Movie Review: Sholay

Sholay a.k.a Flames of the Sun a.k.a Embers a.k.a Flames
United Producers, Sippy Films, Sholay Media & Entertainment, India, 1975.

Retired police inspector Thakur Baldev Singh (Sanjeev Kumar) needs help from two thieves Veeru (Dharmendra) and Jai (Amitabh Bachchan). Two years ago Thakur arrested them and found out that they were brave men. As bandits attacked the train Thakur freed the duo so that the train could be saved. Now Thakur sends jailer (Vikas Anand) to find Veeru and Jai.

Thakur Baldev Singh

Veeru and Jai

Meanwhile the rogues are having fun with their stolen sidecar motorcycle. Then they go meet greedy lumber mill owner Soorma Bhopali (Jagdeep). There is a 2000 rupee reward on them so they need Soorma to get them arrested and collect the reward money that they will share when they get out of jail. The new Jailor (Asrani) is a little Hitler (the character was a tribute to Chaplin's "The Great Dictator") whose informer Hariram (Keshto Mukherjee) the boys must fool to escape. 

Soorma Bhopali

Jailor

Thakur wants to hire the boys to catch notorious bandit Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan). Veeru and Jai travel with chatty cart driver Basanti (Hema Malini) to Thakur's mansion. After "job interview" (i.e. fighting Thakur's men) and attempt to rob Thakur's safe the boys meet Radha (Jaya Bhaduri), Thakur's widowed daughter-in-law. Veeru becomes attracted to Basanti and Jai to Radha. 

Basanti and Veeru

Radha

First Thakur and the boys scare away Gabbar's henchmen who come to demand tribute from villagers. The henchmen pay dearly for their cowardice. Then the bandits return to the village and disturb the festival of colours. After a fierce gun fight the surviving bandits escape. 

Gabbar

Festival of colours

Thakur tells his story. Gabbar swore revenge when Thakur arrested him. Gabbar escaped prison and murdered Thakur's family. He also tortured Thakur and cut off his arms. After hearing the story Veery and Jai decide to defend the village for free. But sacrifices must be made...

"Sholay" is one of the best loved movies in India. When published in 1975 it ran for more than five years at Mumbai's movie theatres. In 1999 it was declared "Film of the Millennium" by BBC India. Many Indians know quotes from the movie. There are also numerous horses in India named after Basanti's horse Dhanno.

Sholay was heavily inspired by Sergio Leone's spaghetti westerns and Kurosawa's samurai films. In the mix are thrown Indian traditions and some slight critique against strict rules about social norms (Veeru with criminal past is not given acceptance to marry Basanti before he threatens to kill himself). Also the film suggests a liberal view of remarriage of widows. In the India of the 1970s Basanti as a self-employed cart driver was also surprisingly strong and career-oriented female character.

The curry western is much like spaghetti westerns but with more comedy, romance and Bollywood musical numbers, having something for everybody. Especially the dramatic scene where Thakur returns home and finds his family murdered is much like the corresponding scene in "Once upon a time in the West." Amjad Khan's sadistic villain is like Indian version of Gian Maria Volontè's villains. Also the length is on par with Leone's epics as the director's cut is 204 minutes (there are two DVD editions of this film, the original aspect ratio is 4:3 but there is a shorter wide-screen cut running 198 minutes). The story culminates in epic duel between Thakur and Gabbar that is slightly different in the cut version. The main actors were all legendary Bollywood stars or future legends. The characters are all given their story arcs, making them interesting. The dialogue is great although some jokes must have been lost in translation. Also the songs were untranslated.

Cover of Sholay director's cut DVD

This is essential piece of As an Indian cinema and also must see for fans of Western movies and Asian movies.

Part of The 2016 Movie Watching Challenge (#43. Movie that is over 3 hours long)

Rating: Very good

Starring: Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Hema Malini, Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bhaduri, Amjad Khan, A.K. Hangal, Satyendra Kapoor, Iftekhar, Leela Mishra, Vikas Anand, Mac Mohan, Keshto Mukherjee, Sachin, Alankar Joshi, Viju Khote, Major Anand, Bihari, Bhagwan Sinha, Arvind Joshi, Baby Bhanumati, Mushtaq Merchant, Mansaram, Mamaji, Jerry, Birbal, Raj Kishore, Habib, Rajan Kapoor, Darshan, Maula, Kedar, Saigal, D. Jyothi, Rajeshwari, Krishna , Vinni, Girija, Surendra, Rajesh, Asrani, Gita Siddharth, Helen, P. Jairaj, Jagdeep, Jalal Agha, Om Shivpuri, Sharad Kumar, Jullian

Director: Ramesh Sippy