YESTERYEAR CINEMA: "SHOLAY"
THE PLOT:
The beginning
A rare photograph on location, of the main male leads. (Left to right) - Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar and Amjad Khan.Ramgarh, a small village in the dunes of Chambal river, is home to ex-policeman Thakur Baldev Singh (Sanjeev Kumar). The movie begins with Thakur summoning an old colleague and requesting him to track down a pair of small-time thieves he once apprehended in the line of duty. Though the two petty criminals Veeru (Dharmendra) and Jai (Amitabh Bachchan) are notorious, Thakur feels that they would be the ideal men to help him end the tyranny of Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan) - an infamous dacoit (bandit) wanted by the authorities for a Rs 50,000 reward. Veeru and Jai are found and brought to Ramgarh. They are told by Thakur that they are to bring Gabbar to him alive for Rs 20,000 plus the Rs 50,000 reward.
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Former Member
Former Member
YESTERYEAR CINEMA: "SHOLAY"
THE PLOT:
The tyranny of Gabbar
Three of Gabbar's enforcers arrive in Ramgarh to collect supplies from the defenseless villagers. This time, however, they go back empty-handed, due to Veeru and Jai's intervention. The villagers show their gratitude by hailing their new heroes.
In Gabbar's camp, the tyrant interrogates the three men he sent to Ramgarh about why they were defeated by only two men. His psychotic nature is shown when he subjects his men to a twisted version of Russian Roulette where all three survive against the odds. This event amuses Gabbar who begins to laugh uncontrollably at the bizarre occurrence and the impossibility of it happening. The three men who have survived this ordeal are bemused but then relieved and slowly begin to laugh as well. As the sounds of all of Gabbar's army laughing like fools reverberate around the rocky camp, Gabbar suddenly stops laughing and uses the three remaining bullets to shoot the three men dead.
Gabbar's plan to attack Ramgarh on Holi is put into action and in a much tougher battle this time, Veeru and Jai meet their match and are held at gunpoint. With his two recruits facing death, Thakur has a chance to throw a gun to Veeru. Instead of helping, Thakur simply stands stationary. With quick thinking, Veeru and Jai manage to save their lives. They then state their intentions to walk away from Ramgarh, leaving the villagers to defend themselves, due to Thakur's cowardice. Before they can, Thakur tells them the real reason of why he wants Gabbar and why he could not help them.
Some time ago, Thakur had caught Gabbar and had him imprisoned only for the dacoit to escape and plot an evil revenge against him. Gabbar made his way to Thakur's home and cold-bloodedly, killed his two sons, daughter, elder daughter-in-law and his only grandson. The only person in the family to survive this massacre was Thakur's younger daughter-in-law, Radha.
Thakur tracked down Gabbar but this time, the tyrant held the upper hand thanks to his gang and tortured him. Gabbar reminded Thakur of his promise to come back and haunt him once he escaped and this was the day. Grabbing two swords, Gabbar maniacally approached Thakur and ruthlessly cut off both his arms. Thakur had hidden this disability from Veeru and Jai, but now it was clear why he could not physically help them.
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THE PLOT:
The tyranny of Gabbar
Three of Gabbar's enforcers arrive in Ramgarh to collect supplies from the defenseless villagers. This time, however, they go back empty-handed, due to Veeru and Jai's intervention. The villagers show their gratitude by hailing their new heroes.
In Gabbar's camp, the tyrant interrogates the three men he sent to Ramgarh about why they were defeated by only two men. His psychotic nature is shown when he subjects his men to a twisted version of Russian Roulette where all three survive against the odds. This event amuses Gabbar who begins to laugh uncontrollably at the bizarre occurrence and the impossibility of it happening. The three men who have survived this ordeal are bemused but then relieved and slowly begin to laugh as well. As the sounds of all of Gabbar's army laughing like fools reverberate around the rocky camp, Gabbar suddenly stops laughing and uses the three remaining bullets to shoot the three men dead.
Gabbar's plan to attack Ramgarh on Holi is put into action and in a much tougher battle this time, Veeru and Jai meet their match and are held at gunpoint. With his two recruits facing death, Thakur has a chance to throw a gun to Veeru. Instead of helping, Thakur simply stands stationary. With quick thinking, Veeru and Jai manage to save their lives. They then state their intentions to walk away from Ramgarh, leaving the villagers to defend themselves, due to Thakur's cowardice. Before they can, Thakur tells them the real reason of why he wants Gabbar and why he could not help them.
Some time ago, Thakur had caught Gabbar and had him imprisoned only for the dacoit to escape and plot an evil revenge against him. Gabbar made his way to Thakur's home and cold-bloodedly, killed his two sons, daughter, elder daughter-in-law and his only grandson. The only person in the family to survive this massacre was Thakur's younger daughter-in-law, Radha.
Thakur tracked down Gabbar but this time, the tyrant held the upper hand thanks to his gang and tortured him. Gabbar reminded Thakur of his promise to come back and haunt him once he escaped and this was the day. Grabbing two swords, Gabbar maniacally approached Thakur and ruthlessly cut off both his arms. Thakur had hidden this disability from Veeru and Jai, but now it was clear why he could not physically help them.
.
Former Member
YESTERYEAR CINEMA: "SHOLAY"
THE PLOT:
Village life
Living in Ramgarh, the cynical young Jai and lively Veeru find themselves growing fond of the villagers, taking pity on their sufferings under dacoit tyranny. Some of the villagers evoke more than fondness. Veeru is attracted to Basanti, a feisty, talkative young woman who makes her living driving a horse-cart. However, Basanti's aunt, thanks to Jai's meddling, is reluctant to let Veeru marry her niece. Only after Veeru drunkenly swears that he will commit suicide by jumping off a water tower does she agree to let him marry Basanti.
Jai is drawn to Radha, the Thakur's reclusive widowed daughter-in-law, who very subtly returns his affections. Thakur's servant, Ramlaal, tells of when Radha used to be full of life and color until the day Gabbar killed her husband. After discussing it with Radha's father, Thakur agrees that she can marry Jai.
The duo also befriend other villagers and instill a belief of freedom from Gabbar's villainous regime. Among these are the blind imam and his son, Ahmed, who has been offered a job in the city, but refuses to leave his father all alone. He is eventually talked into going and sets off on his horse. On the way, he has the bad luck of running into Gabbar's henchmen. Ahmed is killed and returned with a message for Ramgarh: hand over Veeru and Jai or suffer the same fate as the dead boy.
As the villagers stand over Ahmed's body, they tell Veeru and Jai, that they can give away whatever wealth they have, but they cannot risk their children's lives. Thakur, Veeru and Jai argue against ceding to Gabbar's threats, but only the imam, who has lost his son, convinces the villagers that they cannot simply give in to evil.
.
THE PLOT:
Village life
Living in Ramgarh, the cynical young Jai and lively Veeru find themselves growing fond of the villagers, taking pity on their sufferings under dacoit tyranny. Some of the villagers evoke more than fondness. Veeru is attracted to Basanti, a feisty, talkative young woman who makes her living driving a horse-cart. However, Basanti's aunt, thanks to Jai's meddling, is reluctant to let Veeru marry her niece. Only after Veeru drunkenly swears that he will commit suicide by jumping off a water tower does she agree to let him marry Basanti.
Jai is drawn to Radha, the Thakur's reclusive widowed daughter-in-law, who very subtly returns his affections. Thakur's servant, Ramlaal, tells of when Radha used to be full of life and color until the day Gabbar killed her husband. After discussing it with Radha's father, Thakur agrees that she can marry Jai.
The duo also befriend other villagers and instill a belief of freedom from Gabbar's villainous regime. Among these are the blind imam and his son, Ahmed, who has been offered a job in the city, but refuses to leave his father all alone. He is eventually talked into going and sets off on his horse. On the way, he has the bad luck of running into Gabbar's henchmen. Ahmed is killed and returned with a message for Ramgarh: hand over Veeru and Jai or suffer the same fate as the dead boy.
As the villagers stand over Ahmed's body, they tell Veeru and Jai, that they can give away whatever wealth they have, but they cannot risk their children's lives. Thakur, Veeru and Jai argue against ceding to Gabbar's threats, but only the imam, who has lost his son, convinces the villagers that they cannot simply give in to evil.
.
Former Member
YESTERYEAR CINEMA: "SHOLAY"
THE PLOT:
The climax
Veeru and Jai fight back and send a message back to Gabbar: For every villager killed by Gabbar, Veeru and Jai will avenge them by killing four of his men in return. Gabbar, angered by this, swears death on Jai, Veeru, Thakur, and all of Ramgarh.
The battle approaches its climax when Basanti and Veeru are captured and Jai follows. Gabbar's mania drives him to shatter glass around an area for Basanti to dance upon - so long as she dances, Veeru (tied up as Thakur was) will not be harmed. Jai gets through Gabbar's defences. Soon Jai is able to get into a position to shoot Gabbar and demands the release of his friends. Veeru and Basanti escape while Jai holds back the dacoits from a distance with a rifle. Once Veeru and Basanti are safe, Jai slowly draws back and heads for his friends, only to be wounded grievously by a bullet as he is running away.
Jai is reunited with Veeru and Basanti and they realize they are running out of ammunition. As Veeru is unaware of Jai's wound, Jai orders him to go back to the village where he can take Basanti and then return with some ammunition. Veeru does not want Jai to face the bandits alone, so he suggests that Jai should go. The two argue once more and resort to what has been their only method of resolution over the years - the coin. As it was earlier in the film, Veeru loses the toss and goes back to the village.
Jai, slowly dying and with only a few bullets, manages to fend off advances by the bandits, who have hidden under a small bridge and have thrown a stick of dynamite that has failed to explode. Jai manages to get close enough to the dynamite and uses his last bullet to detonate it, taking out the bridge and most of Gabbar's men.
Veeru returns to find Jai dying and sadly talks with him before he dies in his arms. Some of the villagers rush to the scene, including Radha, who once again must endure the anguish of losing someone. As Veeru wipes a tear, he notices Jai's old coin in his hand and then it dawns on him that he had been tricked by Jai all along. The coin was double-headed and Jai had managed to manipulate every situation that they disagreed on to his favor. Angry at his friend for sacrificing his life to save him, Veeru becomes hell-bent on revenge and goes after Gabbar.
Veeru catches Gabbar and beats him up badly. He is about to finish him off when Thakur appears and reminds him of the promise to bring Gabbar to him - alive. Veeru is ready to break his word to avenge Jai when he is told that it was Jai who made the promise. Unwilling to break Jai's promise, Veeru hands Gabbar over to the Thakur. When Gabbar asks Thakur that his hands are cut, and how will he fight, Thakur replies that the serpant is crushed by foot and not by hands and then reveals his spike-soled shoes, made to make Gabbar beg for a quick death.
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THE PLOT:
The climax
Veeru and Jai fight back and send a message back to Gabbar: For every villager killed by Gabbar, Veeru and Jai will avenge them by killing four of his men in return. Gabbar, angered by this, swears death on Jai, Veeru, Thakur, and all of Ramgarh.
The battle approaches its climax when Basanti and Veeru are captured and Jai follows. Gabbar's mania drives him to shatter glass around an area for Basanti to dance upon - so long as she dances, Veeru (tied up as Thakur was) will not be harmed. Jai gets through Gabbar's defences. Soon Jai is able to get into a position to shoot Gabbar and demands the release of his friends. Veeru and Basanti escape while Jai holds back the dacoits from a distance with a rifle. Once Veeru and Basanti are safe, Jai slowly draws back and heads for his friends, only to be wounded grievously by a bullet as he is running away.
Jai is reunited with Veeru and Basanti and they realize they are running out of ammunition. As Veeru is unaware of Jai's wound, Jai orders him to go back to the village where he can take Basanti and then return with some ammunition. Veeru does not want Jai to face the bandits alone, so he suggests that Jai should go. The two argue once more and resort to what has been their only method of resolution over the years - the coin. As it was earlier in the film, Veeru loses the toss and goes back to the village.
Jai, slowly dying and with only a few bullets, manages to fend off advances by the bandits, who have hidden under a small bridge and have thrown a stick of dynamite that has failed to explode. Jai manages to get close enough to the dynamite and uses his last bullet to detonate it, taking out the bridge and most of Gabbar's men.
Veeru returns to find Jai dying and sadly talks with him before he dies in his arms. Some of the villagers rush to the scene, including Radha, who once again must endure the anguish of losing someone. As Veeru wipes a tear, he notices Jai's old coin in his hand and then it dawns on him that he had been tricked by Jai all along. The coin was double-headed and Jai had managed to manipulate every situation that they disagreed on to his favor. Angry at his friend for sacrificing his life to save him, Veeru becomes hell-bent on revenge and goes after Gabbar.
Veeru catches Gabbar and beats him up badly. He is about to finish him off when Thakur appears and reminds him of the promise to bring Gabbar to him - alive. Veeru is ready to break his word to avenge Jai when he is told that it was Jai who made the promise. Unwilling to break Jai's promise, Veeru hands Gabbar over to the Thakur. When Gabbar asks Thakur that his hands are cut, and how will he fight, Thakur replies that the serpant is crushed by foot and not by hands and then reveals his spike-soled shoes, made to make Gabbar beg for a quick death.
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Former Member
YESTERYEAR CINEMA: "SHOLAY"
THE PLOT:
Aftermath
Gabbar is kicked around by Thakur but is saved in the nick of time by the police, who tell the Thakur that Gabbar must be arrested and dealt with by the law. As Gabbar is taken away, Thakur is denied vengeance, but knows that Ramgarh is free once again.
In the alternate ending to the film, Gabbar actually dies as he is kicked into a spike that is protruding from the posts where Thakur's arms were cut off. Thakur then falls to his knees and is comforted by Veeru. Thakur then begins to cry which he did not do even when his family was killed.
Jai's funeral (cremation) takes place as Veeru stands all alone in front of the pyre. In the distance, Radha watches on through a window.
With nothing more for him in Ramgarh, Veeru leaves on a train. But as he looks up, he sees that he is not alone. Basanti has also boarded the train and both she and Veeru leave Ramgarh together.
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THE PLOT:
Aftermath
Gabbar is kicked around by Thakur but is saved in the nick of time by the police, who tell the Thakur that Gabbar must be arrested and dealt with by the law. As Gabbar is taken away, Thakur is denied vengeance, but knows that Ramgarh is free once again.
In the alternate ending to the film, Gabbar actually dies as he is kicked into a spike that is protruding from the posts where Thakur's arms were cut off. Thakur then falls to his knees and is comforted by Veeru. Thakur then begins to cry which he did not do even when his family was killed.
Jai's funeral (cremation) takes place as Veeru stands all alone in front of the pyre. In the distance, Radha watches on through a window.
With nothing more for him in Ramgarh, Veeru leaves on a train. But as he looks up, he sees that he is not alone. Basanti has also boarded the train and both she and Veeru leave Ramgarh together.
.
Former Member
YESTERYEAR CINEMA: "SHOLAY"
Sholay began as a four line idea that Salim-Javed pitched to Ramesh Sippy. Sippy liked the concept and hired them to develop it. The original idea was simply an army officer deciding to hire two ex-soldiers to avenge the murder of his family. The officer was later changed to a policeman as Sippy felt it would be too difficult to get permission to film from the army. They completed the script in only one month, borrowing many character names and personalities from their friends and acquaintances
Sippy at first wanted Shatrughan Sinha to play the part of Jai, but Dharmendra convinced the producers that Amitabh Bachchan would be the right choice. The producers wanted Danny Denzongpa to play the bandit chief, but he was committed to Feroz Khan's Dharmatma. Amjad Khan was a second choice. Khan prepared to play the bandit chief Gabbar Singh by reading a book titled Abhishapth Chambal, which told of the exploits of Chambal dacoits. The book was written by Taroon Bhaduri, the father of Jaya Bhaduri.
The movie drew heavily from the conventions of Western films, especially Sergio Leone's Spaghetti Westerns and John Sturges' The Magnificent Seven. Sholay's extensive use of slow-motion in shoot-outs was influenced by the westerns of Sam Peckinpah, films such as The Wild Bunch (1969) and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973). Some plot elements were also borrowed from the films Mera Gaon Mera Desh, Khote Sikkay, Madhumati and the Hollywood film Garden of Eden.[
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Sholay began as a four line idea that Salim-Javed pitched to Ramesh Sippy. Sippy liked the concept and hired them to develop it. The original idea was simply an army officer deciding to hire two ex-soldiers to avenge the murder of his family. The officer was later changed to a policeman as Sippy felt it would be too difficult to get permission to film from the army. They completed the script in only one month, borrowing many character names and personalities from their friends and acquaintances
Sippy at first wanted Shatrughan Sinha to play the part of Jai, but Dharmendra convinced the producers that Amitabh Bachchan would be the right choice. The producers wanted Danny Denzongpa to play the bandit chief, but he was committed to Feroz Khan's Dharmatma. Amjad Khan was a second choice. Khan prepared to play the bandit chief Gabbar Singh by reading a book titled Abhishapth Chambal, which told of the exploits of Chambal dacoits. The book was written by Taroon Bhaduri, the father of Jaya Bhaduri.
The movie drew heavily from the conventions of Western films, especially Sergio Leone's Spaghetti Westerns and John Sturges' The Magnificent Seven. Sholay's extensive use of slow-motion in shoot-outs was influenced by the westerns of Sam Peckinpah, films such as The Wild Bunch (1969) and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973). Some plot elements were also borrowed from the films Mera Gaon Mera Desh, Khote Sikkay, Madhumati and the Hollywood film Garden of Eden.[
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Former Member
YESTERYEAR CINEMA: "SHOLAY"
Gabbar Singh was modeled on a real-life dacoit of the same name who menaced the villages around Gwalior in the 1950s. He terrorized the local police. Any policeman captured by the real Gabbar Singh had his ears and nose cut off, and was then released as an object lesson to other policemen.
During the film's production, four of the leads became romantically involved. Bachchan married Jaya Bhaduri four months before filming started. This caused problems when shooting had to be postponed because Jaya became pregnant with her daughter Shweta Bachchan. Dharmendra had begun wooing Hema Malini during their earlier film Seeta Aur Geeta and used the location shoot of Sholay to further pursue her. During their romantic scenes, Dharmendra would pay the light boys to spoil the shot, thereby ensuring many retakes. The couple eventually married in 1980, five years after the film's release.[8]
The film was a lavish production for its time. It took two and a half years to make and went Rs. 300,000 over budget. One reason for its high cost was that Ramesh Sippy re-filmed scenes many time to get his desired effect. The Yeh dosti sequence took 21 days to shoot while two short scenes where Radha is lighting lamps took 20 days due to lighting problems. Another shoot for the scene in which Gabbar kills the son of the Imam lasted 19 days. The scene was later cut from the film by the Censor Board as was the scene in which Thakur's family is killed.[9]
Much of the film is set in the rocky terrain of Ramanagaram, a village near Bangalore, Karnataka. The filmmakers had to build a road from the Bangalore highway to Ramanagaram for convenient access to the sets. One part of Ramanagaram town was renamed "Sippynagar" after the director of the movie. Even to this day, a visit to the "Sholay rocks" (where the movie was shot) is offered to tourists traveling through Ramanagaram (on the road between Bangalore and Mysore).
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Gabbar Singh was modeled on a real-life dacoit of the same name who menaced the villages around Gwalior in the 1950s. He terrorized the local police. Any policeman captured by the real Gabbar Singh had his ears and nose cut off, and was then released as an object lesson to other policemen.
During the film's production, four of the leads became romantically involved. Bachchan married Jaya Bhaduri four months before filming started. This caused problems when shooting had to be postponed because Jaya became pregnant with her daughter Shweta Bachchan. Dharmendra had begun wooing Hema Malini during their earlier film Seeta Aur Geeta and used the location shoot of Sholay to further pursue her. During their romantic scenes, Dharmendra would pay the light boys to spoil the shot, thereby ensuring many retakes. The couple eventually married in 1980, five years after the film's release.[8]
The film was a lavish production for its time. It took two and a half years to make and went Rs. 300,000 over budget. One reason for its high cost was that Ramesh Sippy re-filmed scenes many time to get his desired effect. The Yeh dosti sequence took 21 days to shoot while two short scenes where Radha is lighting lamps took 20 days due to lighting problems. Another shoot for the scene in which Gabbar kills the son of the Imam lasted 19 days. The scene was later cut from the film by the Censor Board as was the scene in which Thakur's family is killed.[9]
Much of the film is set in the rocky terrain of Ramanagaram, a village near Bangalore, Karnataka. The filmmakers had to build a road from the Bangalore highway to Ramanagaram for convenient access to the sets. One part of Ramanagaram town was renamed "Sippynagar" after the director of the movie. Even to this day, a visit to the "Sholay rocks" (where the movie was shot) is offered to tourists traveling through Ramanagaram (on the road between Bangalore and Mysore).
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