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”.