Bollywood Movie Posters
If there was a movie that encapsulated every emotion
under the sun and ticked every box, it was Sholay, the blockbuster, by Ramesh Sippy
that burst on the horizon in 1975 with absolutely no warning. The first time I
watched it, I was rather young, but I still remember that it evoked emotions
within me that very few other movies have. The impact was so powerful that today,
I write this article out of memory.
Sholay had everything – excitement, humour, romance, violence,
pathos, tragedy, exemplary acting, brilliant music, unbeatable direction and
cinematography; in short, it was like delving into a treasure trove and coming
out with rare gems every single time.
The excitement begins when the two thieves, Jai and
Veeru, are taken to the Thakur’s mansion at Ramgarh, a mansion as majestic as
the taciturn shawl-clad Thakur himself. As the saga of Gabbar Singh unfolds, the viewers
feel the tempo of their heartbeats go up in anticipation. The eerie silence that
exemplifies the village night, the dimness all around, the tenderness of the
mouth organ that seeps into the heart of the bereft young widow as she puts on the lights on the veranda, aware of a young man’s brooding gaze upon her, these
are unforgettable moments. It is recorded that that one scene took three years to shoot.
Romance wafts in, in the form of the talkative Basanti, the tongawali, whose charm and beauty win over Veeru’s susceptible heart. . How can one forget the one-liner with which Jai stems her chatter?
“Tumhara naam kya hain, Basanti?”
On the other side is the silent attraction that Jai and Radha share, unspoken except through their eyes, quieter moments that cause the pulse to settle down, moments that engender hope.
Firstpost
Humour plays a huge role, coming in at expected moments
to lighten the intensity and the violence that make up a large part of the
narrative, be it is Jai’s tongue-in-cheek comments as he describes his
friend Veeru’s qualities in absolutely unflattering terms to a horrified
Mausiji, Basanti’s old aunt. Jai’s words destroy any hope of Mausiji letting
Veeru anywhere near her niece, and it is left to Veeru to stage a drunken rant
atop a water tanker, where he threatens to commit suicide, which will send
Mausiji to prison. The rant ends with the amusing “Budiya going jail – budiya chakki
peesing and peesing!”
The Times of India
Jagdeep as Soorma Bhopali - Facebook
The village of Ramgarh has always been beset by dacoits,
and the very name of Gabbar wreaks fear in every heart. There is anticipation
in the air as well as terror. However, Gabbar Singh’s opening scene is a
masterclass of suspense, that begins with his boots treading on the rocks as
three men cower in fear. His raspy voice, his olive-green uniform and his
unshaven face with its characteristic grin, all send a shiver through the spine.
“Arey O Sambha, kitne aadmi the?” The words, simple, yet menacing.
Arrey O Sambha... Facebook
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The scene moves onto its denouement, as one of the men
quavers,
“Sarkar, humne aapke namak khaya hain.” Gabbar’s reply is
momentous.
“Ab goli kha!” Gunshots in unison and three men lie dead.
A dreadful lesson taught and learnt! Gabbar’s name needs to evoke fear.
The enmity is between the Thakur, an ex-police officer
and the dreaded dacoit, Gabbar. It begins when the officer apprehends Gabbar
and imprisons him. However, wily as he is, Gabbar escapes from the jail.
One of the scenes that is heartrending is the way the officer’s
whole family is massacred. There is no overt violence, just silence, and
gunshots as one by one, they are picked off, their bodies falling in slow
motion. A clothesline collapsing, a man tumbling down the hill, women murdered
in cold blood and saddest of all, a little boy near a swing that creaks, his
eyes widening as he realises that he is going to be shot. The terror and the
sadness are all too palpable, and when the officer comes back, the chilling
silence continues, as he sees the bodies lying under white sheets, the only
survivor his daughter-in-law, Radha, who is now a widow.
Sholay continues to throw twist after twist, but the one
that really hits hard is when the dacoits attack Ramgarh, and after they have
been chased away by Jai and Veeru after a hard fight, the latter accuses the
Thakur of not having lifted a finger to help them, only to realise the poignant
reason why he did not do so. That was truly a heartrending moment.
The cinematography and camera work are awe inspiring.
The grandeur of the ravines, the starkness of the terrain, the silhouettes of
the dacoits against the sky, the rumbling of the train, the gaiety of Holi, the
festival of colours, cut short by the appearance of the dreaded dacoits, the
panorama of the imaginary village of Ramgarh – every detail worked on
painstakingly. The final scene when the Thakur overcomes Gabbar using nail-studded shoes is truly climactic.
Sholayism
In 2007, Ram Gopal Varma made a huge blunder in trying to
recreate Sholay with a movie unimaginatively dubbed Ram Gopal Varma ki Aag, a
fire that was doused by the box office and has the dubious distinction of being
called one of the worst films ever made. Even Amitabh Bachchan playing the role
of Gabbar could not save the film from flopping. None of the characters came up
to even a quarter of the level of their predecessors who were all thespians in
their own right.
Sequels should never be made, and this is totally my own
opinion. They not only take away from the original, but also do themselves no
good. Comparisons are odious, but they will be made. It is a risk not worth
taking, again my opinion!
The background scores of Sholay still play in my heart
and mind – the opening score, the wonderfully apt songs – the unforgettable
Mehbooba, Mehbooba picturised on the absolutely delightful Helen and a dapper Jalal
Agha, was a showstopper.
The scene where Basanti is made to dance over broken glass pieces, even as Veeru pleads with her not to dance before ‘inn kutthon’ (these dogs) is still deeply etched in my mind.
Yeh Dosti remains a paean to friendship everywhere, and the lilting number ensured the record sale of sidecars on motorbikes. Yet, at the end, when Jai sends Veeru away, after a rigged coin toss, and succumbs to the bullets of the dacoits, the same song brings tears later as Veeru weeps over Jai’s body. I cried buckets, deeply affected by the scene, the song and the towering persona of Amitabh Bachchan.
Yeh dosti - Facebook
There will never be another Sholay, a movie so well made,
every character making a dent in the hearts of viewers because of the amazing
script penned by Salim-Javed, the deft direction of Ramesh Sippy and produced
by G.P. Sippy. The fabulous music score was by R.D. Burman. After a slow run initially,
it took over the box office everywhere and ran for five years at Minerva theatre,
Mumbai. It continued to be the highest grossing movie till it was taken over by
Hum Aapke Hain Kaun in 1994.
Today, when I think back on why Sholay was the
blockbuster it was, maybe it is because, while the heroes (all three of them, including
the Thakur) were impressive, Gabbar Singh played the villain with great aplomb
and showmanship. I believe that that was what truly made Sholay great, the
brilliant interplay between black and white, heroism and villainy, and good and
evil.
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