‘Budhiya jail mein chakki peesing and peesing. ‘Tumhara naam kya hai,Basanti? ‘Yun toh hamein zyaada baat karne ki aadat nahin hai. ‘Kitnay Aadmi Thay? ‘Poore pachaas hajaar,sarkaar. Real-life dacoits in their dhoti-kurtas,post 1975,must have cursed Gabbar for forever stamping his wardrobe imprint on them,as well as wondering where they could find a campfire and item queen Helen and the very colourful Jalal Agha whooping it up to Mehbooba,Mehbooba. But the way director Ramesh Sippy,writers Salim-Javed,cinematographer Dwarka Diwecha,and music director R D Burman crafted this film,those couple of imitative scenes were so beautifully knit into the fabric of the film that you felt they were always part of it. Village Ramgarh looked as if it was fashioned like a Hollywood western outpost. The soundscape,with the trademark goose-pimply keening,was very Sergio Leone-sque. It was many years after I watched it first that I discovered in a genuine spaghetti Western,a couple of scenes which seemed like they were completely transplanted onto Sholay. Without his outstanding Gabbar,togged out in olive green fatigues,rotten teeth and clattering boots,and his inimitable delivery,the film wouldnt have been what it was. Legend has it that Bachchan wanted to do this role,but it went to the debutant Amjad Khan. ‘Sholays bad guy is Hindi cinemas most enduring,fearsome,charismatic villain,no contest. And of course I cheated,by whipping off those glasses every few minutes and catching it as it was meant to be.īest friends and small-time thieves Veeru ( Dharmendra) and Jai ( Amitabh) rolling along in that ridiculous twin-seater scooter,the meeting with Thakur Baldev Singh ( Sanjeev Kumar) in the train,that opening fast-paced ‘daku-chase scene,the ‘paan-chewing Soorma Bhopali ( Jagdeep),the ‘angrezon ke zamaane ka jailor ( Asrani),the rocky-outcropped picturesque ‘gaon Ramgarh and its residents,the chatterbox ‘taangewaali Basanti ( Hema),the diminutive,sad-eyed Radha ( Jaya),and the glowering,vengeful ‘thakur.Īnd Gabbar Singh,who deserves a whole paragraph to himself. But nothing took away from my viewing I even enjoyed a few of the 3D bells and whistles,despite the darkened screen. I watched it yesterday in 3D,fully prepared to moan and groan about how it ruined the film for me.
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