'Sholay' Revisited
The only reason I remember the iconic movie Sholay is because it was only in my fifth attempt that I could manage a ticket to see it. Even offering relatively higher prices in black did not succeed, such was the pull of the movie. It was released in August, 1975 and is these days celebrating forty years of its release.
What explains the phenomenal success of Sholay? It has till date earned around Rs 720 crores, highest by a Hindi movie and that too beginning with comparatively very low ticket rates in 1975. Its story is based on the recurring theme of revenge a very common plot in countless Hindi movies. Many critics have said it was at best a B grade Hindi movie. In fact the film reviews at its release gave it average ratings which could not have predicted that it would go to become an all time favourite.
What sets it apart from other Hindi movies/ In fact a critic has gone to the extent of saying that it was not an Hindi movie and that is what made it a phenomenal Hindi movie. Unlike typical Hindi films it was low on emotion content, though the characters were involved in a emotional revenge saga. It was the first film to present characters devoid of the overburden of emotionalism that made audiences weep in the theaters and clutch to their handkerchiefs.
For the first time characters had a distinct personality of their own without overriding inter plays. This gave the characters scope to make their presence felt on the screen. Even incidental characters with two minute roles left an inedible impression on the viewers. The masterstroke was the creation of the character Gabbar, a rustic dacoit who did not live in luxurious surroundings full of buxom companions and torture chambers. Gabbar was as crude as they really are, full of venom and gutka chewing and cruel because of the omnipresent insecurity in a dacoit's life.
According to me Sholay became a super duper hit because of the character Gabbar, the simple but crisp dialogs by Salim-Javed and the appropriate location in Karnataka. Rest all fell in place automatically. This is not to say that the director, Ramesh Sippy, did not have significant role. He had. It was he who saw potential in the story and selected the appropriate actors for the various roles. For Gabbar's role he had selected Danny Denzongpa but he could not give the dates. Then Javed remembered that Salim had told him once about a powerful performance by Amjad Khan in a stage play he had seen. Amjad was called and his screen test was a hit and Sippy signed him up for Gabbar's role, which even Amitabh Bachchan wanted to do. Wonder how he would have done the role. Sippy also spent time to locate a proper location and finally settled on a rocky location near Bangalore. As a director with a tight script, well defined characters and excellent actors his job was simplified considerably.
Sholay also became a hit because of the many first technological incorporations both in audio and visual aspects which made the film comparable with Hollywood films and audiences loved these. The galloping horses falling with their front feet collapsing gave it an effect of reality. The sublme shots of Jaya in white saree lighting the evening lamp with an adoring Amitabh watching remains with you for a long time. The blabbering with a chatter box Basanti played by Hema and Dharmender adds spice to the film. The 'soocide' shot featuring Dharmender has now become a classic.
However it was the dialogs of the film which caught the fancy of the viewers and they have now almost immortal Simple but effective. "Kite aadmi the" by Gabbar became famous the way Amjad said it. Otherwise by itself it was a very mundane dialog. So has the "chal Basanthi -- " by Hema. Who can forget the impact of the dialog "itna sanaata kyon hai bhai' by blind Maulvi played by the veteren Hangal. Another one "Basanti in kutton ke samne mat nachana' by Dharmender or "Yeh haath mujhe dede thakur" by Sanjeev Kumar or "Basanti tumhara naam kya hai" by Amitabh or " Ham angrezoon ke zamane ke jailor hai" by Asrani or " Hota Bhopal -- " by Jagdeep have all become legendary. One can go on. The dialogs of Sholay were released in form of a record by a recording company and it did a roaring business.
Sholay came just when the Emergency was declared in the country and its vice like grip was beginning to stifle the masses. Did it have any effect on viewers thronging to the cinema halls is difficult to say.
All in all Sholay was a trend setter and today many times film history is written as pre and post-Sholay. It has indeed become a milestone in Hindi films. It gave a boost to writers to develop strong characters and liberated them from cliches in which they had got trapped. The maturing audiences liked this welcome change and the canvas of stories became wider.
However all films become hit only in their times. As times go by, tastes of audiences change . It is doubtful if Sholay were to be released first time today it would become such mega hit.
In conclusion I narrate what a grandparent known to me told me. A couple of years back Sholay was re-released with some publicity. He took his 11 year old grandson to show him Sholay after praising it very much to him. Midway in the show the grandson became restless and forced his grandparent to walkout of the hall. The young lad told him how can we withstand such bore movie. How times change.
However in the history of Indian cinema and especially Hindi films Sholay has a very high place for its many contributions and the extraordinary reception it received from the film goers.
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