Sholay (1975)

शोले

If you only see one Bollywood film ... make it Sholay. 

Sholay ("Flames") is a film that deserves a full review. This 1975 film that is a true classic of Hindi cinema.  I’ve been told that, at least for a while, it held the title of longest continuously running film in India.  It features a sparkling and immensely popular soundtrack by R.D. Burman, a favorite composer of mine, who was an absolute genius at fusing funky Western pop sounds with traditional Indian rhythm and melody.  (He was also Asha Bhosle’s husband.)  And it also features a terrific cast, headed up by Amitabh Bachchan, Hindi film’s biggest hero of the 70s, in his seminal “Angry Young Man” role. 

Sholay is sometimes called the first “curry western,” a parallel to the term “spaghetti western,” as it ushered in a spate of cowboy-type films.  Sholay includes countless references to contemporary American westerns like Once Upon a Time in America and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.  But independent from these homages (some would say rip-offs), Sholay stands on its own as a truly wonderful piece of film-making – one of the four or five best Hindi films I have ever seen.   

Sholay tells the tale of two career crooks Jai and Veeru (Amitabh Bachchan and 70s heartthrob Dharmendra) pressed into service by a retired police officer and landowner (Sanjeev Kumar) to flush out a local thug, Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan) who is terrorizing the villagers with his peculiarly sadistic brand of extortion and banditry.  Arriving in the village, Veeru immediately falls madly in love with the chatty, effervescent carriage-driver Basanti (played adorably by Hema Malini) while Jai is quietly, broodingly taken with Radha, a sad, silent widow who lives in the landowner’s household.   (Radha is played by Amitabh’s real-life wife Jaya Bhaduri, who here conceals in the folds of her white sari a round belly containing their son, Abhishek Bachchan, today a Bollywood star in his own right.)  In the course of scouting the surroundings and waiting for their opportunity to take out the vicious Gabbar Singh, Jai and Veeru warm to the charms of village life and contemplate ending their run of adventures, heists, and jailbreaks in favor of settling down in peace.  But first, there is business to attend to – the business of besting Gabbar Singh at his own violent game. 

What sets Sholay apart is the scope of its story, the sensitivity with which it portrays the triumphs and sufferings of its characters, and of course, flat-out excellent song and dance.  In relating its story, it meanders through themes of tragedy, love, friendship, loyalty, and revenge, testing the difference between good and evil, and questioning what it is that makes criminals criminal.  It is grand in scope, and includes many flashbacks and evocative exposition aimed at illuminating the lives and struggles of all of the main characters as well as some side characters.  Yet while it is happening it doesn't feel like a heavy piece of cinema.  Mixed in are plenty of fun comedic scenes to relieve the otherwise relentless tension, executed in a brilliant, tight, clever script that subtitles and my rudimentary Hindi skills can only partway illuminate.  The buddy chemistry between Amitabh's Jai and Dharmendra's Veeru is delightful - and the romantic chemistry between Veeru and Basanti is adorable.  (Hema Malini later became Dharmendra's real-life wife - both couples in this film are paired off-screen as well.)

The result is a film with a leisurely pace, appropriate to the sweeping backdrop in which the hot sun bakes the desert dry.  Rounding out the film’s generous 200 minutes are five of the most delightful film songs I have ever seen.  From the raucous buddy number, “Yeh dosti,” in which Amitabh and Dharmendra hold hands on a motorcycle, to the famous “Jab tak hai jaan,” in which the spunky and defiant Basanti dances barefoot on broken glass in hopes of preserving Veeru’s life, the songs do not let up for a moment.  There is even a slinky nighttime number by the legendary Bollywood dancer known as Helen, who during her illustrious career performed sensuous, outrageously-costumed numbers in hundreds of Hindi films. 

Sholay may be an unconventional choice as a first Bollywood film – my virtual friends over at BollyWHAT?’s discussion board tend to introduce their friends to Hindi cinema by way of the modern weepies with their dreamy romance and big-time production numbers.  But I think Sholay is a perfect entrée to the best that Hindi film has to offer, especially to a Western audience that may be skeptical that song-and-dance has any place in a movie brimming over with guns and criminals and grand themes of violence and vengeance.  There is a reason this film is a classic; it is among the best ever to come out of the Bombay film industry.  It’s readily available from services like NetFlix, or at your local masala shop.  Go see it – a billion Indians can’t be wrong. 

होली के दिन दिल खिल जाते हैं रंगों में रंग मिल जाते हैं!

(This review originally appeared on Geek of All Trades)

Comments

[Sanni]

I'm bored so here's more introduction film related thoughts. I showed two of my friends Sholay as their second BW film (after DDLJ, which I showed them way back when I only had DDLJ on DVD, no other films). I remain unsure on their reactions to this day. It seems like Friend #1 liked it, as her comment the next time I was bringing films over was, "Maybe something older.. I like older movies." We definitely giggled at the homoromantic implications of Yeh Dosti and everybody's eyes turned into dinner plates when came the plot twist about Thakur's character..

But I don't know if the incredible fullness of the masala format left my friends a bit puzzled. A 3-hour-long romantic film and its concept they seemed to understand and enjoy in all its cheesiness. This is all speculation on my part since I've bothered my friends enough about the whole thing and I can't start a conversation with them, asking them to dissect their viewing experience. They probably wouldn't get why I'm so into finding out how the film confirmed their previous views on Hindi films, or how it impressed them, what they were expecting, what they would've wanted to see more of, etc etc.

But I guess with introduction, the fine art it is, you can go wrong but most likely you'll go right somehow and awake some curiosity for the newbie to want to watch more.

[HemaAsha]

'Sholay'! The best Western in my opinion. Even though 'Mera Gaon Mera Desh' with Asha Parekh and Dharmendra was considered the first Western in Bollywood history, 'Sholay' offered something extra to the table, as a result, it is remembered by people of all ages and various cultures. The wonderful cast, consisting of Hema Malini, Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, and Jaya Bhaduri (never been a fan of hers) was evident. The plot of the entire movie was just impeccable and the ending very sad, yet so entertaining. The songs were absolutely amazing (i.e. Holi ke din, Yeh Dosti, Koi haseena, Jab tak hai jan, etc.). The infamous scene of Dharmendra drunk, hanging from the water tower and Hema's dance in 'Jab tak hai jan' were just too exquisite. Hema was truly a treat for the eye in that certain number. (I used to, and still do, dance to that number).

[Vikrant]

"Curry western"...I like the label...to add to your review... I loved the action in the film...the train sequence was remarkable especially for its time... and dialogs are fabulous...I just love the dialogs...Jay's one liners...basanti tumhara naam kya hai?...priceless......scenes where Jay talk to Mausiji for Veeru's marriage...Veeru threatening suicide...kitne aadmit the...bahot yaraan lagta hai...I think me and my dad can watch this film countless times and we have...I just love it when we complete each other in remembering the dialogs...Sholay is more then just a film for my Dad(and countless others in his generation)...I know anytime he is down..I just need a bottle of scotch and sholay to cheer him up...I think I have internalized this film to such an extent that when I am talking to my friends in Hindi... every once in a while a one liner or some reference would pop out of my mouth...Salim-Javed rocks!!...I don't think there is any other film that has occupied my vocabulary in such a way....may be Andaz Apna Apna come close.

PS: You wrote "Sholay includes countless references to contemporary American westerns like Once Upon a Time in America...".I think you meant Leon's "Once upon a time in the west" starring Hanry Fonda, right? Because "Once Upon a Time in America" was Leon's last movie that came much later(1984 thanks to IMDB).

[carla]

Vikrant, you are certainly right about the western titles - I've actually never seen either movie and based that comment on something I was told by someone else, who must have confused the two films.

Did one of them contain a scene very similar to the scene with the swing creaking while we wait to find out whether Gabbar Singh will spare the little boy's life?

I am a newcomer to Hindi films by any Indian standard - yet I have the feeling that one simply cannot overstate the impact of *Sholay* on Indian popular culture (at least the popular culture of the Hindi-speaking parts of India but perhaps even more broadly) - it's just *that* defining. Stories like yours underscore that point.

[maxqnz]

This movie is the one that defines me as an outsider. I have nothing against it, and think parts of it are very good, but it just doesn't really move me. When I'm with my desi friends and raving about Shree 420, Aag, Pyaasa, AAA or Brahmachari, they all say "and don't forget Sholay", to which I can only reply, mehh.

I can easily see *why* it was such a big hit, but it's an academic realisation, not an emotional one. Or, as seems to be the case for most desis I know, a visceral one. I do regard it as a must see movie in the literal sense of the phrase - to have any idea what Hindi cinema's about, one simply must see this movie. Maybe I'll watch it again one day, but given the choice, I'd rather watch Pyaasa.

[Vikrant]

Yes, that scene is INSPIRED from *once upon a time in the west*. It is Hanry Fonda's entry sequence (but without the swing). Apparently the scene in which Fonda shot the kid had to be removed from US version of the film as it was very controversial for that time and especially US audience were not ready to see Fonda in such a bad light.

Also, Jay playing harmonium is inspired from Branson's character Harmonica. The best of all, the character of Gabbar is inspired from Fonda's character Frank.

Once upon a time in the west itself was inspired(deliberately as Leon wanted to pay homage) from several US westerns like half moon , searcher etc. Almost all the sequences in this film are inspired from some or other US westerns but with special treatment from Leon.

[carla]

max - I think I have kind of the reverse reaction; I understand why people find *Pyaasa* beautiful but my experience of it is rather academic, and if I'm looking to watch a film for the sake of enjoying a film (rather than to be edified) I'd choose *Sholay* over nearly any other.

Vikrant - thanks for that. I know only enough about the western genre to know that *Sholay* makes many references to it, but the specifics were lost on me.