Sholay

Sholay (Hindi: शोले, Urdu: شعلے) (advertised in English as fire is the biggest blockbuster in the history of Bollywood, India's Hindi film industry. It was released in 1975 and starred Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Sanjeev Kumar, Jaya Bhaduri and Amjad Khan as the timeless villain, Gabbar Singh.
It is the highest grossing film of all time in India. It has earned Rs. 2,36,45,00,000 equivalent to US$ 60 million, after adjusting for inflation. In 1999, BBC India declared it the "Film of the Millennium"; in 2005, the judges of the 50th annual Filmfare awards awarded it with a special award called Filmfare Best Film of 50 Years.
Indiatimes Movies ranks the movie amongst the Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films.
When first released the film was declared a commercial disaster. Word of mouth convinced movie-goers to give the film a chance and soon it became a box-office phenomenon. It ran for 286 weeks straight in one Mumbai theatre, the Minerva. Sholay racked up a still record 60 golden jubilees across India, and doubled its original gross over reruns during the late 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. Sholay was the first film in the history of Indian cinema to celebrate silver jubilee (25 weeks) at over a hundred theatres across India. To date, more than 1,100 prints of Sholay are in circulation-the highest number for any Hindi film.
THE BEGINNING
A train arrives at a rural station and a lone police officer disembarks, looking for "Thakur Sahib" (thakur, literally "lord, master," is a respectful title for a member of one of the landlord castes who trace their lineage to ancient kshatriyas or warrior-aristocrats; Sahib means "sir"). As the credits roll, we follow his horseback journey through a Badlands-like landscape to the remote settlement of Ramgarh (“Rama’s fort”). Here he meets the Thakur, Baldev Singh (Sanjeev Kumar), a retired police officer who is always wrapped in a gray shawl. Singh requests his visitor to locate and bring him two criminals, the scruffy, ever-smiling Veeru (Dharmendra) and the lanky, brooding Jaidev or “Jai” for short (Amitabh Bacchan).
THE TRAIN SEQUENCE
When the officer asks what task these notorious repeat-offenders can possibly be suited for, Singh recounts his first meeting with them, two years earlier, when he was transporting them to jail via a freight train. Immediately after they boast to him of their courage, the train is attacked by bandits, and they defend it and their wounded captor against a seemingly unending troop of horsemen.
But their moral ambivalence is revealed when they toss a coin to decide whether to bring the bleeding officer to a hospital (landing themselves in jail), or to escape (leaving him to die). In a motif that will be repeated, "chance" impels them to do the Right Thing. The flashback ends with Singh's visitor promising to search for the pair, but adding that, if they are out of jail and at large, it may be difficult to locate them. The outdoor scenes, especially the train sequences were short some 50 km (30 odd miles) from Bangalore.
FRIENDSHIP
First musical number: Veeru and Jai steal a motorcycle with sidecar and burst into a rollicking "song of the road," evoking the antics of Raj Kapoor's "vagabond" persona of the 1950s.
They approach a crooked but comical Muslim lumber dealer, Surma Bhopali (Jagdeep), with an unusual offer: he will turn them in to the police, collect the reward of 2000 rupees, and split it with them when they are released from prison. Cut to the prison, and another ludic interlude, including homage to Chaplin's Great Dictator in the crackpot jailer (comic actor Asrani), who boasts of his training under the British. The wily pair easily outsmart him and escape, but when they return to Bhopali to collect their promised thousand rupees, he betrays them to the police. Back in jail, they are located by the Thakur's agent, and Singh awaits them outside the prison gate when they are released, thus ending the comic digression and returning to the frame narrative. Singh asks them to capture the notorious outlaw (daku) Gabbar Singh; in return, he will give them the 50,000 rupees reward offered by the police. He pays them a 5,000 rupee advance, and promises another 5,000 when they reach Ramgarh.
VILLAGE
They travel to the Thakur's village, where they come across chatterbox Basanti (Hema Malini) and her faithful, Tonga driving horse, Dhano. Instantly, Veeru falls for Basanti and tries to woo her at any cost; while Jai falls for Radha (Jaya Badhuri), the Thakur's widowed daughter-in-law.
ROMANCE
In Radha, he sees someone who understands pain and sorrow, which he finds captivating. Each of the romantic pairs were involved with each other off screen. Audiences flocked to theatres to witness the beginnings of the Hema-Dharmendra and Jaya-Amitabh romances. Some of the romantic interactions were taken from the cast's actual personal experiences. During filming, Jaya was five months pregnant with their first child. Jaya Badhuri and Bachchan married before shooting began. Even the bitter and cynical Jai confesses to Veeru of his desire to get married and start a family with Radha.
HOLI
The evil Gabbar Singh asks his men: Holi kab hai, kab hai Holi? Cut to rustic Ramgarh, where the virile Veeru and the loquacious Basanti join the villagers in celebrating Holi. Holi ke din dil mil jaate hain, rangon mein rang mil jaate hai, they sing even as the threat of an attack by Gabbar Singh looms over the hamlet. Sure enough, the joyous song is rudely interrupted by gunshots and the clatter of hooves. A shootout erupts. Terror and bloodshed quickly replace the colours of joy. The use of the metaphor of Holi as a portent of grave danger has never been quite as effective as it is in Sholay.
Helen's special dance number 'Mehbooba Mehbooba' is an all-time rage and is crucial in giving the cabaret dancer the epithet of Indian Cinema's Golden Girl. The character of the jailor, played by Asrani, is loosely based on the clumsy Inspector Jacques Clouseau of the 'Pink Panther' fame.
ENDING
The final song appearing in the film "Aan Jab Tak Hai Jaan" is a powerful song that demonstrates Hema Malini's talent as Bollywood's Diva on various levels. This song is a visual treat because it showcases her dancing ability and also demonstrates the character of Basanti as one of Bollywood's most powerful females. In this song sequence, Hema Malini as Basanti, defiantly dances on broken glass and thwarts off the lewd advances of Gabbar Singh and his men to save the love of her life, proving that she is strong enough to defend herself against one of Bollywood's most memorable villains. Her character proves that not all of Bollywood's beautiful leading ladies are incapable of defending themselves and their men.
The original ending (that can be seen today on some DVD versions) shows the ex-cop killing Gabbar Singh. However, the CBFC (Central Board of Film Certification (more popularly known as the Censor board) that has to pass movies fit for public viewing) found the ending gruesome, especially in the context of the prevailing times then, as India was under emergency. The ending had Thakur kill Gabbar with his specially-made spiked shoes. The Board objected that a police officer would commit murder, and ordered the ending to be changed. The ending was changed to show the police arresting Gabbar Singh in the nick of time. Several other smaller changes differentiate Sippy's original 204 minute version from the censored theatrical release.
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SHOLAY Trailer
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