Sholay (English: Ember) is a 1975 Indian action-adventure film produced by G.P. Sippy and directed by his son Ramesh Sippy. It is considered by the Encyclopaedia of Hindi cinema to be among the greatest films in Indian cinema.[2] Released on 15 August 1975, it stars Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjeev Kumar, Hema Malini, Jaya Bhaduri and Amjad Khan. The film, shot in the rocky terrain of Ramanagara, Karnataka, is the story of two criminals hired to capture a ruthless dacoit by the name of Gabbar Singh. The film drew its plot heavily from the conventions of Western films.
When first released, Sholay opened to a tepid response, but word of mouth convinced the audience to give the film a chance, and soon it became a box office phenomenon. It ran for 286 weeks straight (more than five years) in a theatre in Mumbai and achieved a still-standing record of 60 golden jubilees (50 consecutive weeks) across India. It is the first film in the history of Indian cinema to celebrate a silver jubilee (25 weeks) in over a hundred theaters across India. By some accounts, Sholay is the highest grossing film of all time in Indian cinema when inflation is considered, although such figures are not known with certainty.
The Indian Central Board of Film Certification initially mandated cuts of several scenes involving violence and death. As such, Sholay was released with a length of 188 minutes. After 15 years, the original director's cut of 204 minutes was made available. The music from the film was composed by R. D. Burman and became quite popular, with the songs topping a few music charts. Some songs have been remade by other artists and have appeared in other films. The dialogues themselves were also released to the public, which was not common at the time.
In 2005, Indiatimes ranked the film amongst the "Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films".[3] The same year, the judges of the 50th annual Filmfare Awards gave it an award called Best Film of 50 Years. The film topped the British Film Institute's poll of "Top 10 Indian Films" of all time.[4]
The film will be re-released in 3-D on August 15, 2012.[5]
The film begins in a small village named Rampur, which is home to ex-policeman Thakur Baldev Singh (Sanjeev Kumar). He summons an old colleague and requests him to track down a pair of small-time thieves he had once apprehended in the line of duty. Though the two petty criminals Veeru (Dharmendra) and Jaidev (Amitabh Bachchan) are notorious, the Thakur feels that they would be the ideal men to help him end the tyranny of Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan), an infamous dacoit wanted by the authorities for a 
50,000 reward. After scenes show how the three fought together during a train robbery attempt, and how the criminals often get in and out of jail, and often settle their differences with a coin toss, Veeru and Jai are found and brought to Ramgarh. They are told by the Thakur that they are to hand over Gabbar alive to him for 20,000, plus the 50,000 reward.
Three of Gabbar's enforcers arrive in Ramgarh to collect supplies from the defenseless villagers, but they go back empty-handed due to Veeru and Jai's intervention. In Gabbar's camp, the tyrant interrogates the three about why they were defeated by only two men. His psychotic nature is shown when he subjects his men to a game of Russian roulette, but eventually they are shot dead.
Gabbar attacks Ramgarh during Holi, and in a tough battle, Veeru and Jai meet their match and are held at gunpoint. With his two recruits facing death, Thakur has a chance to throw a gun to Veeru. Instead of helping, he stands watching. With quick thinking, Veeru and Jai manage to save their lives. They then state their intentions to leave the villagers to defend themselves, due to the Thakur's cowardice. Before they can leave, Thakur tells them the real reason of why he wants Gabbar, and why he could not help them. Some time ago, Thakur had caught Gabbar and had him imprisoned only for him to escape and plot an evil revenge. Gabbar made his way to the Thakur's home and killed most of his family. The only person to survive this massacre was Thakur's younger daughter-in-law, Radha (Jaya Bhaduri). Thakur tracked down Gabbar, but this time the tyrant held the upper hand due to his gang, and cut off both of Thakur's arms. Thakur had hidden this disability from Veeru and Jai, but now it was clear why he could not physically help them in the first place. Feeling sorry for Thakur, Veeru and Jai decided to forget the reward, though Jai swore on his word to Thakur that he and Veeru will bring Gabbar alive as promised.
Living in Ramgarh, the cynical young Jai and lively Veeru find themselves growing fond of the villagers, especially two girls. Veeru is attracted to Basanti (Hema Malini), a feisty, talkative young woman who makes her living by driving a horse-cart, calling her mare as Dhanno (the name of the mare). Jai is drawn to Radha, Thakur's reclusive widowed daughter-in-law, who returns his affections very subtly.
Basanti and Veeru are captured and Jai follows. The three escape, but Jai is wounded by a gunshot, and with the bandits still following, they hide behind a rock at the foot of a bridge, due to shortage of ammunition. Jai orders Veeru to go back to the village with Basanti, and then return with some ammunition. Veeru, even though unaware of Jai's wound, hesitates, insisting that Jai return to the village instead, upon which Jai suggests that they resolve the matter by tossing a coin. The toss, as always seems to happen, is in Jai's favor, and Veeru heads back to the village with Basanti. Jai, slowly dying with only a few bullets remaining, manages to fend off advances by the bandits, and kills most of Gabbar's men. After failing in most of their advances (and unaware that Jai is alone), in one last attempt, the bandits throw a stick of dynamite, which lands on the bridge near him. Realizing he has only one bullet remaining, Jai attempts to shoot the bomb off the bridge, but ends up hitting the bomb itself, causing it not only to explode and kill all remaining bandits, but also to injure himself. Veeru returns to find Jai dying, and immediately wants to take him back, but Jai refuses. He jokingly laments on missing Veeru's marriage, and telling stories to Basanti's and Veeru's children. Some of the villagers rush to the scene, including Radha, who once again has to endure the anguish of losing someone. Veeru then notices Jai's coin lying on the ground, and, upon examination, discovers that both sides of the coin are the same, and realizes that Jai had cheated him on every coin toss, including the one that resulted in his demise.
Veeru goes after Gabbar in a rage. He catches Gabbar, and almost beats him to death, when the Thakur appears and reminds Veeru of his promise to hand over Gabbar to him alive. Veeru rubbishes the promise and is about to kill Gabbar anyway, when he is reminded that the promise was made by Jai and not him. Veeru tells Thakur that the only reason for him doing so was because it was Jai who made the promise, and leaves. Thakur then advances towards Gabbar, revealing spike-soled shoes, intended to torture Gabbar and beg for death. Thakur severely assaults Gabbbar, destroying his hands, and is about to kill him, when the police intervene, reminding Thakur that he, too, was once a police officer and that Gabbar must be arrested and dealt with by the law. As Gabbar is taken away, Thakur is denied vengeance, but walks away with solace that Ramgarh is free.
The film ends with Veeru, after Jai's funeral, leaving on a train. However, as he boards, he sees Basanti in one of the seats. As they embrace, the train steams off, with Thakur watching.
(In the alternate ending to the film, Gabbar actually dies as he is kicked into a spike that is protruding from the posts where Thakur's arms were cut off. Thakur then falls to his knees and is comforted by Veeru.)[6][7]
Sholay began as a four line idea that Salim-Javed pitched to Ramesh Sippy.[9] Sippy liked the concept and hired them to develop it. The original idea was simple. An army officer decides to hire two ex-soldiers to avenge the murder of his family. The officer was later changed to a policeman as Sippy felt that it would be difficult to get permission to film from the army. They completed the script in one month, borrowing many character names and personalities from their friends and acquaintances.[10]
The film drew heavily from the conventions of Western films, especially Sergio Leone's Spaghetti Westerns, such as Once Upon a Time in the West, and John Sturges' film The Magnificent Seven, itself being a remake of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 film, Seven Samurai.[11][12] Sholay was also influenced by the westerns of Sam Peckinpah, such as The Wild Bunch (1969) and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973); and also by Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969).[13] Some plot elements were also borrowed from the Indian films Mera Gaon Mera Desh and Khote Sikkay.[14]
The character of Gabbar Singh was modeled on a real-life dacoit of the same name who menaced the villages around Gwalior in the 1950s. Any policeman captured by the real Gabbar Singh had his ears and nose cut off, and was then released as an object lesson to other policemen.[15]
Sippy at first wanted Shatrughan Sinha to play the part of Jai, but Amitabh Bachchan lobbied hard to get the part for himself.[9] The producers considered Danny Denzongpa for the role of the bandit chief, but he was committed to Feroz Khan's Dharmatma.[16] Amjad Khan was a second choice. He prepared himself for the part by reading a book titled Abar Abhishapta Chambal,[17] which told of the exploits of Chambal dacoits. The book was written by Taroon Kumar Bhaduri, the father of Jaya Bhaduri.[18] Initially, Dharmendra was interested to play the role of Thakur Baldev Singh. He eventually turned down the role when Sippy informed him that Sanjeev Kumar would play Veeru if that happened, and would get the heroine.[19]
During the film's production, four of the leads became romantically involved.[11] Bachchan married Jaya Bhaduri four months before filming started. This caused problems when shooting had to be postponed because Jaya became pregnant with her daughter Shweta Bachchan. Dharmendra had begun wooing Hema Malini during their earlier film Seeta Aur Geeta and used the location shoot of Sholay to further pursue her. During their romantic scenes, Dharmendra would pay the light boys to spoil the shot, thereby ensuring many retakes. The couple eventually married in 1980, five years after the film's release.[20]
The film was a lavish production for its time. It took two and a half years to make, and went 300,000 over budget. One reason for its high cost was that Ramesh Sippy re-filmed scenes many times to get his desired effect. The "Yeh dosti" sequence took 21 days to shoot while two short scenes where Radha is lighting lamps took 20 days due to lighting problems. Another shoot for the scene in which Gabbar kills the son of the Imam lasted 19 days.[21] The train robbery sequence, shot on the Mumbai-Pune railway route near Panvel, took more than 7 weeks to shoot.[22]
Much of the film is set in the rocky terrain of Ramanagara, a city near Bangalore, Karnataka.[23] The filmmakers had to build a road from the Bangalore highway to Ramanagara for convenient access to the sets. One part of Ramanagara town was renamed "Sippynagar" after the director of the film.
Sholay was the first Indian film to have a stereophonic soundtrack, and to be presented in the 70 mm widescreen format.[24] However, since actual 70mm cameras were deemed too expensive at the time, the film instead was shot on traditional 35mm film and the 4:3 picture was subsequently blown up, cropped and matted to a 2.20:1 frame.[6] Speaking about it, director Ramesh Sippy said :
A 70mm format takes the awe of the big screen and magnifies it even more to make the picture even bigger, but since I also wanted a spread of sound we used six-track stereophonic sound and combined it with the big screen. It was definitely a differentiator.
[25]
An alternate director's cut of Sholay, where Gabbar Singh dies at the end, was not shown in theaters but was later released on video. Also there are some additional scenes with some different dialogues. Gabbar's death scene, and the scene in which the imam's son is killed were cut from the film by the Censor Board, as was the scene in which Thakur's family is killed,[21] as the censors claimed that there are rules about people taking the law into their own hands and not being punished for it; this was not permitted as it may corrupt naive viewers. For this reason the ending of the film had to be re-shot for a 'U' rating.[7]
The censored theatrical version was 188 minutes long, and was the only one seen by audiences for fifteen years after 1975. The original, unedited cut of the film finally saw the light of day in 1990 on a British VHS release.[6] Since then, Eros Labs has released two versions on DVD. The "director's cut" of the film, from Eros/B4U, preserves the full frame as shot, and is 204 minutes in length. The widescreen version, from DEI/Eros is 198 minutes long.[26] The DVD packaging does not always state which version is inside.[6]
The critic K.L. Amladi of India Today called the film a "dead ember" and added, "Thematically, it's a gravely flawed attempt."[27] Filmfare said that the film was an unsuccessful mincing of Western style with Indian milieu, making it a "imitation western—neither here nor there."[27] Trade journals and columnists initially called the film a flop.[27]
Over time the critical reception to Sholay has improved to where it is now regarded among the greatest Hindi language films, and a classic.[11][28] On the film's 35th anniversary, the Hindustan Times said that it was a "trailblazer in terms of camera work as well as music," and that "practically every scene, dialogue or even a small character was a highlight."[29] In 2006, The Film Society of Lincoln Center described it as "an extraordinary and utterly seamless blend of adventure, comedy, music and dance", labeling it an 'indisputable classic'.[30] In the obituary of the producer, The New York Times said that Sholay "revolutionized Hindi filmmaking and brought true professionalism to Indian script writing".[12]
Sholay was released on 15 August 1975 in Mumbai. Due to lackluster reviews and a lack of effective visual marketing tools, it didn't do well in the first two weeks, but it picked up from the third week due to a positive word of mouth, and became an "overnight sensation", according to Taran Adarsh.[24]
During the period when the film was not doing well commercially, the director and writer considered re-shooting some scenes so that Amitabh Bachchan's character would not die. When business picked up, they abandoned this idea.[31] Sholay went on to earn a still-standing record of 60 golden jubilees (50 consecutive weeks) across India.[32] It was the first film in the history of Indian cinema to celebrate a silver jubilee (25 consecutive weeks) at over a hundred theaters across India.[24] At Mumbai's Minerva theater, it was shown continuously for over five years.[12] Sholay was the longest running film in Indian cinema until Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge broke its record in 2001.[33]
Sholay earned about 15 crore (US$2.99 million) in India[34] in its first run, which was many times its 2 crore (US$399,000) budget,[32] earning it an "All Time Blockbuster" status.[34] That level of earnings was a record that remained unbroken for nineteen years, which is the longest time for having held the record. It doubled its original gross over re-releases during the late 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s, bringing the distributor's share to 22 crore (US$4.39 million).[1][32] Official box office records are not kept in India, but it is often cited that after adjusting the figures for inflation, Sholay is the highest grossing film in the history of Indian Cinema.[32][35] Other sources place the adjusted figure lower, but still put it near the top of the List of highest-grossing Bollywood films.[36]
Sholay was nominated for nine Filmfare Awards after its release[37] but won only one : M. S. Shinde won the award for Best Editing. He had edited 300,000 feet of film into 20,000 feet.[38] After the censors mandated cuts, the film showed 18,000 feet and ran for 3 hours and 20 minutes. It received a special award at the 50th Filmfare Awards as the Best Film of 50 Years.[39]
Sholay was nominated for the following categories of the Filmfare Awards in 1975:[40]
- Best Film
- Best Director – Ramesh Sippy
- Best Actor – Sanjeev Kumar
- Best Actor in Supporting Role – Amjad Khan
- Best Actor in Comic Role – Asrani
- Best story – Salim-Javed
- Best Music – Rahul Dev Burman
- Best Lyrics – Anand Bakshi for song "Mehbooba Mehbooba"
- Best Male Playback Singer – Rahul Dev Burman for song "Mehbooba Mehbooba"
The following were conferred on Sholay at the Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards (Hindi section):[41]
- Best Actor in Supporting Role – Amjad Khan
- Best Cinematographer (Colour) – Dwarka Divecha
- Best Art Director – Ram Yedekar
Sholay received more honors in the years that followed. It was declared as the "Film of the Millennium" by BBC India in 1999,[12][42] and in 2002 topped the British Film Institute's poll of "Top 10 Indian Films" of all time.[43] In 2006, Sholay was voted as the best film by the people of Iran in a survey conducted by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting's Research Centre.[44]
R. D. Burman composed the music for the film, and the lyrics were given by Anand Bakshi. It is revered as one of the best Hindi soundtracks by Samir Dave of Planet Bollywood.[45][46] Burman himself sang "Mehbooba Mehbooba", picturised on Helen and Jalal Agha, and for which he received his sole Filmfare Award nomination for playback singing. The songs picturized in the film were the following:
|
| 1. |
"Sholay" |
Rahul Dev Burman |
02:46 |
| 2. |
"Yeh Dosti" |
Kishore Kumar and Manna Dey |
05:21 |
| 3. |
"Haa Jab Tak Hai Jaan" |
Lata Mangeshkar |
05:26 |
| 4. |
"Koi Haseena" |
Kishore Kumar and Hema Malini |
04:00 |
| 5. |
"Holi Ke Din" |
Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar |
05:42 |
| 6. |
"Mehbooba Mehbooba" |
Rahul Dev Burman |
03:54 |
| 7. |
"Yeh Dosti" (Sad version) |
Kishore Kumar |
01:49 |
Several songs from the soundtrack made the Binaca Geetmala list of top filmi songs. "Mehbooba Mehooba" was listed at #24 on the Binaca Geetmala annual list 1975, and at #5 on the Binaca Geetmala annual list 1976. "Koi Haseena" was listed at #30 in 1975, and #20 in 1976. "Yeh Dosti" was listed at #9 in 1976.
Despite the soundtrack's success, at the time, the songs from Sholay attracted less attention than the dialogues—a rarity for Bollywood. This prompted the producers to release audio-cassettes with only dialogues.[47][48]
Among the songs, two versions of "Yeh Dosti" were released, an extended version which was cited as the 'happy version' and a shorter one called the 'sad version'. "Yeh Dosti" has been called the perfect friendship song.[46] This song was remixed in the 2010 Malayalam film Four Friends.[49]
The song "Mehbooba Mehbooba", performed and composed by Burman, is often featured on Bollywood hit song compilations.[50] The song has been highly anthologized, remixed, and recreated.[51] It was remixed and sung by Himesh Reshammiya, along with Asha Bhosle, for his debut film Aap Kaa Surroor. Another recent version is one created by the Kronos Quartet for their Grammy-nominated album You've Stolen My Heart.[52] However, "Mehbooba Mehbooba" itself is said to be based on the Demis Roussos song "Say You Love Me",[53] which was inspired by a classic Cypriot song called "Ta Rialia".[54]
Sholay has inspired many films and television broadcasts, and has spawned a whole sub-genre of films, namely the "Curry Western", which is a play on the term Spaghetti Western. Sholay is also considered the most important of the early Masala films, which popularized this genre in India.[55][56] The film was also a watermark for scriptwriters, who were not paid very well until Sholay. Film scriptwriting has become a more respected and lucrative profession since then.[24]
After Sholay, Amitabh Bachchan went on to become one of the biggest stars in the Indian film industry.[56] However, some of the supporting actors never escaped the shadow of their hit film. After 35 years, even the minor characters are used in ads, promos, films and sit coms.[24] Amjad Khan, who played the bandit Gabbar Singh played many villainous roles later in his career. He played Gabbar Singh again in the 1991 spoof Ramgarh Ke Sholay. He also reprised the role in a commercial for biscuits.[57] Comedian Jagdeep, who played Soorma Bhopali in the film, attempted to use his Sholay success to create a spinoff. He directed and played the lead role in the 1988 film Soorma Bhopali. Dharmendra and Amitabh Bachchan also played cameos in the film.[58]
Another attempt to trade on Sholay's fame was Ram Gopal Varma's film Aag (2007), which was pulled from theaters after two weeks. Aag was originally also called Ram Gopal Varma Ki Sholay and was apparently meant to be a tribute to and "in the spirit of Sholay." The name was changed to Aag after legal action was taken by the makers of the original Sholay. Amitabh Bachchan played the villain, Babban Singh. The movie was a disaster.[45]
Due to television and home media, Sholay is widely available and still popular. In 1996, Sholay was first shown on the Indian government-run Doordarshan television channel, and drew good ratings.[59] To this day, a visit to the "Sholay rocks" (where the film was shot) is offered to tourists traveling through Ramanagara, located on the road between Bangalore and Mysore.[60]
Sholay has been the subject of at least two books. Wimal Dissanayake and Malti Sahai's Sholay, A Cultural Reading (1992),[61] attempts a comprehensive scholarly study that sets the film within the broader history of popular cinema in India. Anupama Chopra's Sholay: The Making of a Classic (2001)[62] is an inside look at the film's production, based on interviews with the director, stars, and crew members.[56]
In 2004, Sholay was digitally remastered and shown again to packed theaters in India, including the Minerva, where it had run successfully 29 years earlier.[63] As of 2011, Subhash Ghai was reportedly in negotiations to convert the film to 3D format.[64]
| “ |
Sholay is no longer just a film, it's an event. |
” |
|
—Anupama Chopra, author of Sholay – The Making Of A Classic,
at the screening of digitally remastered version.[65]
|
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