Irony-1:
Filmfare Awards 1975.... a movie got as many as 1 (ONE) award in the event... “Best Editing”. Definitely not the best movie of the year.
3 Decades latest, the movie got its second.... “The Best Movie in the history of Indian Cinema”!!
Irony-2:
“A complete box office debacle with a weak story line.” ... this is what the press had to say when the movie released.
The movie went on to break all records. Today we say, “The greatest movie ever made... the greatest story ever told”!!
As they say… rest is history…..
In my opinion, Sholay was not just a movie.. it is the essence of Indian Cinema. Now I am trying to do a review in 8000 characters on a film, on which, a book is already written!!
I won’t be writing on the storyline, the technicalities like direction, editing, camera, action and the music…. Everything was just too good as has been told by many over the years.
So where do I begin?
The Making of Masterpiece
It is a story of missed opportunities and making best out of what is given to you.
No one can tell what would have happened if Manmohan Desai had accepted the script when it was given to him by Salim-Javed. He preferred to work on a mediocre Chacha Bhatija.
No one can tell what would have happened if people got what roles they wanted…. Sanjeev Kumar as Gabbar Singh, Amitabh as Veeru, Dharmendra as Thakur and Satrughan Sinha as Jai. I can hardly think in those lines.
If it was a missed opportunity for Manmohan Desai, so was the case for Danny, who was too busy with Dharmatma.
Casting woes were getting worse when the choice for Jai was to be made. Luckily it was Dharmendra who convinced the Sippys that Amitabh is a better choice than Satrughan Sinha for the role… and Jaya Bachchan was cast against him when she was already pregnant!!!
Once the suiting started, it was not getting any better…. After suggesting Amjad Khan, Salim-Javed were backing out on him due to his weak (???) voice. The producers had to deal with a real life couple and a real life love triangle (Dharmendra, Hema, Sanjeev Kumar) in the process…. Lack of techniques was making it too difficult to shot many of the scenes and so on…..
But when it came out…. Rest was history….
The Characters
Probably what makes the movie the most memorable is the characters.
Jaidev (Amitabh) was silent but we could feel the fire burning underneath. There was no flashback on his life, but some things are better answered without being told. His power was in his silent aggression. In my opinion, he was at his best when he gets the cows (?) home and seeing Jaya standing, he suddenly gets embarrassed… classic..
Another silent performer was Jaya Bachchan as Radha. She hardly spoke in the movie, but her silence told us everything. The directors used the mute objects (such as lights, windows etc.) to express her feelings. She has given an unparallel performance. My favourite scene is where she is with the small goat on her laps…. Her loneliness is clearly spelt out there.
The talkative couple of Veeru and Vasanti won many hearts that time. The dialogues such as “Yuunki…” and “Soosaad… Chakki pissing and pissing” became household dialogues. Of course, it was Hema who took the cake with “Chal mere Dhanno” and the dance at the climax.
Thakur ke kya kehne…Sanjeev Kumar’s performance was the best as Thakur and unfortunately that year it was overshadowed by another great performance by him in Aandhi. He was subtle… His expressions were par excellence.
Gabbar Singh became the greatest villain ever in Hindi movies. And why not…. From the word “Go”, each second Gabbar fills our heart with unthinkable terror…. It may be his“Arre ho Shaamba” or “Ye haath mujhe de de Thakur”…. It was fear factor at its best.
Coming to fringe characters…. it was one of those movies where even smaller characters left their mark. Till date we have not forgotten Kalia or Shamba.
Immam Sahab (AK Hangal) or the dreams getting shattered of his son (Sachin), each moment left its share.
Among the comic characters, Asrani gave his best performance in life with the cameo role as an “Angrezon Ke Zamaane Ka Jailor” and so did Jagdeep as Surma Bhopali A Bhaai. Also worth remembering was Leela Mishra as Mausi.
In short… it was a movie of strong characters backed by excellent performances.
The Scenes
The scenes were picturised keeping every minute detail in mind.
The introduction of Gabbar when Kalia comes back defeated is probably the best… Leaves you scared worse than a horror movie.
The scene before interval where Sanjeev Kumar’s shawl falls off leaving the hard truth slapping the face of audience leaves you totally speechless… If this is not the power of performance, then I will like to know what is.
Probably the eeriest scene was when Ramlal (Satyen Kappu) comes out screeming…. “Thakur…. Daku”…..
There were a couple of serious and heart touching scenes between Amitabh and Jaya. So was the scene between Amitabh and Dharmnendra where they talk of getting back to main stream.
The movie had its great comic moments too. May it be the jail scenes or Jai going to Mausi with Veeru’s proposal….. may it be Veeru talking from the back of the temple or teaching Vasanti how to shoot… May it be Vasanti’s chatter in the tanga or may it be Veeru’s suicide attempts. They never failed to tickle the funny bone.
Even the song picturisation was superb. It is Yeh Dosti… which is still playing when we talk of friendship. It is still Jabtak hai jaan, jaan-e-jahaan which is the icon of a climax dance. The duet cabaret of Mehbooba Mehboobais still considered to be the best. Probably only song which has somewhat stayed behind in the test of time is Koi hasheena jab rooth jaati hai to…
Summerising… each scene was made with maximum perfection.
After 30 Years….
Till date we remember the movie as fresh as yesterday….
Till date the movie runs to packed house whenever it releases….
We have seen umpteen number of copies of the movie…..
Sanjeev Kumar Nd Anjad Khan died years back, but their performance still fresh in our minds…
Till date Sholay means something to the movie goer….
Sholay means the pinnacle of Indian Cinema….
Sholay is Sholay….. nothing before, nothing after…..