Sholay ( pronunciation (help·info), meaning "Embers") is a 1975 Indian action-adventure

film in Hindi language, written by Salim-Javed, directed by Ramesh Sippy, and produced by
his father G. P. Sippy. The film is about two criminals, Veeru and Jai (played by Dharmendra
and Amitabh Bachchan, respectively), hired by a retired police officer (Sanjeev Kumar) to
capture the ruthless dacoit Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan). Hema Malini and Jaya Bhaduri also
star, as Veeru and Jai's love interests. Sholay is considered a classic and one of the best
Indian films. It was ranked first in the British Film Institute's 2002 poll of "Top 10 Indian
Films" of all time. In 2005, the judges of the 50th Filmfare Awards named it the Best Film of
50 Years.

The film was shot in the rocky terrain of Ramanagara, in the southern state of Karnataka,
over a span of two and a half years. After the Central Board of Film Certification mandated
the removal of several violent scenes, Sholay was released with a length of 198 minutes. In
1990, the original director's cut of 204 minutes became available on home media. 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. By some accounts, Sholay was the highest-grossing
Indian film of all time, adjusted for inflation.

The film is a Dacoit Western, combining the conventions of Indian dacoit films with that of
Westerns, and is a defining example of the masala film, which mixes several genres in one
work. Scholars have noted several themes in the film, such as glorification of violence,
conformation to feudal ethos, debate between social order and mobilised usurpers,
homosocial bonding, and the film's role as a national allegory. The combined sales of the
original soundtrack, scored by R. D. Burman, and the dialogues (released separately), set new
sales records. The film's dialogues and certain characters became extremely popular,
contributing to numerous cultural memes and becoming part of India's daily vernacular. In
January 2014, Sholay was re-released to theatres in the 3D format.

In the small village of Ramgarh, the retired policeman Thakur Baldev Singh (Sanjeev Kumar)
summons a pair of small-time thieves that he had once arrested. Thakur feels that the duo—
Veeru (Dharmendra) and Jai (Amitabh Bachchan) —would be ideal to help him capture
Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan), a dacoit wanted by the authorities for a ₹50,000[b] reward.
Thakur tells them to surrender Gabbar to him, alive, for an additional ₹20,000 reward.

The two thieves thwart the dacoits sent by Gabbar to extort the villagers. Soon afterwards,
Gabbar and his goons attack Ramgarh during the festival of Holi. In a tough battle, Veeru and
Jai are cornered. Thakur, although he has a gun within his reach, does not help them. Veeru
and Jai fight back and the bandits flee. The two are, however, upset at Thakur's inaction, and
consider leaving the village. Thakur explains that Gabbar had killed nearly all of his family
members, and cut off both his arms a few years earlier, which is why he could not use the
gun. He had concealed the dismemberment by always wearing a shawl.

Living in Ramgarh, the jovial Veeru and cynical Jai find themselves growing fond of the
villagers. Veeru is attracted to Basanti (Hema Malini), a feisty, talkative young woman who
makes her living by driving a horse-cart. Jai is drawn to Radha (Jaya Bhaduri), Thakur's
reclusive, widowed daughter-in-law, who subtly returns his affections.
Skirmishes between Gabbar's gang and Jai-Veeru finally result in the capture of Veeru and
Basanti by the dacoits. Jai attacks the gang, and the three are able to flee Gabbar's hideout
with dacoits in pursuit. Fighting from behind a rock, Jai and Veeru nearly run out of
ammunition. Veeru, unaware that Jai was wounded in the gunfight, is forced to leave for
more ammunition. Meanwhile, Jai, who is continuing the gunfight singlehandedly, decides to
sacrifice himself by using his last bullet to ignite dynamite sticks on a bridge from close
range.

Veeru returns, and Jai dies in his arms. Enraged, Veeru attacks Gabbar's den and catches the
dacoit. Veeru nearly beats Gabbar to death when Thakur appears and reminds Veeru of the
promise to hand over Gabbar alive. Thakur uses his spike-soled shoes to severely injure
Gabbar and destroy his hands. The police then arrive and arrest Gabbar. After Jai's funeral,
Veeru leaves Ramgarh and finds Basanti waiting for him on the train. Radha is left alone
again.

The screenwriter pair Salim-Javed, consisting of Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, began
narrating the idea for Sholay as a four-line snippet to filmmakers in 1973.[9][10] The idea
was rejected by two producer/director teams, including directors Manmohan Desai and
Prakash Mehra.[10] About six months after the release of Zanjeer (1973), Salim-Javed got in
touch with G. P. Sippy and his son Ramesh Sippy,[9] and narrated the four-line snippet to
them.[10] Ramesh Sippy liked the concept of Sholay and hired them to develop it. The
original idea of the film involved an army officer who decided to hire two ex-soldiers to
avenge the murder of his family. The army officer was later changed to a policeman because
Sippy felt that it would be difficult to get permission to shoot scenes depicting army
activities. Salim-Javed completed the script in one month, incorporating names and
personality traits of their friends and acquaintances.[10] The film's script and dialogues are in
Hindi-Urdu,[2] primarily Urdu.[3] Salim-Javed wrote the dialogues in Urdu script, which was
then transcribed by an assistant into Devanagari script so that Hindi readers could read the
Urdu dialogues.[11]

The film was loosely styled after Akira Kurosawa's 1954 film Seven Samurai,[12][13] and is
a defining example of the Dacoit Western film, combining the conventions of Indian dacoit
films, especially Mehboob Khan's Mother India (1957) and Dilip Kumar's Gunga Jumna
(1961),[14] with that of Westerns,[12][13] especially Sergio Leone's Spaghetti Westerns such
as Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) as well as The Magnificent Seven (1960).[13] It
also some plot elements borrowed from the Indian films Mera Gaon Mera Desh (1971) and
Khote Sikkay (1973).[10] A scene depicting an attempted train robbery was inspired by a
similar scene in Gunga Jumna,[15] and has also been compared to a similar scene in North
West Frontier (1959).[16] A scene showing the massacre of Thakur's family has been
compared with the massacre of the McBain family in Once Upon a Time in the West.[17]
Sholay may have also been influenced by Sam Peckinpah's Westerns, such as The Wild
Bunch (1969) and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973), and George Roy Hill's Butch Cassidy
and the Sundance Kid (1969).[18]

The character Gabbar Singh was modelled on a real-life dacoit of the same name who had
menaced the villages around Gwalior in the 1950s. Any policeman captured by the real
Gabbar Singh had his ears and nose cut off, and was released as a warning to other
policemen.[19] The character was also inspired by Gunga Jumna, where Dilip Kumar's
character Gunga is a dacoit speaking with a similar dialect, a mix of Khariboli and
Awadhi.[20] The character was also influenced by the villain "El Indio" (played by Gian
Maria Volontè) of Sergio Leone's For a Few Dollars More (1965).[21] Soorma Bhopali, a
minor comic relief character, was based on an acquaintance of actor Jagdeep, a forest officer
from Bhopal named Soorma. The real-life Soorma eventually threatened to press charges
when people who had viewed the film began referring to him as a woodcutter.[22] The main
characters' names, Jai and Veeru, mean "victory" and "heroism" in Hindi.[23]

Casting

The producers considered Danny Denzongpa for the role of bandit chief Gabbar Singh, but he
could not accept it as he was committed to act in Feroz Khan's Dharmatma (1975), under
production at the same time.[24] Amjad Khan, who was the second choice, prepared himself
for the part by reading the book Abhishapta Chambal, which told of the exploits of Chambal
dacoits. The book was written by Taroon Kumar Bhaduri, the father of fellow cast member
Jaya Bhaduri.[25] Sanjeev Kumar also wanted to play the role of Gabbar Singh, but Salim-
Javed "felt he had the audience’s sympathy through roles he’d done before; Gabbar had to be
completely hateful."[9]

Sippy wanted Shatrughan Sinha to play the part of Jai, but there were already several big
stars signed, and Amitabh Bachchan, who was not very popular yet, lobbied hard to get the
part for himself.[10] He was cast after Salim-Javed recommended him for Sholay in 1973;
Bachchan's performance in their first collaboration, Zanjeer, convinced Salim-Javed he was
the right actor for the film.[26]

As cast members had read the script ahead of time, many were interested in playing different
parts. Pran was considered for the role of Thakur Baldev Singh, but Sippy thought Sanjeev
Kumar was a better choice.[27] Initially, Salim-Javed approached Dilip Kumar to play
Thakur's role, but he turned down the offer; Dilip Kumar later said it was one of the few films
he regretted turning down.[9] Initially, Dharmendra was also interested to play the role of
Thakur. He eventually gave up the role when Sippy informed him that Sanjeev Kumar would
play Veeru if that happened, and would be paired with Hema Malini, who Dharmendra was
trying to woo. Dharmendra knew that Kumar was also interested in Malini.[28]

During the film's production, four of the leads became romantically involved.[13] Bachchan
married Bhaduri four months before filming started. This led to shooting delays when
Bhaduri became pregnant with their daughter Shweta. By the time of the film's release, she
was pregnant with their son Abhishek. Dharmendra had begun wooing Malini during their
earlier film Seeta Aur Geeta (1972), and used the location shoot of Sholay to further pursue
her. During their romantic scenes, Dharmendra would often pay the light boys to spoil the
shot, thereby ensuring many retakes and allowing him to spend more time with her. The
couple married five years after the film's release.[29]

Filming

Much of Sholay was shot in the rocky terrain of Ramanagara, a town near Bangalore,
Karnataka.[30] The filmmakers had to build a road from the Bangalore highway to
Ramanagara for convenient access to the sets.[31] Art director Ram Yedekar had an entire
township built on the site. A prison set was constructed near Rajkamal Studio in Mumbai,
also outdoors, to match the natural lighting of the on-location sets.[32] One part of
Ramanagara was for a time called "Sippy Nagar" as a tribute to the director of the film.[33]
As of 2010, a visit to the "Sholay rocks" (where much the film was shot) was still being
offered to tourists travelling through Ramanagara.[34]

Filming began on location on 3 October 1973, with a scene featuring Bachchan and
Bhaduri.[35] The film had a lavish production for its time (with frequent banquets and parties
for the cast),[36] took two and a half years to make, and went over budget. One reason for its
high cost was that Sippy re-filmed scenes many times to get his desired effect. "Yeh Dosti", a
5-minute song sequence, took 21 days to shoot, two short scenes in which Radha lights lamps
took 20 days to film because of lighting problems, and the shooting of the scene in which
Gabbar kills the imam's son lasted 19 days.[37] The train robbery sequence, shot on the
Mumbai–Pune railway route near Panvel, took more than 7 weeks to complete.[38]

Sholay was the first Indian film to have a stereophonic soundtrack and to use the 70 mm
widescreen format.[39] However, since actual 70 mm cameras were expensive at the time,
the film was shot on traditional 35 mm film and the 4:3 picture was subsequently converted
to a 2.2:1 frame.[40] Regarding the process, Sippy said, "A 70mm [sic] format takes the awe
of the big screen and magnifies it even more to make the picture even bigger, but since I also
wanted a spread of sound we used six-track stereophonic sound and combined it with the big
screen. It was definitely a differentiator."[41] The use of 70 mm was emphasised by film
posters on which the name of the film was stylised to match the CinemaScope logo. Film
posters also sought to differentiate the film from those which had come before; one of them
added the tagline: "The greatest star cast ever assembled – the greatest story ever told".[42]

Alternate version

The director's original cut of Sholay has a different ending in which Thakur kills Gabbar,
along with some additional violent scenes. Gabbar's death scene, and the scene in which the
imam's son is killed, were cut from the film by India's Censor Board, as was the scene in
which Thakur's family is massacred.[37] The Censor Board was concerned about the
violence, and that viewers may be influenced to violate the law by punishing people
severely.[43] Although Sippy fought to keep the scenes, eventually he had to re-shoot the
ending of the film, and as directed by the Censor Board, have the police arrive just before
Thakur can kill Gabbar.[44] The censored theatrical version was the only one seen by
audiences for fifteen years. The original, unedited cut of the film finally came out in a British
release on VHS in 1990.[40] Since then, Eros International has released two versions on
DVD. The director's cut of the film preserves the original full frame and is 204 minutes in
length; the censored widescreen version is 198 minutes long.[1][40][45][a]

Themes

Scholars have noted several themes in the film, such as glorification of violence,
conformation to feudal ethos, debate between social order and mobilised usurpers,
homosocial bonding, and the film's role as a national allegory.

Koushik Banerjea, a sociologist in the London School of Economics, notes that Sholay
exhibits a "sympathetic construction of 'rogue' masculinity" exemplified by the likeable
outlaws Jai and Veeru.[47] Banerjea argues during the film, the moral boundary between
legality and criminality gradually erodes.[48] Film scholar Wimal Dissanayake agrees that
the film brought "a new stage in the evolving dialectic between violence and social order" to
Indian cinema.[49] Film scholar M. Madhava Prasad states that Jai and Veeru represent a
marginalised population that is introduced into conventional society.[50] Prasad says that,
through the elements of revenge included in the plot and the application of Jai and Veeru's
criminality for the greater good, the narrative reflects reactionary politics, and the audience is
compelled to accept feudal order.[50] Banerjea explains that though Jai and Veeru are
mercenaries, they are humanised by their emotional needs. Such dualism makes them
vulnerable, in contrast to the pure evil of Gabbar Singh.[48]

Gabbar Singh, the film's antagonist, was well received by the audience, despite his pervasive
sadistic cruelty.[49] Dissanayake explains that the audience was fascinated by the dialogues
and mannerisms of the character, and this element of spectacle outweighed his actions, a first
for Indian melodrama.[49] He notes that the picturisation of violence in the film was
glamourised and uninhibited.[51] He further notes that, unlike earlier melodramas in which
the female body occupies the audience's attention as an object of male fetish, in Sholay, the
male body becomes the centrepiece. It becomes the battleground where good and evil
compete for supremacy.[51] Dissanayake argues that Sholay can be viewed as a national
allegory: it lacks a comforting logical narrative, it shows social stability being repeatedly
challenged, and it shows the devaluation of human life resulting from a lack of emotions.
Taken together, these elements comprise the allegorical representation of India.[52] The
narrative style of Sholay, with its violence, revenge, and vigilante action, is occasionally
compared by scholars to the political unrest in India at the time of its release. This tension
culminated in the Emergency (rule by decree) declared by prime minister Indira Gandhi in
1975.[53]

Dissanayeke and Sahai note that, although the film borrowed heavily from the Hollywood
Western genre, particularly in its visuals, it was successfully "Indianised".[54] As an
example, William van der Heide has compared a massacre scene in Sholay with a similar
scene in Once Upon a Time in the West. Although both films were similar in technical style,
Sholay emphasised Indian family values and melodramatic tradition, while the Western was
more materialistic and restrained in its approach.[17] Maithili Rao, in Encyclopedia of Hindi
Cinema, notes that Sholay infuses the style of the Western genre into a "feudalistic
ethos".[55] Ted Shen of the Chicago Reader notes Sholay's "hysterical visual style" and
intermittent "populist message".[56] Cultural critic and Islamist scholar Ziauddin Sardar
lampoons the film in his book The Secret Politics of Our Desires: Innocence, Culpability and
Indian Popular Cinema, both for its caricature and stereotyping of Muslim and women
characters, and for what he calls mockery of innocent villagers.[57] Sardar notes that the two
most prominent Muslim characters in the film are Soorma Bhopali (a buffoonish criminal),
and an impotent victim of the bandits (the imam). Meanwhile, the sole function of one female
character (Radha) is to suffer her fate in silence, while the other female lead (Basanti) is just a
garrulous village belle.[57]

Some scholars have indicated that Sholay contains homosocial themes.[58][59] Ted Shen
describes the male bonding shown in the film as bordering on camp style.[56] Dina
Holtzman, in her book Bollywood and Globalization: Indian Popular Cinema, Nation, and
Diaspora, states that the death of Jai, and resultant break of bonding between the two male
leads, is necessary for the sake of establishing a normative heterosexual relationship (that of
Veeru and Basanti).[60]