Sholay: The greatest story ever told

How many times have you seen Sholay? Perhaps, this question is irrelevant. Sholay has been a classic and remains to be one since the past 4 decades because everything related to it; the direction, the acting, the story, the dialogues, the music; seems to conquer perfection.

But this perfection didn’t come easy to Sholay. Sippy and his entire crew toiled hard to get right every small bit of it. The story tellers Salim-Javed threw the audience such a plethora of characters and situations that it was irresistible not to revisit the movie again. The characters were made so as maintain the balance of the movie. For every Jai, serious and unassuming, there is a Veeru, jolly and fun-loving; the stark silence of Radha contrasted by Basanti and her continuous chatter; the gritty police thanedar Thakur and the clueless “angrezon ke jamane ka jailor”. And finally, the duel of good versus the evil. Gabbar Singh in his own menacing ways tries and almost wins the battle against all the good hearted people connected to Ramgarh. Along with such vivid characters, comes a revenge saga and perhaps, the most touching love story of Indian Cinema, Jai and Radha. Oh, and add to that the deep bond of friendship between Jai and Veeru, which was so epic that it truly and fully deserved a song for itself.

With a story so rich, came in the dialogues. Dialogues with such intensity and ferocity, that the entire 207 minutes of dialogues were recorded into a cassette and were sold like hot cakes in the market. As a drunken Veeru goes on the top of the water tank and shouts, “iss story mein emotion hain, drama hain, tragedy hain”, you also tend to think that he not just talking of his own love-life, but also of Sholay in general. And you shudder when Gabbar says “Jo darr gaya, samjho mar gaya!” And when Jai finally decides to stop Basanti’s chatter and quip, “Tumhara naam kya hai Basanti?” there is mirth of laughter echoing in the theatre. Such is the effect of the dialogues, that they have made such an impact on our lives and have even found a way in our daily interactions.

Complementing the story and dialogues, is the simplistic acting. Acting that defines the 70s era of Indian Cinema. Jai was cornerstone of Amitabh Bachchan’s career, whereas Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Sanjeev Kumar and Jaya Bhaduri carried their roles with such aplomb that the audience fell in love with their character. The acting and the bonding of Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra was so brilliant that the chapter of their on-screen friendship is still spoken of in mythological proportions. Even small roles done by Asrani (Jailor), Hangal (Imam Chacha), Leela Mishra (Mausi), Viju Khote (Kaaliya), Sachin Pilgaonkar (Ahmed), Jagdeep (Surma Bhopali), Satyen Kappu (Ramlaal) and Keshto Mukherjee (Hariraam) offer a lot of depth to the story. But the most influential character on-screen is Gabbar Singh played by Amjad Khan. Amjad Khan faced a lot of ire and negativity in the pre-release phase of the movie and was even called a miscast. How could a debutant be a cold blooded dacoit? But Amjad Khan proved why he was the best choice for the role and played it in such a menacing manner that Gabbar is remembered as one of the best villains in Indian Cinema.

The background music given by R.D. Burman is another great facet of Sholay. The background scores, whether it is a gang of goons trying to loot a train or it is Gabbar walking on the boulders, are honed so well that they do not require any company to convey the mood of the situation. The songs barring “Yeh Dosti” are perhaps, the only department where Sholay cannot match the intensity of the story and hence, was perceived as, probably, the least perfect segment in the film.

Thus, even if it is 4 decades old, Sholay is one of the most exhilarating experiences of our lifetime. A movie that was criticized initially, garnered such adulation in the coming days, that it became the mother of all Bollywood movies. Now as fans, we need to answer only one question: Why has Sholay gained this cult status? Some of us might say that the story makes it what it is; some would vouch for the acting while some might staunchly remind us that the dialogues are the greatest reason due to which the country reveres the movie. Amidst all this claims, we forget to notice the coherence between the music, acting, dialogues and story that made the movie truly epic. If not for this coherence and direction from Ramesh Sippy, the entire story telling would have been a futile exercise for everybody. And maybe, this is the major reason why Ram Gopal Verma failed stunningly in making “Ram Gopal Verma ki Aag”, a movie which will not only be remembered in history as the worst possible remake of an epic but also as an attempt to tarnish the legacy of a legend.

This is, indeed, the lesson than many Bollywood movie directors should take from Sholay that only pyro-techniques, mindless action and dialogue delivery combined with shallow storylines are not going to win them any accolades. They might break statistical records, but become legends? NO.

Is Sholay 3-D a worthwhile decision, you ask? Well, as Shakespeare wrote in Romeo and Juliet, “What’s in the name? That which we call a Rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Sholay is that beautiful Rose. And despite of endless reruns on TV, endless reruns on your laptop or remaking it in 3D, Sholay will never cease to be “THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD”.