Wikipedia:Main Page history/2014 March 8

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Sholay is a 1975 action-adventure Indian Hindi film directed by Ramesh Sippy and produced by G. P. Sippy. Shot in the rocky terrain of Ramanagara (pictured), the film follows two criminals, Jai and Veeru (played by Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra), hired by a retired police officer (Sanjeev Kumar) to capture the ruthless dacoit Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan). When first released, Sholay received negative critical reviews and a tepid commercial response, but favourable word-of-mouth publicity helped it to become a box office success. It broke records for continuous showings in many theatres across India, and ran for more than five years at Mumbai's Minerva theatre. The film drew heavily from the conventions of Westerns, and is a defining example of the masala film, which mixes several genres in one work. The film's dialogues and certain characters became extremely popular, contributing to numerous cultural memes and becoming part of India's daily vernacular. In 2002, Sholay ranked first in the British Film Institute's list of "Top 10 Indian Films". It was re-released to theatres in 3D in January 2014. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

From Wikipedia's new and recently improved content:

... that both expressionist dancer Clotilde von Derp and her husband (pictured) were known for their transvestite costumes?
... that Helen Fraser was the first woman to be adopted as an official party candidate for parliament from Scotland?
... that many prominent people, including Albert Einstein, attended meetings at Berta Fanta's salon?
... that Shirley Chater was a nurse and university president before becoming U.S. Commissioner of Social Security?
... that screenwriter Mary Agnes Donoghue was fired from the 1988 film Beaches by the director Garry Marshall and rehired after less than a month?
... that in England, women found guilty of high treason, petty treason and heresy, were burnt at the stake, sometimes alive?

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In the news

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (aircraft pictured), en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people aboard, goes missing over the Gulf of Thailand.
The Supreme Council of Crimea votes to leave Ukraine and join the Russian Federation and announces a referendum on secession.
Scientists discover a viable Pithovirus specimen in 30,000-year-old frozen tundra, marking the largest giant virus yet found.
At the 86th Academy Awards, 12 Years a Slave wins Best Picture and Gravity wins seven awards, including Best Director.

Recent deaths: Frank Jobe

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On this day...

March 8: International Women's Day; Mother's Day in various countries

1576 – A letter to King Philip II of Spain contained the first European mention of the Mayan ruins of Copán in modern Honduras.
1655 – The court of Northampton County, Colony of Virginia, made John Casor the first legally recognized slave in England's North American colonies.
1702 – Princess Anne of Denmark and Norway (pictured) became the Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland, succeeding William III.
1924 – Three violent explosions at a coal mine near Castle Gate, Utah, US, killed all 171 miners working there.
1978 – BBC Radio 4 transmitted the first episode of English author and dramatist Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a science fiction radio series that was later adapted into novels, a television series, and other media formats.

More anniversaries: March 7 – March 8 – March 9

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Today's featured picture

Voltairine de Cleyre (1866–1912) was an American anarchist writer and feminist, prolific in her opposition to the state, marriage, and the domination of religion in sexuality and women's lives. She began her activist career in the freethought movement, initially drawn to individualist anarchism but evolved through mutualism to an "anarchism without adjectives." Emma Goldman described her as "the most gifted and brilliant anarchist woman America ever produced".

Photograph: Unknown; restoration: Adam Cuerden

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