ideal reserved, obedient, virginal brides. Basanti’s determined dance on glass may be a sign of her devotion to Veeru, but it is also badass. Neither woman has led “ideal” family lives- Basanti’s parents are absent and Radha is a widow living alone with her father-in-law. The fact that their love interests are jailbirds who happen to have hearts of gold does not negate the fact that these are women following their hearts in less-than-traditional directions.

To some extent this is the result of the fundamental structure of the film, which shows the lines between law and order and criminality blur.  When law and order disintegrate, the desirable hero becomes the man who can provide protection- and in this village, that is Jai and Veeru. It is notable that these heroes still report to the local landowner/law-breaking police officer in a village in a modern nation-state. At the time things in India were getting slippery. In Sholay, as law and order crumble the only way to restore it is through violence. This film was also released the same year PM Indira Gandhi declared The Emergency in an attempt to maintain control- by violence.

Yep.

It has also been argued that the most important love story of the film is between Jai and Veeru. Before watching Sholay I read in several academic articles that the motorcycle song-and-dance scene in the film is homoerotic. And I thought, “Those smutty academics, they find homoeroticism absolutely everywhere.” Turns out, those academics were on to something. Now, it is true that in much of the world male friendship is shown in more physically affectionate ways than in the U.S., and that male friendship can be more openly, unapologetically close. Even with this in mind, Sholay is definitely homoerotic.

Ultimately Sholay is not interested in upsetting the established social order. The rich stay rich, the poor stay poor, widows stay widows, and no one stays gay. What makes Sholay so important is that it is really, really good.

Amjad Khan as Gabbar Singh

The performance of Amjad Khan, the actor portraying the psychotic dacoit Gabbar Singh, is strikingly good. In this role, in this context, it would have been easy to play Gabbar Singh off as flamboyantly insane, but the performance is sinister without straying (often) into the realm of camp. Indeed, the acting is solid throughout the film, which divides what could have unintentionally become the Hindi-language Blazing Saddles from what it actually is- a classic which has stood the test of time.

White bell bottoms

A few criticisms: at three and a half hours long, some of the film is bound to be expendable. This viewer could have done without the unusually vulgar item number, the Holi scene, and especially the jail; Hitler jokes are never really funny. The violence is mostly depersonalized and glorified throughout. At least one death scene suggests the director's knowledge of biology was paltry, and the final scene in particular could have used a bit more movie magic. The biggest tragedy might be that AB wears white bell-bottoms jeans. None of these complaints have prevented me from watching this film at least once a year. It is endlessly quotable and endlessly entertaining, so grab a few samosas and all your friends and enjoy!

Film: Sholay (1975) 

Director: Ramesh Sippy 

Writers: Javed Akhtar and Salim Khan (as Salim-Javed)

Country: India 

Runtime: 198 minutes 

Language: Hindi

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