title: Bertolt Brecht

text: Epic Theatre proposed that a play should not cause the spectator to identify emotionally with the characters or action before him or her, but should instead provoke rational self-reflection and a critical view of the action on the stage. Brecht thought that the experience of a climactic catharsis of emotion left an audience complacent. Instead, he wanted his audiences to adopt a critical perspective in order to recognize social injustice and exploitation and to be moved to go forth from the theatre and effect change in the world outside. For this purpose, Brecht employed the use of techniques that remind the spectator that the play is a representation of reality and not reality itself. By highlighting the constructed nature of the theatrical event, Brecht hoped to communicate that the audience's reality was equally constructed, and as such, was changeable.


title: Bertolt Brecht

text: Brecht's modernist concern with drama-as-a-medium led to his refinement of the "epic form" of the drama. This dramatic form is related to similar modernist innovations in other arts, including the strategy of divergent chapters in James Joyce's novel "Ulysses", Sergei Eisenstein's evolution of a constructivist "montage" in the cinema, and Picasso's introduction of cubist "collage" in the visual arts.


title: Bertolt Brecht

text: One of Brecht's most important principles was what he called the "Verfremdungseffekt" (translated as "defamiliarization effect", "distancing effect", or "estrangement effect", and often mistranslated as "alienation effect"). This involved, Brecht wrote, "stripping the event of its self-evident, familiar, obvious quality and creating a sense of astonishment and curiosity about them". To this end, Brecht employed techniques such as the actor's direct address to the audience, harsh and bright stage lighting, the use of songs to interrupt the action, explanatory placards, the transposition of text to the third person or past tense in rehearsals, and speaking the stage directions out loud.


title: Bertolt Brecht

text: In contrast to many other avant-garde approaches, however, Brecht had no desire to destroy art as an institution; rather, he hoped to "re-function" the theatre to a new social use. In this regard he was a vital participant in the aesthetic debates of his era—particularly over the "high art/popular culture" dichotomy—vying with the likes of Theodor W. Adorno, György Lukács, Ernst Bloch, and developing a close friendship with Walter Benjamin. Brechtian theatre articulated popular themes and forms with avant-garde formal experimentation to create a modernist realism that stood in sharp contrast both to its psychological and socialist varieties. "Brecht's work is the most important and original in European drama since Ibsen and Strindberg," Raymond Williams argues, while dubs him "the most important materialist writer of our time."


title: Bertolt Brecht

text: Brecht was also influenced by Chinese theatre, and used its aesthetic as an argument for "Verfremdungseffekt". Brecht believed, "Traditional Chinese acting also knows the alienation [sic] effect, and applies it most subtly. The [Chinese] performer portrays incidents of utmost passion, but without his delivery becoming heated." Brecht attended a Chinese opera performance and was introduced to the famous Chinese opera performer Mei Lanfang in 1935. However, Brecht was sure to distinguish between Epic and Chinese theatre. He recognized that the Chinese style was not a "transportable piece of technique", and that epic theatre sought to historicize and address social and political issues.


title: Bertolt Brecht

text: Brecht used his poetry to criticize European culture, including Nazis, and the German bourgeoisie. Brecht's poetry is marked by the effects of the First and Second World Wars.


title: Bertolt Brecht

text: Throughout his theatric production, poems are incorporated into this plays with music. In 1951, Brecht issued a recantation of his apparent suppression of poetry in his plays with a note titled "On Poetry and Virtuosity". He writes:


title: Bertolt Brecht

text: We shall not need to speak of a play's poetry ... something that seemed relatively unimportant in the immediate past. It seemed not only unimportant, but misleading, and the reason was not that the poetic element had been sufficiently developed and observed, but that reality had been tampered with in its name ... we had to speak of a truth as distinct from poetry ... we have given up examining works of art from their poetic or artistic aspect, and got satisfaction from theatrical works that have no sort of poetic appeal ... Such works and performances may have some effect, but it can hardly be a profound one, not even politically. For it is a peculiarity of the theatrical medium that it communicates awarenesses and impulses in the form of pleasure: the depth of the pleasure and the impulse will correspond to the depth of the pleasure.


title: Bertolt Brecht

text: Brecht's most influential poetry is featured in his "Manual of Piety (Devotions)", establishing him as a noted poet.


title: Bertolt Brecht

text: Brecht's widow, the actress Helene Weigel, continued to manage the Berliner Ensemble until her death in 1971; it was primarily devoted to performing Brecht's plays.


title: Bertolt Brecht

text: Besides being an influential dramatist and poet, some scholars have stressed the significance of Brecht's original contributions in political and social philosophy.


title: Bertolt Brecht

text: Brecht's collaborations with Kurt Weill have had some influence in rock music. The "Alabama Song" for example, originally published as a poem in Brecht's "Hauspostille" (1927) and set to music by Weill in "Mahagonny", has been recorded by The Doors, on their self-titled debut album, as well as by David Bowie and various other bands and performers since the 1960s.


title: Bertolt Brecht

text: Brecht's son, Stefan Brecht, became a poet and theatre critic interested in New York's avant-garde theatre.


title: Bertolt Brecht

text: Brecht's plays were a focus of the Schauspiel Frankfurt when Harry Buckwitz was general manager, including the world premiere of "Die Gesichte der Simone Machard" in 1957.


title: Bertolt Brecht

text: Collective and collaborative working methods were inherent to Brecht's approach, as Fredric Jameson (among others) stresses. Jameson describes the creator of the work not as Brecht the individual, but rather as 'Brecht': a collective subject that "certainly seemed to have a distinctive style (the one we now call 'Brechtian') but was no longer personal in the bourgeois or individualistic sense." During the course of his career, Brecht sustained many long-lasting creative relationships with other writers, composers, scenographers, directors, dramaturgs and actors; the list includes: Elisabeth Hauptmann, Margarete Steffin, Ruth Berlau, Slatan Dudow, Kurt Weill, Hanns Eisler, Paul Dessau, Caspar Neher, Teo Otto, Karl von Appen, Ernst Busch, Lotte Lenya, Peter Lorre, Therese Giehse, Angelika Hurwicz, Carola Neher and Helene Weigel herself. This is "theatre as collective experiment [...] as something radically different from theatre as expression or as experience."


title: Bertolt Brecht

text: Entries show: "English-language translation of title" ("German-language title") [year written] / [year first produced]


title: Bertolt Brecht

text: Brecht wrote hundreds of poems throughout his life. He began writing poetry as a young boy, and his first poems were published in 1914. His poetry was influenced by folk-ballads, French "chansons", and the poetry of Rimbaud and Villon. The last collection of new poetry by Brecht published in his lifetime was the 1939 "Svendborger Gedichte".


title: Sholay

text: Sholay (, ) is a 1975 Indian Hindi-language action-adventure film directed by Ramesh Sippy, produced by his father G. P. Sippy, and written by Salim–Javed. The film is about two criminals, Veeru (Dharmendra) and Jai (Amitabh Bachchan), hired by a retired police officer (Sanjeev Kumar) to capture the ruthless dacoit Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan). Hema Malini and Jaya Bhaduri also star, as Veeru and Jai's love interests, Basanti and Radha, respectively. "Sholay" is considered a classic and one of the best Indian films. It was ranked first in the British Film Institute's 2002 poll of "Top 10 Indian Films" of all time. In 2005, the judges of the 50th Filmfare Awards named it the Best Film of 50 Years.


title: Sholay

text: The film was shot in the rocky terrain of Ramanagara, in the southern state of Karnataka, over a span of two and a half years. After the Central Board of Film Certification mandated the removal of several violent scenes, "Sholay" was released with a length of 198 minutes. In 1990, the original director's cut of 204 minutes became available on home media. When first released, "Sholay" received negative critical reviews and a tepid commercial response, but favourable word-of-mouth publicity helped it to become a box office success. It broke records for continuous showings in many theatres across India, and ran for more than five years at Mumbai's Minerva theatre. The film was also an overseas success in the Soviet Union. It was the highest-grossing Indian film ever at the time, and was the highest-grossing film in India up until "Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!" (1994). By numerous accounts, "Sholay" remains one of the highest-grossing Indian films of all time, adjusted for inflation.


title: Sholay

text: "Sholay" is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential Indian film of all time. The film is a Dacoit Western (sometimes called a "Curry Western"), combining the conventions of Indian dacoit films with that of Spaghetti Westerns along with elements of Samurai cinema. "Sholay" is also a defining example of the masala film, which mixes several genres in one work. Scholars have noted several themes in the film, such as glorification of violence, conformation to feudal ethos, debate between social order and mobilised usurpers, homosocial bonding, and the film's role as a national allegory. The combined sales of the original soundtrack, scored by R. D. Burman, and the dialogues (released separately), set new sales records. The film's dialogues and certain characters became extremely popular, contributing to numerous cultural memes and becoming part of India's daily vernacular. In January 2014, "Sholay" was re-released to theatres in the 3D format.


title: Sholay

text: Jai and Veeru are small-time crooks who are released from prison, where they are recruited by a former Inspector Thakur Baldev Singh to capture a notorious dacoit named Gabbar Singh wanted for , as the duo had saved Thakur from a train robbery which makes Thakur to recruit them for the mission with an additional reward. The duo leave for Thakur's village in Ramgarh, where Gabbar is residing and terrorizing the villagers. After reaching Ramgarh, Veeru falls for Basanti, a feisty talkative horse-cart driver. Jai meets Thakur's widowed daughter-in-law Radha and falls for her, who later accepts his feelings. The two thwarts Gabbar's dacoits, who came to extort money. During the festival of Holi, Gabbar's gang attacks the villagers where they corner Jai and Veeru, but the duo manage to attack and chase them away from the village.


title: Sholay

text: The duo are upset at Thakur's inaction (when Jai and Veeru were cornered, Thakur had a gun within his reach, but doesn't help them) and consider calling off the mission. Thakur reveals that few years ago, Gabbar had killed his family members (except Radha), and had both his arms cut off, where he concealed the dismemberment by always wearing a shawl, which is the sole reason why he could not use the gun. Realizing this, Jai and Veeru take an oath that they will capture Gabbar alive. After learning the duo's heroics, Gabbar kills the local imam Rahim Chacha's son Ahmed and forces the villagers to make Jai and Veeru surrender to him. The villagers refuse and instead get the duo to kill few of Gabbar's henchmen. Gabbar retaliates by having his men capture Veeru and Basanti.


title: Sholay

text: Jai arrives and attacks the hideout, where the trio are able to flee Gabbar's hideout with dacoits in pursuit. Shooting from behind a rock, Jai and Veeru nearly run out of ammunition. Unaware that Jai was wounded in the gunfight, Veeru is forced to leave for more ammunition and also to drop Basanti at a safe place. Jai sacrifices himself by using his last bullet to ignite dynamite sticks on a bridge from close range, killing Gabbar's men. Veeru returns, and Jai dies, leaving Radha and Veeru devastated. Enraged, Veeru attacks Gabbar's den and kills his remaining men where he catches Gabbar and nearly beats him to death. Thakur appears and reminds Veeru of the vow to hand over Gabbar alive. Thakur uses his spike-soled shoes to severely injure Gabbar and his hands. The police arrive and arrest Gabbar for his crimes. After Jai's funeral, Veeru leaves Ramgarh and finds Basanti waiting for him on the train.


title: Sholay

text: The screenwriter pair Salim–Javed, consisting of Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, began narrating the idea for "Sholay" as a four-line snippet to filmmakers in 1973. The idea was rejected by two producer/director teams, including directors Manmohan Desai and Prakash Mehra. About six months after the release of "Zanjeer" (1973), Salim-Javed contacted G. P. Sippy and his son Ramesh Sippy, and narrated the four-line snippet to them. Ramesh Sippy liked the concept of "Sholay" and hired them to develop it. The original idea of the film involved an army officer who decided to hire two ex-soldiers to avenge the murder of his family. The army officer was later changed to a policeman because Sippy felt that it would be difficult to get permission to shoot scenes depicting army activities. Salim-Javed completed the script in one month, incorporating names and personality traits of their friends and acquaintances. The film's script and dialogues are in Hindustani; Salim-Javed wrote the dialogues in Urdu script, which was then transcribed by an assistant into Devanagari script so that Hindi readers could read the Urdu dialogues.


title: Sholay

text: The film's plot was loosely styled after Akira Kurosawa's 1954 samurai cinema film, "Seven Samurai". "Sholay" is a defining example of the Dacoit Western film, combining the conventions of Indian dacoit films, especially Mehboob Khan's "Mother India" (1957) and the Dilip Kumar and Nitin Bose film "Gunga Jumna" (1961), with that of Westerns, especially Sergio Leone's Spaghetti Westerns such as "Once Upon a Time in the West" (1968) as well as "The Magnificent Seven" (1960). It also has some plot elements borrowed from the Indian films "Mera Gaon Mera Desh" (1971) and "Khote Sikkay" (1973). A scene depicting an attempted train robbery was inspired by a similar scene in "Gunga Jumna", and has also been compared to a similar scene in "North West Frontier" (1959). A scene showing the massacre of Thakur's family has been compared with the massacre of the McBain family in "Once Upon a Time in the West". "Sholay" may have also been influenced by Sam Peckinpah's Westerns, such as "The Wild Bunch" (1969) and "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid" (1973), and George Roy Hill's "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (1969).


title: Sholay

text: The character Gabbar Singh was modelled on a real-life dacoit of the same name who had menaced the villages around Gwalior in the 1950s. Any policeman captured by the real Gabbar Singh had his ears and nose cut off, and was released as a warning to other policemen. Gabbar Singh was also influenced by larger-than-life characters in Pakistani author Ibn-e-Safi's Urdu novels, Dilip Kumar's dacoit character Gunga from the film "Gunga Jumna" who speaks with a similar mixed Khariboli and Awadhi dialect, and villains from Sergio Leone's films. Sippy wanted to do away with the clichéd idea of a man becoming a dacoit due to societal issues, as was the case in other films, and focused on Gabbar being an emblem of pure evil. To emphasise the point of Gabbar being a new type of villain, Sippy avoided the typical tropes of dacoits wearing dhotis and pagris and sporting a Tika and worshipping "Ma Bhavani"; Gabbar would be wearing army fatigues. The character of the jailer, played by Asrani was influenced by Adolf Hitler. Javed Akhtar brought a book on World War II which had several pictures of Hitler posing to set the typical posture of the character in the film. Asrani spiced up his character with some ideas about Hitler's speech delivery he had heard from a teacher in FTII. The trademark 'Ha Ha' at the end of his monologues was inspired by a similar performance by Jack Lemmon in "The Great Race". Soorma Bhopali, a minor comic relief character, was based on an acquaintance of actor Jagdeep, a forest officer from Bhopal named Soorma. The real-life Soorma eventually threatened to press charges when people who had viewed the film began referring to him as a woodcutter. The main characters' names, Jai and Veeru, mean "victory" and "heroism" in Hindi.


title: Sholay

text: The producers considered Danny Denzongpa for the role of bandit chief Gabbar Singh, but he could not accept it as he was committed to act in Feroz Khan's "Dharmatma" (1975), under production at the same time. Amjad Khan, who was the second choice, prepared himself for the part by reading the book "Abhishapta Chambal", which told of the exploits of Chambal dacoits. The book was written by Taroon Kumar Bhaduri, the father of fellow cast member Jaya Bhaduri. Sanjeev Kumar also wanted to play the role of Gabbar Singh, but Salim-Javed "felt he had the audience's sympathy through roles he'd done before; Gabbar had to be completely hateful."


title: Sholay

text: Sippy wanted Shatrughan Sinha to play the part of Jai, but there were already several big stars signed, and Amitabh Bachchan, who was not very popular yet, lobbied hard to get the part for himself. He was cast after Salim-Javed recommended him for "Sholay" in 1973; Bachchan's performance in their first collaboration, "Zanjeer", convinced Salim-Javed he was the right actor for the part. Salim-Javed were also impressed with Bachchan's performance in "Raaste Kaa Patthar" (1972), and at Bachchan's request, Dharmendra had personally put in a word for him. All these factors ensured that the role was Bachchan's.


title: Sholay

text: As cast members had read the script ahead of time, many were interested in playing different parts. Pran was considered for the role of Thakur Baldev Singh, but Sippy thought Sanjeev Kumar was a better choice. Initially, Salim-Javed approached Dilip Kumar to play Thakur's role, but he turned down the offer; Dilip Kumar later said it was one of the few films he regretted turning down. Initially, Dharmendra was also interested to play the role of Thakur. He eventually gave up the role when Sippy informed him that Sanjeev Kumar would play Veeru if that happened, and would thus be paired with Hema Malini, who Dharmendra was trying to woo. Dharmendra knew that Kumar was also interested in Malini. Malini was reluctant to play the role of a "tangewali", more so after Sippy told her that the film belongs to Sanjeev Kumar and Amjad Khan, but she trusted Sippy to give her a meaty role, given that he had played a huge role in essaying her stardom through their previous collaborations.


title: Sholay

text: During the film's production, four of the leads became romantically involved. Bachchan married Bhaduri four months before filming started. This led to shooting delays when Bhaduri became pregnant with their daughter Shweta. By the time the film released, she was pregnant with their son Abhishek. Dharmendra had begun courting Malini during their earlier film "Seeta Aur Geeta" (1972), also directed by Sippy, and used the location shoot of "Sholay" to further pursue her. During their romantic scenes, Dharmendra would often pay the light boys to spoil the shot, thereby ensuring many retakes which would allow him to spend more time with her. The couple married five years after the film's release.


title: Sholay

text: Much of "Sholay" was shot in the rocky terrain of Ramanagara, a town near Bangalore, Karnataka. The filmmakers had to build a road from the Bangalore highway to Ramanagara for convenient access to the sets. Art director Ram Yedekar had an entire township built on the site. A prison set was constructed near Rajkamal Studio in Bombay, also outdoors, to match the natural lighting of the on-location sets. One part of Ramanagara was for a time called "Sippy Nagar" as a tribute to the director of the film. , a visit to the "Sholay rocks" (where much of the film was shot) was still being offered to tourists travelling through Ramanagara.


title: Sholay

text: Filming began on location on 3 October 1973, with a scene featuring Bachchan and Bhaduri. The film had a lavish production for its time (with frequent banquets and parties for the cast), took two and a half years to make, and went over budget. One reason for its high cost was that Sippy re-filmed scenes many times to get his desired effect. "Yeh Dosti", a 5-minute song sequence, took 21 days to shoot, two short scenes in which Radha lights lamps took 20 days to film because of lighting problems, and the shooting of the scene in which Gabbar kills the imam's son lasted 19 days. The train robbery sequence, shot on the Bombay–Poona railway route near Panvel, took more than 7 weeks to complete.


title: Sholay

text: "Sholay" was the first Indian film to have a stereophonic soundtrack and to use the 70 mm widescreen format. However, since actual 70 mm cameras were expensive at the time, the film was shot on traditional 35 mm film and the 4:3 picture was subsequently converted to a 2.2:1 frame. Regarding the process, Sippy said, "A 70 mm "[sic]" format takes the awe of the big screen and magnifies it even more to make the picture even bigger, but since I also wanted a spread of sound we used six-track stereophonic sound and combined it with the big screen. It was definitely a differentiator." The use of 70 mm was emphasised by film posters on which the name of the film was stylised to match the CinemaScope logo. Film posters also sought to differentiate the film from those which had come before; one of them added the tagline: "The greatest star cast ever assembled – the greatest story ever told".


title: Sholay

text: The director's original cut of "Sholay" has a different ending in which Thakur kicks Gabbar onto a nail on one of the two poles that Gabbar had used to chain Thakur when he had cut off his arms, stabbing him in the back and killing him, along with some additional violent scenes. Gabbar's death scene, and the scene in which the imam's son is killed, were cut from the film by India's Censor Board, as was the scene in which Thakur's family is massacred. The Censor Board was concerned about the violence, and that viewers may be influenced to violate the law by punishing people severely. Although Sippy fought to keep the scenes, eventually he had to re-shoot the ending of the film, and as directed by the Censor Board, have the police arrive just before Thakur can kill Gabbar. The censored theatrical version was the only one seen by audiences for fifteen years. The original, unedited cut of the film finally came out in a British release on VHS in 1990. Since then, Eros International has released two versions on DVD. The director's cut of the film preserves the original full frame and is 204 minutes in length; the censored widescreen version is 198 minutes long.


title: Sholay

text: Scholars have noted several themes in the film, such as glorification of violence, conformation to feudal ethos, debate between social order and mobilised usurpers, homosocial bonding, and the film's role as a national allegory.


title: Sholay

text: Koushik Banerjea, a sociologist in the London School of Economics, notes that "Sholay" exhibits a "sympathetic construction of 'rogue' masculinity" exemplified by the likeable outlaws Jai and Veeru. Banerjea argues during the film, the moral boundary between legality and criminality gradually erodes. Film scholar Wimal Dissanayake agrees that the film brought "a new stage in the evolving dialectic between violence and social order" to Indian cinema. Film scholar M. Madhava Prasad states that Jai and Veeru represent a marginalised population that is introduced into conventional society. Prasad says that, through the elements of revenge included in the plot and the application of Jai and Veeru's criminality for the greater good, the narrative reflects reactionary politics, and the audience is compelled to accept feudal order. Banerjea explains that though Jai and Veeru are mercenaries, they are humanised by their emotional needs. Such dualism makes them vulnerable, in contrast to the pure evil of Gabbar Singh.


title: Sholay

text: Gabbar Singh, the film's antagonist, was well received by the audience, despite his pervasive sadistic cruelty. Dissanayake explains that the audience was fascinated by the dialogues and mannerisms of the character, and this element of spectacle outweighed his actions, a first for Indian melodrama. He notes that the picturisation of violence in the film was glamourised and uninhibited. He further notes that, unlike earlier melodramas in which the female body occupies the audience's attention as an object of male fetish, in "Sholay", the male body becomes the centrepiece. It becomes the battleground where good and evil compete for supremacy. Dissanayake argues that "Sholay" can be viewed as a national allegory: it lacks a comforting logical narrative, it shows social stability being repeatedly challenged, and it shows the devaluation of human life resulting from a lack of emotions. Taken together, these elements comprise the allegorical representation of India. The narrative style of "Sholay", with its violence, revenge, and vigilante action, is occasionally compared by scholars to the political unrest in India at the time of its release. This tension culminated in the Emergency (rule by decree) declared by prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1975.


title: Sholay

text: Dissanayeke and Sahai note that, although the film borrowed heavily from the Hollywood Western genre, particularly in its visuals, it was successfully "Indianised". As an example, William van der Heide has compared a massacre scene in "Sholay" with a similar scene in "Once Upon a Time in the West". Although both films were similar in technical style, "Sholay" emphasised Indian family values and melodramatic tradition, while the Western was more materialistic and restrained in its approach. Maithili Rao, in "Encyclopedia of Hindi Cinema", notes that "Sholay" infuses the style of the Western genre into a "feudalistic ethos". Ted Shen of the "Chicago Reader" notes "Sholay"s "hysterical visual style" and intermittent "populist message". Cultural critic and Islamic scholar Ziauddin Sardar lampoons the film in his book "The Secret Politics of Our Desires: Innocence, Culpability and Indian Popular Cinema", both for its caricature and stereotyping of Muslim and women characters, and for what he calls mockery of innocent villagers. Sardar notes that the two most prominent Muslim characters in the film are Soorma Bhopali (a buffoonish criminal), and an impotent victim of the bandits (the imam). Meanwhile, the sole function of one female character (Radha) is to suffer her fate in silence, while the other female lead (Basanti) is just a garrulous village belle.


title: Sholay

text: Some scholars have indicated that "Sholay" contains homosocial themes. Ted Shen describes the male bonding shown in the film as bordering on camp style. Dina Holtzman, in her book "Bollywood and Globalization: Indian Popular Cinema, Nation, and Diaspora", states that the death of Jai, and resultant break of bonding between the two male leads, is necessary for the sake of establishing a normative heterosexual relationship (that of Veeru and Basanti).


title: Sholay

text: R. D. Burman composed the film's music, and the lyrics were written by Anand Bakshi. The songs used in the film, and released on the original soundtrack are listed below. Following that is a list of unused tracks and dialogues which were released later on an updated soundtrack.


title: Sholay

text: The song "Mehbooba Mehbooba" was sung by its composer, R. D. Burman, who received his sole Filmfare Award nomination for playback singing for his effort. The song, which is often featured on Bollywood hit song compilations, is based on "Say You Love Me" by Greek singer Demis Roussos.


title: Sholay

text: "Mehbooba Mehbooba" has been extensively anthologised, remixed, and recreated. A version was created in 2005 by the Kronos Quartet for their Grammy-nominated album "You've Stolen My Heart", featuring Asha Bhosle. It was also remixed and sung by Himesh Reshammiya, along with Bhosle, in his debut acting film "Aap Kaa Surroor" (2007). "Yeh Dosti" has been called the ultimate friendship anthem. It was remixed and sung by Shankar Mahadevan and Udit Narayan for the 2010 Malayalam film "Four Friends", and also in 2010 it was used to symbolise India's friendship with the United States during a visit from President Barack Obama.


title: Sholay

text: Several songs from the soundtrack were included in the annual "Binaca Geetmala" list of top filmi songs. "Mehbooba Mehooba" was listed at No. 24 on the 1975 list, and at No. 6 on the 1976 list. "Koi Haseena" was listed at No. 30 in 1975, and No. 20 in 1976. "Yeh Dosti" was listed at No. 9 in 1976. Despite the soundtrack's success, at the time, the songs from "Sholay" attracted less attention than the film's dialogue—a rarity for Hindi language films. The producers were thus prompted to release records with only dialogue. Taken together, the album sales reached an unprecedented 500,000 units. By 1979, the soundtrack went Platinum (equivalent to 1million sales at the time), becoming one of the top-selling Bollywood soundtracks of the 1970s.


title: Sholay

text: Music critic Oli Marlow reviewed the soundtrack in 2013, calling it a unique fusion of religious, folk, and classical music, with influences from around the world. He also commented on the sound design of the film, calling it psychedelic, and saying that there was "a lot of incredible incidental music" in the film that was not included in the soundtrack releases. In a 1999 paper submitted to London's Symposium on Sound in Cinema, film critic Shoma A. Chatterji said, ""Sholay" offers a model lesson on how sound can be used to signify the terror a character evokes. "Sholay" is also exemplary in its use of soundmatching to jump cut to a different scene and time, without breaking the continuity of the narrative, yet, intensifying the drama."


title: Sholay

text: "Sholay" was released on 15 August 1975, Indian Independence Day, in Bombay. Due to lackluster reviews and a lack of effective visual marketing tools, it saw poor financial returns in its first two weeks. From the third week, however, viewership picked up owing to positive word of mouth. During the initial slow period, the director and writer considered re-shooting some scenes so that Amitabh Bachchan's character would not die. When business picked up, they abandoned this idea. After being helped additionally by a soundtrack release containing dialogue snippets, "Sholay" soon became an "overnight sensation". The film was then released in other distribution zones such as Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bengal, and Hyderabad on 11 October 1975. It became the highest-grossing Hindi language film of 1975, and film ranking website Box Office India has given the film a verdict of "All Time Blockbuster".


title: Sholay

text: "Sholay" went on to earn a still-standing record of 60 golden jubilees across India, and was the first film in India to celebrate a silver jubilee at over 100 theatres. It was shown continuously at Bombay's Minerva theatre for over five years. "Sholay" was the Indian film with the longest theatrical run until "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge" (1995) broke its record of 286 weeks in 2001.


title: Sholay

text: Exact figures are not available on the budget and box-office earnings of "Sholay", but film trade sources provide estimates of its success. According to Box Office India, "Sholay" earned about in net income (valued at about US$16,778,000 in 1975) in India during its first run, which was many times its 30 million (valued at about US$3,355,000 in 1975) budget. Those earnings in India were a record that remained unbroken for nineteen years, which is also the longest amount of time that a film has held the record for being the highest grossing film in India. Its original gross was increased further with re-releases during the late 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s. The film's total gross revenue in India amounted to (). Box Office India estimates the film's total footfalls in India as over 100million tickets sold. The film was also an overseas success in the Soviet Union, where it was released in 1979. The film sold 48.4million tickets during its initial run at the Soviet box office, before eventually selling 60million tickets including re-runs. The film was also released in China, as two parts in 1988.


title: Sholay

text: It was the highest-grossing Indian film ever up until "Disco Dancer" (1982), and the highest-grossing film in India up until "Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!" (1994). In 1985, "India Today" estimated that the film drew a total audience of 250million over the years, which is comparable to the number of tickets sold by some of the world's highest-grossing films of all time adjusted for inflation. It is often cited that, after adjusting the figures for inflation, "Sholay" remains one of the highest-grossing films in the history of Indian cinema, although such figures are not known with certainty. Box Office India estimated as "Sholay"'s adjusted domestic net income in 2008, while "Times of India" estimated over as the adjusted domestic gross in 2009. "Mid-Day" estimated the film's total adjusted gross as () in 2014.


title: Sholay

text: Initial critical reviews of "Sholay" were negative. Among contemporary critics, K.L. Amladi of "India Today" called the film a "dead ember" and "a gravely flawed attempt". "Filmfare" said that the film was an unsuccessful mincing of Western style with Indian milieu, making it an "imitation western—neither here nor there." Others labelled it as "sound and fury signifying nothing" and a "second-rate take-off" of the 1971 film "Mera Gaon Mera Desh". Trade journals and columnists initially called the film a flop. In a 1976 article in the journal "Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review", author Michael Gallagher praised the technical achievement of the film, but otherwise criticised it stating, "As a spectacle it breaks new ground, but on every other level it is intolerable: formless, incoherent, superficial in human image, and a somewhat nasty piece of violence".


title: Sholay

text: Over time, the critical reception to "Sholay" greatly improved; it is now considered a classic, and among the greatest Hindi-language films. In a 2005 BBC review, the well-rounded characters and simple narrative of the film were commended, but the comical cameos of Asrani and Jagdeep were considered unnecessary. On the film's 35th anniversary, the "Hindustan Times" wrote that it was a "trailblazer in terms of camera work as well as music," and that "practically every scene, dialogue or even a small character was a highlight." In 2006, The Film Society of Lincoln Center described "Sholay" as "an extraordinary and utterly seamless blend of adventure, comedy, music and dance", labelling it an "indisputable classic". "Chicago Review" critic Ted Shen criticised the film in 2002 for its formulaic plot and "slapdash" cinematography, and noted that the film "alternates between slapstick and melodrama". In their obituary of the producer G.P. Sippy, "The New York Times" said that "Sholay" "revolutionized Hindi filmmaking and brought true professionalism to Indian script writing".


title: Sholay

text: "Sholay" was nominated for nine Filmfare Awards, and the only winner was M. S. Shinde, who won the award for Best Editing. The film also won three awards at the 1976 Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards (Hindi section): "Best Actor in Supporting Role" for Amjad Khan, "Best Cinematographer (Colour)" for Dwarka Divecha, and "Best Art Director" for Ram Yedekar. "Sholay" received a special award at the 50th Filmfare Awards in 2005: Best Film of 50 Years.


title: Sholay

text: "Sholay" has received many "Best Film" honours. It was declared the "Film of the Millennium" by BBC India in 1999. It topped the British Film Institute's "Top 10 Indian Films" of all time poll of 2002, and was voted the greatest Indian movie in a Sky Digital poll of one million British Indians in 2004. It was also included in the magazine "Time"s "Best of Bollywood" list in 2010, and in IBN Live's list of the "100 greatest Indian films of all time" in 2013.


title: Sholay

text: "Sholay" inspired many films and pastiches, and spawned a genre of films, the "Curry Western", which is a play on the term Spaghetti Western. A more accurate label for the genre is the Dacoit Western, due to its roots in earlier Indian dacoit films such as "Mother India" (1957) and "Gunga Jumna" (1961). It was also an early and most definitive masala film, and a trend-setter for "multi-star" films. The film was a watershed for scriptwriters in Hindi language films, who were not paid well before "Sholay"; after the film's success, its writing duo Salim-Javed became stars in their own right and script writing became a more respected profession. The BBC has described "Sholay" as the ""Star Wars" of Bollywood", comparing its impact on Hindi language films to the impact that "Star Wars" (1977) later had on Hollywood, while comparing Gabbar Singh to Darth Vader.


title: Sholay

text: Certain scenes and dialogues from the film earned iconic status in India, such as ""Kitne aadmi the"" (How many men were there?), ""Jo dar gaya, samjho mar gaya"" (One who is scared is dead), and ""Bahut yaarana laagta hai"" (Looks like you two are very close) – all dialogues of Gabbar Singh. These and other popular dialogues entered the people's daily vernacular. Characters and dialogues from the film continue to be referred to and parodied in popular culture. Gabbar Singh, the sadistic villain, ushered in an era in Hindi films characterised by "seemingly omnipotent oppressors as villains", who play the pivotal role in setting up the context of the story, such as Shakal (played by Kulbhushan Kharbanda) of "Shaan" (1980), Mogambo (Amrish Puri) of "Mr. India" (1987) and Bhujang (Amrish Puri) of "Tridev" (1989). "Filmfare", in 2013, named Gabbar Singh the most iconic villain in the history of Indian cinema, and four actors were included in its 2010 list of "80 Iconic Performances" for their work in this film.


title: Sholay

text: The film is often credited with making Amitabh Bachchan a "superstar", two years after he became a star with "Zanjeer" (1973). Some of the supporting actors remained etched in public memory as the characters they played in "Sholay"; for example, Mac Mohan continued to be referred to as "Sambha", even though his character had just one line. Major and minor characters continue to be used in commercials, promos, films and sitcoms. Amjad Khan acted in many villainous roles later in his career. He also played Gabbar Singh again in the 1991 spoof "Ramgarh Ke Sholay", and reprised the role in commercials. The British Film Institute in 2002 wrote that fear of Gabbar Singh "is still invoked by mothers to put their children to sleep". The 2012 film "Gabbar Singh", named after the character, became the highest-grossing Telugu film up to that point. Comedian Jagdeep, who played Soorma Bhopali in the film, attempted to use his "Sholay" success to create a spinoff. He directed and played the lead role in the 1988 film "Soorma Bhopali", in which Dharmendra and Bachchan had cameos.


title: Sholay

text: In 2004, "Sholay" was digitally remastered and shown again to packed theatres in India, including Mumbai's Minerva, where it had run successfully 29 years earlier. An attempt to remake "Sholay", Ram Gopal Varma's film "Aag" (2007), starring Amitabh Bachchan as the villain, was a commercial and critical disaster. Because of television and home media, "Sholay" is widely available and still popular. Twenty years after its release, "Sholay" was first shown on the Indian DD National television channel, where it drew the highest ratings ever for an Indian film broadcast. Video game producer Mobile2win released the "Sholay Ramgarh Express" game for mobile phones in 2004, along with other "Sholay" themed content such as wallpapers, video clips, and ringtones. "Sholay Adventures", a 2014 Indian animated television film adaptation of "Sholay" aired on Pogo TV. In 2019, a film titled "The Sholay Girl", based on the stunt woman Reshma Pathan, was released. Pathan had worked as the body double for Malini in the film.


title: Sholay

text: "Sholay" has been the subject of two books and many articles. Wimal Dissanayake and Malti Sahai's "Sholay, A Cultural Reading" (1992) attempts a comprehensive scholarly study that sets the film within the broader history of popular cinema in India. Anupama Chopra's "" (2000) provides an inside look at the film's production based on interviews with the director, stars, and crew members.


title: Sholay

text: "Sholay" has been labelled by Chopra as the gold standard in Indian cinema, and a reference point for audiences and trade analysts. Over the years, the film has reached a mythic stature in popular culture, and has been called the greatest Hindi film of all time. It belongs to only a small collection of films, including "Kismet" (1943), "Mother India" (1957), "Mughal-e-Azam" (1960) and "Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!" (1994), which are repeatedly watched throughout India, and are viewed as definitive Hindi films with cultural significance. The lasting effect of "Sholay" on Indian cinema was summarised by Anupama Chopra, when in 2004 she called it "no longer just a film, [but] an event". In the 2000 book "Sholay: The Making of a Classic", the noted director Shekhar Kapur stated "there has never been a more defining film on the Indian screen. Indian film history can be divided into "Sholay" BC and "Sholay" AD". The film was jointly released in Pakistan by Geo films and Mandviwalla Entertainment on 17 April 2015, almost 40 years after its theatrical release. The film's premiere in the country was held in Karachi.


title: Sholay

text: Screenwriter V. Vijayendra Prasad, responsible for a number of blockbusters in the early 21st century, including the South Indian franchise "Baahubali" and the Hindi film "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" (starring Salim's son Salman Khan), cited "Sholay" as a major inspiration on his work.


title: Sholay

text: Filmmaker Ketan Mehta's company Maya Digital was responsible for converting "Sholay" into the 3D format. Mehta was approached by G. P. Sippy's grandson, Sasha Sippy, about the project in 2010. In March 2012, Shaan Uttam Singh, the grandson of producer G. P. Sippy, said that he would sponsor a conversion of the film to 3D, and release it in late 2012; this was later postponed to late 2013, and eventually finalised for 3 January 2014. It took to convert "Sholay" to 3D.


title: Sholay

text: Under the leadership of computer animator Frank Foster, 350 people worked to convert the film into the digital 3D format, for which every scene had to be individually restored, colour-corrected and re-composited in 3D to match the depth. New set-pieces, particularly those suited to the new format were also included, such as digital logs which scatter in the direction of the camera during the first half of the film when the train collides with them, the gunshot scene which frees Jai and Veeru from their handcuffs, and panoramic views of Gabbar's hideout in the caves.


title: Sholay

text: The theatrical trailer and release date were unveiled by the original script-writers Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar. The two original leads, Bachchan and Dharmendra, were also involved in promoting the re-release. The film was released in 1,000 screens in India, and additional screens overseas. It earned approximately during its re-release, not enough to recover its conversion cost.


title: RIAA certification

text: In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards (see music recording certification). Certification is not automatic; for an award to be made, the record label must first request certification. The audit is conducted against net shipments after returns (most often an artist's royalty statement is used), which includes albums sold directly to retailers and one-stops, direct-to-consumer sales (music clubs and mail order) and other outlets.


title: RIAA certification

text: A Gold record is a song or album that sells 500,000 units (records, tapes, and compact discs). The award was launched in 1958; originally, the requirement for a Gold single was one million units sold and a Gold album represented $1 million in sales (at wholesale value, around a third of the list price). In 1975, the additional requirement of 500,000 units sold was added for Gold albums. Reflecting growth in record sales, the Platinum award was added in 1976, for albums able to sell one million units, and singles selling two million units. The Multi-Platinum award was introduced in 1984, signifying multiple Platinum levels of albums and singles. In 1989, the sales thresholds for singles were reduced to 500,000 for Gold and 1,000,000 for Platinum, reflecting a decrease in sales of singles. In 1992, RIAA began counting each disc in a multi-disc set as one unit toward certification. Reflecting additional growth in music sales, the Diamond award was instituted in 1999 for albums or singles selling ten million units. Because of these changes in criteria, the sales level associated with a particular award depends on when the award was made.


title: RIAA certification

text: Nielsen SoundScan figures are not used in RIAA certification; the RIAA system predates Nielsen SoundScan and includes sales outlets Nielsen misses. Prior to Nielsen SoundScan, RIAA certification was the only audited and verifiable system for tracking music sales in the U.S.; it is still the only system capable of tracking 100% of sales (albeit as shipments less returns, not actual sales like Nielsen SoundScan). This system has permitted, at times, record labels to promote an album as Gold or Platinum simply based on large shipments. For instance, in 1978 the "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" soundtrack shipped Platinum but was a sales bust, with two million returns. Similarly, all four solo albums by the members of Kiss simultaneously shipped Platinum that same year but did not reach the top 20 of the "Billboard" 200 album chart. The following year, the RIAA began requiring 120 days from the release date before recordings were eligible for certification, although that requirement has been reduced over the years and currently stands at 30 days. Sony was widely criticized in 1995 for hyping Michael Jackson's double album "" as five-times Platinum, based on shipments of 2.5 million and using the RIAA's recently adopted practice of counting each disc toward certification, while SoundScan was reporting only 1.3 million copies sold. A similar discrepancy between shipments and sales was reported with "The Lion King" soundtrack.


title: RIAA certification

text: In the digital era, changes in the way music is consumed resulted in changes in the certification criteria. Actual album sales had dropped significantly, while digital download followed by streaming became increasingly dominant. On-demand audio and video streams started to be counted towards Digital Single units consumed in 2013. Track downloads and audio and video streams were then included in album certification in 2016 using formulas converting downloads and streams into the album units for certification purpose.


title: RIAA certification

text: Multi-disc albums are counted once for each disc within the album if it is over 100 minutes in length or is from the vinyl era. For example, the Smashing Pumpkins' "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" (running time of 121:39) and OutKast's "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" (running time of 134:56), both double albums, were counted twice, meaning each album was certified diamond after 5 million copies were shipped. Pink Floyd's "The Wall" and the Beatles' "White Album", both vinyl-era, are also counted as double even though their running times are under the minimum requirement. Rules may or may not apply depending on most recent staff within the Distributions position.


title: RIAA certification

text: Since 2000, the RIAA also awards "Los Premios de Oro y De Platino" (Gold and Platinum Awards in Spanish) to Latin albums which are defined by the RIAA as a type of product that features at least 51% of content in Spanish.


title: RIAA certification

text: Note: The number of sales required to qualify for Oro and Platino awards was higher prior to January 1, 2008. The thresholds were 100,000 units (Oro) and 200,000 units (Platino). All Spanish-language albums certified prior to 2008 were updated to match the current certification at the time. "La Bomba" by Bolivian group Azul Azul is the only single to receive a Latin certification based on shipments before the creation of the Latin digital singles awards in 2013. The "Disco de Diamante" award was introduced after the RIAA updated the thresholds for Latin certifications on December 20, 2013. The "Disco de Diamante" is awarded to Latin albums that have been certified 10× Platinum.


title: RIAA certification

text: Note: The number of sales required to qualify for Gold and Platinum discs was higher prior to January 1, 1989. The thresholds were previously 1,000,000 units (Gold) and 2,000,000 units (Platinum).


title: RIAA certification

text: From 2004 through July 2006, the certification level was 100,000 downloads for Gold and 200,000 for Platinum. When the RIAA changed the certification standards to match retail distribution in August 2006, all Platinum and Multi-Platinum awards for a digital release were withdrawn. Gold certifications, however, were not, meaning a song that was downloaded over 100,000 times and certified so by the RIAA during that time frame retains its Gold status.


title: RIAA certification

text: Starting May 9, 2013, RIAA certifications for singles in the "digital" category include on-demand audio and/or video song streams in addition to downloads at a rate of 100 streams=1 certification "unit". On January 2, 2016, this rate was updated to 150 streams = 1 certification unit.


title: RIAA certification

text: The Latin Digital Single Awards began on December 20, 2013. As with the digital sales, 100 streams count as one download sale.


title: RIAA certification

text: Along with albums, digital albums, and singles there is another classification of music release called "Video Longform." This release format includes DVD and VHS releases, and certain live albums and compilation albums. The certification criteria are slightly different from other styles.


title: RIAA certification

text: For Video Single certification, the title must contain no more than two songs and must have a running time of no more than 15 minutes. The certification criteria are:


title: RIAA certification

text: , the titles certified the most Video Single awards are "Here Without You" by 3 Doors Down and Elvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation", both winning 6× Platinum for 300,000 copies. Since 2010, only 5 titles have been certified Video Single. The latest Gold was awarded to "R40" by Rush in 2017.


title: RIAA certification

text: The Video Box Set (or Multi-Box Music Video Set) award is a classification for video compilations that include three or more videos that are grouped and marketed together as a set. Like Video Longform, this includes DVD and VHS releases and the certification criteria are the same. Each individual video within set is counted as one toward certification.


title: RIAA certification

text: The best-selling video box set as certified by the RIAA is the Rolling Stones' "Four Flicks" DVD compilation from their Licks World Tour, with a 19× Multi-Platinum designation. This was likely achieved due to exclusive distribution rights owned by retailer Best Buy by their short-lived music production company, Redline Entertainment.


title: RIAA certification

text: Master Ringtone (mastertone) awards were introduced in 2006. Certification levels are identical to those of singles, 500,000 for Gold and 1,000,000 for Platinum and Multi-Platinum.


title: RIAA certification

text: Many Master Ringtone certifications were awarded until 2009, but since then only ten certifications were awarded in 2010, three in 2012 and three in 2019, all three to AC/DC.


title: RIAA certification

text: This table tracks artists with some number of singles that have received at least 10 digital platinum certifications (excluding features).


title: RIAA certification

text: This table tracks artists with some number of singles that have received at least 2 Diamond certifications.


title: RIAA certification

text: Diamante certified Latin albums and singles (1+ million for Latin albums certified before December 2013 and 600,000+ for Latin albums and singles certified after December 2013)


title: Ruskin Bond

text: Ruskin Bond (born 19 May 1934) is an Anglo-Indian author . His first novel, "The Room on the Roof", was published in 1956, and it received the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize in 1957. Bond has authored more than 500 short stories, essays, and novels, including 64 books for children. He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1992 for "Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra". He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1999 and Padma Bhushan in 2014. He lives with his adopted family in Landour, Mussoorie.


title: Ruskin Bond

text: Ruskin Bond was born in 19 May 1934 to Edith Clarke and Aubrey Alexander Bond, in Kasauli, Punjab States Agency, British India. His father taught English to the princesses of Jamnagar palace and Ruskin and his sister Ellen lived there till he was six. Later, Ruskin's father joined the Royal Air Force in 1939 and Ruskin along with his mother and sister went to live at his maternal home at Dehradun. Shortly after that, he was sent to a boarding school in Mussoorie. When Ruskin was eight years old, his mother separated from his father and married a Punjabi Hindu, Hari. His father arranged for Ruskin to be brought to New Delhi where he was posted. He was very close to his father and describes this period with his father as one of the happiest times of his life. When he was ten, his father died during the war, while he was posted in Calcutta. Ruskin was at his boarding school in Shimla and was informed about this tragedy by his teacher. He was thoroughly heartbroken. Later, he was raised in Dehradun.


title: Ruskin Bond

text: He did his schooling from Bishop Cotton School in Shimla, from where he graduated in 1951. He won several writing competitions in the school including the Irwin Divinity Prize and the Hailey Literature Prize. He wrote one of his first short stories, "Untouchable", at the age of sixteen in 1951.


title: Ruskin Bond

text: Following his high school education he went to his aunt's home in the Channel Islands (U.K.) in 1951 for better prospects and stayed there for two years. In London when he was 17 years old, he started writing his first novel, "The Room on the Roof", the semi-autobiographical story of the orphaned Anglo-Indian boy named Rusty; he did various jobs for a living. It won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, (1957) awarded to a British Commonwealth writer under 30. He moved to London and worked in a photo studio while searching for a publisher. After getting it published, Bond used the advance money to pay the sea passage to Bombay and settle in Dehradun.


title: Ruskin Bond

text: He worked for a few years freelancing from Delhi and Dehradun. He sustained himself financially by writing short stories and poems for newspapers and magazines. On his youth, he said, "Sometimes I got lucky and some [work] got selected and I earned a few hundred rupees. Since I was in my 20s and didn't have any responsibilities I was just happy to be doing what I loved doing best." In 1963, he went to live in Mussoorie because besides liking the place, it was close to the editors and publishers in Delhi. He edited a magazine for four years. In the 1980s, Penguin set up in India and approached him to write some books. He had written "Vagrants in the Valley" in 1956, as a sequel to "The Room on the Roof". These two novels were published in one volume by Penguin India in 1993. The following year a collection of his non-fiction writings, "The Best of Ruskin Bond" was published by Penguin India. His interest in supernatural fiction led him to write popular titles such as "Ghost Stories from the Raj", "A Season of Ghosts", and "A Face in the Dark and other Hauntings". Since then he has written over five hundred short stories, essays and novels, including "The Blue Umbrella", "Funny Side Up", "A Flight of Pigeons"(Hindi film junoon was based on this story) and more than 50 books for children. He has also published his autobiography: "Scenes from a Writer's Life" describes his formative years growing up in Anglo-India and a further autobiography, "Lone Fox Dancing", was published in 2017. "The Lamp is Lit" is a collection of essays and episodes from his journal.


title: Ruskin Bond

text: Since 1963 he has lived as a freelance writer in Mussoorie, a town in the Himalayan foothills in Uttarakhand where he lives with his adoptive family in Landour, Mussoorie's Ivy Cottage, which has been his home since 1980. Asked what he likes the most about his life, he said, "That I have been able to write for so long. I started at the age of 17 or 18 and I am still writing. If I were not a professional writer who was getting published I would still write." In his essay, ""Scenes from a Writer's Life"", he explains his Indian identity, "Race did not make me one. Religion did not make me one. But history did. And in the long run, it's history that counts."


title: Ruskin Bond

text: His sister Ellen lived in Ludhiana with his stepsister until she died in 2014. He also has a brother, William, who lives in Canada.


title: Ruskin Bond

text: Most of his works are influenced by life in the hill stations at the foothills of the Himalayas, where he spent his childhood. His first novel, "The Room on the Roof", was written when he was 16 and published when he was 21. It was partly based on his experiences at Dehradun, in his small rented room on the roof, and his friends. His earlier works were written without it being meant for any particular readership. His first children's book, "Angry River", published in the 1970s, had its writing toned down on a publisher's request for a children's story. On writing for children, he said, "I had a pretty lonely childhood and it helps me to understand a child better." Bond's work reflects his Anglo-Indian experiences and the changing political, social and cultural aspects of India, having been through colonial, postcolonial and post-independence phases of India.


title: Ruskin Bond

text: Bond said that while his autobiographical work, "Rain in the Mountains", was about his years spent in Mussoorie, "Scenes from a Writer's Life" described his first 21 years. "Scenes from a Writer's Life" focuses on Bond's trip to England, his struggle to find a publisher for his first book "The Room on the Roof" and his yearning to come back to India, particularly to Doon. "It also tells a lot about my parents", said Bond. "The book ends with the publication of my first novel and my decision to make writing my livelihood", Bond said, adding: "Basically, it describes how I became a writer".


title: Ruskin Bond

text: Being a writer for over 50 years, Bond experimented with different genres; early works include fiction, short stories, novella with some being autobiographical. Later, he tried out non-fiction, romance and books for children. He said his favourite genres are essays and short stories. He considers himself a "visual writer" because for short stories, he first imagines it like a film and then notes it down. For an essay or travelogue, such planning is not needed for him. He feels the unexpected there makes it more exciting. Bond likes "Just William" by Richmal Crompton, "Billy Bunter" by Charles Hamilton and classics such as "Alice in Wonderland" and works by Charles Dickens and Mark Twain.


title: Ruskin Bond

text: The 1978 Bollywood film "Junoon" is based on Bond's novel "A Flight of Pigeons" (about an episode during the Indian Rebellion of 1857). It was produced by Shashi Kapoor and directed by Shyam Benegal.


title: Ruskin Bond

text: The Rusty stories have been adapted into a Doordarshan TV series "Ek Tha Rusty". Several stories have been incorporated into the school curriculum in India, including "The Night Train at Deoli, Time Stops at Shamli" and "Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra".


title: Ruskin Bond

text: In 2005, the Bollywood director Vishal Bhardwaj made a film based on his popular novel for children, "The Blue Umbrella". The movie won the National Film Award for Best Children's Film.


title: Ruskin Bond

text: Ruskin Bond made his maiden big-screen appearance with ain Vishal Bhardwaj's film "7 Khoon Maaf" in 2011, based on his short story "Susanna's Seven Husbands". Bond appears as a Bishop in the movie with Priyanka Chopra playing the title role. Bond had earlier collaborated with Bharadwaj in "The Blue Umbrella" which was also based on one of his works.


title: Ruskin Bond

text: Rusty is a popular fictional character created by Ruskin Bond. Rusty is a sixteen-year-old Anglo-Indian boy living in Dehradun. He is orphaned and has no real family. He starts living with his guardian Mr. John Harrison, who is stern and harsh in his manners. Rusty is obliged to follow the orders and rules of his guardian and dares not disobey him. He feels helpless because he knows that if he disobeys Mr. John, he will get caned. He doesn't have any real friends and he finds himself very lonely in his guardian's house. He lives in the European part of Dehradun, but wants to embrace Indian culture and lifestyle. He makes friends with some Indian boys in the local marketplace. He hides the fact from Mr John and continues to go on secret adventures with them. Very soon he decides to run away from the captivity of Mr John and go back to England. Rusty's character offers a teenager's perspective who is battling with his confusions about life, relationship, happiness and love.


title: Ruskin Bond

text: Rusty was created by Ruskin Bond to write stories about his own past. His first book, "The Room on the Roof", which he wrote at the age of 17, was a semi-autobiographical story with Rusty being the protagonist. It was based on his friends and the time he spent in a rented room, when he was in Dehradun. Most of Rusty's initial years are set in the location of Dehradun, a scenic place in northern India. Ruskin Bond was deeply attached to Dehra and most of his stories are inspired by the hills and valleys of this region.


title: Paul Williams (songwriter)

text: Paul Hamilton Williams Jr. (born September 19, 1940) is an American composer, singer, songwriter and actor. He is known for writing and co-writing popular songs performed by a number of acts in the 1970s, including Three Dog Night's "An Old Fashioned Love Song" and "Out in the Country", Helen Reddy's "You and Me Against the World", Biff Rose's "Fill Your Heart" and the Carpenters' "We've Only Just Begun" and "Rainy Days and Mondays".


title: Paul Williams (songwriter)

text: Williams is also known for writing the score and lyrics for "Bugsy Malone" (1976) and his musical contributions to other films, including the Oscar-nominated song "Rainbow Connection" from "The Muppet Movie", and writing the lyrics to the #1 chart-topping song "Evergreen", the love theme from the Barbra Streisand film "A Star Is Born", for which he won a Grammy for Song of the Year and an Academy Award for Best Original Song. He wrote the lyrics to the opening theme for the television show "The Love Boat", with music previously composed by Charles Fox, which was originally sung by Jack Jones and, later, by Dionne Warwick.


title: Paul Williams (songwriter)

text: Williams had a variety of high-profile acting roles, such as Little Enos Burdette in the action-comedy "Smokey and the Bandit" (1977) and the villainous Swan in Brian De Palma's "Phantom of the Paradise" (1974), which Williams also co-scored, receiving an Oscar nomination in the process. Since 2009, Williams has been the president and chairman of the American songwriting society ASCAP.


title: Paul Williams (songwriter)

text: Williams was born in Omaha, Nebraska, the son of Paul Hamilton Williams, an architectural engineer, and his wife, Bertha Mae (née Burnside), a homemaker.


title: Paul Williams (songwriter)

text: One of his brothers was John J. Williams, a NASA rocket scientist, who participated in the Mercury and Apollo programs and was awarded the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, their highest honor, in 1969. His other brother was Mentor Williams, a songwriter as well who wrote Dobie Gray's 1973 hit "Drift Away".


title: Paul Williams (songwriter)

text: Williams began his professional songwriting career with Biff Rose in Los Angeles. The two men first met while working together on a television comedy show. Together, they wrote the song "Fill Your Heart" which was recorded by Rose on his first album, "The Thorn in Mrs. Roses Side". Tiny Tim covered it as the B-side of his hit "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" (1968). David Bowie recorded a version of the song on his album "Hunky Dory" (1971). Rose and Williams wrote "I'll Walk Away" (recorded by Rose on his third, eponymous album). Rose was instrumental in getting Williams his break with A&M Records which resulted in Williams working with songwriter Roger Nichols. Williams and Nichols were responsible for a number of successful pop hits from the 1970s, including several hits for Three Dog Night ("An Old Fashioned Love Song", "The Family of Man" and "Out in the Country"), Helen Reddy ("You and Me Against the World"), and the Carpenters, most notably "Rainy Days and Mondays", "I Won't Last a Day Without You", and "We've Only Just Begun", originally a song for a Crocker National Bank television commercial featuring newlyweds, and which has since become a cover-band standard and "de rigueur" for weddings throughout North America.


title: Paul Williams (songwriter)

text: An early collaboration with Roger Nichols, "Someday Man", was covered by the Monkees (a group for which he auditioned but was not chosen) on a 1969 single, and was the first Monkees' release not published by Screen Gems.


title: Paul Williams (songwriter)

text: A frequent co-writer of Williams' was musician Kenneth Ascher. Their songs together included "Rainbow Connection", sung by Jim Henson (as Kermit the Frog) in "The Muppet Movie" (1979).


title: Paul Williams (songwriter)

text: Williams worked on the music for a number of films, including writing and singing on "Phantom of the Paradise" (1974) in which he starred and earned an Oscar nomination for the music, and "Bugsy Malone" (1976). Williams wrote and sang the song "Where Do I Go from Here", which was used in the end credits of the film "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot". He contributed lyrics to the "Cinderella Liberty" song "You're So Nice to Be Around" with music by John Williams, and it earned them an Oscar nomination. Along with Ascher and Rupert Holmes, he wrote the music and lyrics to "A Star Is Born" (also 1976), with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson. The love ballad, "Evergreen", (lyrics by Paul Williams, melody by Barbra Streisand) won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and a Grammy for Song of the Year. He has been nominated on other occasions for an Academy Award and several Golden Globe Awards.


title: Paul Williams (songwriter)

text: He wrote the music for a musical production of "Happy Days" that debuted in 2007 and made a cameo appearance as an animated version of himself singing "Breathe in the Sunshine" in the animated series "Dexter's Laboratory". He wrote and sang "What Would They Say", the theme song from the made-for-television film "The Boy in the Plastic Bubble" (1976).


title: Paul Williams (songwriter)

text: Williams wrote music and lyrics of "Silence is Our Song" for Richard Barone's 2010 album "Glow" and collaborated with Scissor Sisters on their second album, "Ta-Dah".


title: Paul Williams (songwriter)

text: In March 2012, it was announced that Williams had "written a couple of tunes" on "Random Access Memories", the album of French electronic duo Daft Punk. He co-wrote and sang vocals on "Touch" and co-wrote "Beyond". Williams and Nile Rodgers were the only featured artists to speak on behalf of Daft Punk at the 2014 Grammy Awards upon their receipt of the Album of the Year award for "Random Access Memories". Williams told an anecdote about his work with Daft Punk: "Back when I was drinking, I would imagine things that weren't there and I'd get frightened. Then I got sober and two robots called and asked me to make an album." He communicated a "message from the robots" to the audience: "As elegant and as classy as the Grammy has ever been is the moment when we saw those wonderful marriages and "Same Love" is fantastic. It is the height of fairness and love and the power of love for all people at any time in any combination. Captain Kirk uses the Enterprise. They sail on a ship called Generosity. They are generous in spirit ... This is a labor of love and we are all so grateful."


title: Paul Williams (songwriter)

text: Williams is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and his songs have been performed by both pop and country music artists. In April 2009, Williams was elected President and Chairman of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).


title: Paul Williams (songwriter)

text: In September 2015, Williams, along with bass player Kasim Sulton, led a global virtual songwriting collaboration at Hookist.com. The mission was to write the first crowd-sourced anthem to be performed at FacingAddiction.org's concert and rally on The National Mall on October 4, 2015, headlined by Steven Tyler, Sheryl Crow and Joe Walsh among others. The theme of the song was "Celebrate Recovery" and the goal was to reduce the stigma associated with addiction. Williams, Sulton and Dr. Mehmet Oz opened the show and led 10,000 people in a singalong of "Voice Of Change" at the base of the Washington Monument. Sulton led a singalong of the song on "The Dr. Oz Show" which went viral.


title: Paul Williams (songwriter)

text: Although predominantly known for his music, Williams has appeared in films and many television guest spots, such as the Faustian record producer Swan in Brian DePalma's film "Phantom of the Paradise" (1974)—a rock and roll adaptation of "The Phantom of the Opera", "Faust", and "The Picture of Dorian Gray", for which Williams wrote the songs—and as Virgil, the genius orangutan in "Battle for the Planet of the Apes" (1973).


title: Paul Williams (songwriter)

text: On February 9, 1973, Williams made a joke appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" in which he sang a song in full make-up as Virgil. He played Migelito Loveless, Jr. in "The Wild Wild West Revisited" (1979), a reunion movie featuring the original cast of the television series "The Wild Wild West". He played himself, singing a song to Felix Unger's daughter Edna, on the television series "The Odd Couple" in 1974. He made his film debut as Gunther Fry in the satire "The Loved One" (1965).


title: Paul Williams (songwriter)

text: After appearing on "The Muppet Show" in 1976, Williams worked closely with Jim Henson's Henson Productions on "The Muppet Movie", working on the soundtrack and appearing in a cameo part as the piano player in the nightclub (who had a sign on the piano saying "Don't shoot piano player") where Kermit the Frog meets Fozzie Bear. He was also the lyricist for "Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas".


title: Paul Williams (songwriter)

text: Williams was hired by TV producers Paul Junger Witt and Tony Thomas to write title tracks for two of their ABC comedies, "It Takes Two" (1982–1983), on which he sang a duet with Crystal Gayle, and "Condo" (1983), in which Williams' theme was sung by Drake Frye. Williams composed and performed the theme to the McLean Stevenson sitcom "The McLean Stevenson Show" in 1976.


title: Paul Williams (songwriter)

text: Williams has appeared in many minor roles. He provided the voice of The Penguin in "". He appeared on an episode of "Walker, Texas Ranger" as a radio DJ covering a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde. He appeared in 2008 in an episode of Nickelodeon's children's show "Yo Gabba Gabba!" entitled "Weather", where he performed "Rainbow Connection". He has also appeared on Cartoon Network's "Dexter's Laboratory" where he played Professor Williams in an episode entitled "Just An Old Fashioned Lab Song".


title: Paul Williams (songwriter)

text: He made numerous television appearances in the 1970s and 1980s, including on "The Odd Couple", "Hawaii Five-O", "Match Game '79", "Hollywood Squares", "The Love Boat","Police Woman", "Fantasy Island", "The Hardy Boys", "The Fall Guy", "The Flip Wilson Special", "Gimme A Break", and "The Gong Show". He has also guest-starred in the "Babylon 5" episode "Acts of Sacrifice" (Season 2 Episode 12) as Taq, the aide to Correlilmurzon, an alien ambassador whose species finalizes treaties and agreements by having sex with the other signees.


title: Paul Williams (songwriter)

text: In October 1980, Williams was host of the "Mickey Mouse Club 25th Anniversary Special" on NBC-TV. He stated that he tried out for the show in early 1955 and was turned down. He was a frequent guest and performer on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson". He appears as the man making the phone call at the beginning of the music video for Hank Williams Jr.'s song "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight". In 2014, he appeared on "Community" as an illegal textbook dealer who declines to purchase a batch of misprinted chemistry textbooks. Williams appeared in the 2017 film "Baby Driver" as the Butcher, an arms dealer.


title: Paul Williams (songwriter)

text: He portrayed the character of Little Enos Burdette in "Smokey and the Bandit" (1977), "Smokey and the Bandit II" (1980), and "Smokey and the Bandit Part 3" (1983). He has a recurring role as a former lawyer and information source in 2018's season 2 and 2019's season 3 of "Goliath".


title: Paul Williams (songwriter)

text: Williams has been married three times. He has two children, Sarah and Cole Williams (born 1981), from his first marriage (1971) to Kate Clinton. In 1993 he married Hilda Keenan Wynn, daughter of actor Keenan Wynn. His third wife is writer Mariana Williams.


title: Paul Williams (songwriter)

text: In September 2011, director Stephen Kessler's documentary "Paul Williams Still Alive" premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.


title: Paul Williams (songwriter)

text: Williams struggled with alcohol and substance abuse during the 1970s and 1980s. Sober since 1990, Williams has been active in the field of recovery from addictions and became a Certified Drug Rehabilitation Counselor through UCLA. In 2014, he co-authored "Gratitude and Trust: Recovery is Not Just for Addicts", with Tracey Jackson.


title: Ecuador national football team

text: The Ecuador national football team () represents Ecuador in men's international football and is controlled by the Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF). They joined FIFA in 1926 and CONMEBOL a year later.


title: Ecuador national football team

text: Discarding an invitation to participate in the inaugural FIFA World Cup held in Uruguay, Ecuador did not make their tournament debut until 2002. After finishing above Brazil and Uruguay in the standings, the qualifying campaign marked the emergence of several players, such as Agustín Delgado, Álex Aguinaga, Iván Hurtado, Ulises de la Cruz and Iván Kaviedes, who would set the stage for Ecuador's achievements in the next decade. Having reached the Round of 16 in a memorable 2006 World Cup campaign, they were expected to deliver at the 2007 Copa América but were eliminated in the group stage. Along with Venezuela, they have not won the continental tournament. "La Tri"s best performance was fourth in 1959 and 1993, both times on home soil.


title: Ecuador national football team

text: Ecuador plays the majority of their home matches at the Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa in Quito. It was set to be demolished in late 2020 to make way for a new, more modern venue.


title: Ecuador national football team

text: From a historical viewpoint, Ecuador have been seen as a struggling footballing nation in South America. Despite their past irregularities, however, Ecuador has risen to be a serious South American competitor in recent years.


title: Ecuador national football team

text: Football was introduced to Ecuador by Juan Alfredo Wright, who had recently returned from university in England. On 23 April 1899, he and his brother Roberto founded the first Ecuadorian football team, Guayaquil Sport Club. As the popularity of the sport grew in the country, more teams were established. On 30 May 1925, the Federación Deportiva Nacional del Ecuador was founded. In 1930, FIFA sent an invitation encouraging for a men's national team to participate at the maiden World Cup. However, the then-Minister of Social Security and Sports declined the offer as they did not approve of the financial allocation.


title: Ecuador national football team

text: In 1938, the I Bolivarian Games were organized, with Ecuador set to take part in the football tournament. On 8 August 1938, they played their first-ever match; a 1–1 draw with Bolivia. Their following game saw the national team earn a 2–1 win against Colombia. Following a 9–1 crushing by Peru and a 5–2 victory over Venezuela, Ecuador was tied for the silver medal with Bolivia. A playoff saw the Bolivians emerge triumphantly and the Ecuadorians finished the competition with the bronze medal.


title: Ecuador national football team

text: After finishing fourth at the 1959 South American Championship, the team entered the World Cup qualifiers for the first time. They failed to qualify for 1962 finals after inflicted defeats by Argentina.


title: Ecuador national football team

text: The 1998 World Cup qualifiers saw the format for qualifying in CONMEBOL changed to a league home-and-away system. This difference made a huge impact on Ecuador's performance as they clinched several important home wins during the campaign. In the end, they achieved a 6th-place finish, just under Peru and Chile.


title: Ecuador national football team

text: Following the appointment of Hernán Darío Gómez for their 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign, Ecuador recorded a historic 1–0 win against Brazil. A 5–1 win over Bolivia saw "la Tricolor" only needing a point to qualify for the World Cup. They faced Uruguay, and, after managing to cling onto a 1–1 draw, obtained their spot in the World Cup in Japan.


title: Ecuador national football team

text: Ecuador started the 2002 World Cup with a 2–0 loss to Italy. Agustín Delgado scored his country's first World Cup goal; he opened the scoring in a 2–1 loss to Mexico. Though they finished fourth in Group G and 24th overall, Ecuador defeated Croatia, who had achieved third place in the previous tournament, and eliminated the Croats in process.


title: Ecuador national football team

text: A disappointing showing at the 2004 Copa América led to the resignation of Gómez, who was replaced by Luis Fernando Suárez. He led them successfully through the latter stages of the qualification process for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, finishing third to make the finals. In Germany, they were drawn into Group A with the hosts, Poland, and Costa Rica. Wins over Poland and Costa Rica earned Ecuador qualification to the knockout stages for the first time.


title: Ecuador national football team

text: After a dull 2014 FIFA World Cup, and an unpleasant streak of failing to advance past the group stages of the Copa América, Gustavo Quinteros was hired to help rebuild the national team. Quinteros helped Ecuador reach the quarter-finals of the Copa América Centenario and started the 2018 World Cup qualifiers strong. They were setback after a loss to Uruguay and finished eighth in the standings.


title: Ecuador national football team

text: Gómez was reinstalled to lead Ecuador at the 2019 Copa América. His second stint was short, as he was soon fired after a disastrous tournament, having only earned a point.


title: Ecuador national football team

text: The Ecuador national team plays their home games at the Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa in Quito. Having opened in 1951, it initially had a capacity of 45,000, but was later reduced to 35,724.


title: Ecuador national football team

text: The stadium has a running track, which has gone to be one of the most important in South America for events organized by the former International Association of Athletics Federations.


title: Ecuador national football team

text: 15 gates surround the stadium, allowing for an evacuation to be completed in about 10 minutes. The venue also features an electronic scoreboard located in the northern sector. The screen, manufactured by Hungarian-based company Elektroimpex in 1985, measures 10 meters tall and 30 meters wide.


title: Ecuador national football team

text: In this stadium, Ecuador defeated Uruguay at the 1993 Copa América and Brazil at the 2002 World Cup qualifiers. After tying with the former on 7 November 2001, Ecuador qualified for their first World Cup. Since then, Ecuador has qualified three times.


title: Ecuador national football team

text: The stadium is set to be demolished in late-2020 for a newer stadium in preparation for the 2024 Copa América. For the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Ecuador will play at the "Casa Blanca."


title: Ecuador national football team

text: The standard Ecuador uniform maintains the colours of the national flag, typically a yellow top, blue shorts, and red socks. The alternate colours of the uniform are white and blue, this being based on the flag of the Guayas Province. From 1965 to 2020, the crest featured the Andean condor, Ecuador's national bird, above a shield with the country's colors. In January 2020, the Ecuadorian Football Federation announced a rebrand of the logo; a navy blue shield with an "FEF" monogram attempting to "abstractly build a condor".


title: Ecuador national football team

text: The following is a list of match results from the previous 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.


title: Ecuador national football team

text: Following the death of Christian Benítez, the Ecuadorian Football Federation retired his jersey number 11 from the national team. According to the Federation's then-president, Luis Chiriboga, to honor Benítez the number would no longer be used by any other team player. However, due to FIFA regulations, the number had to be reinstated for the 2014 World Cup squad.


title: Ecuador national football team

text: Despite never having won a title with their senior team, Ecuador has two relevant achievements with their youth teams.


title: Chronic fatigue syndrome

text: Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also called myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) or ME/CFS, is a complex, debilitating, long-term medical condition. The causes and mechanisms of the disease are not fully understood. Distinguishing core symptoms are lengthy exacerbations or flare-ups of the illness following ordinary minor physical or mental activity, known as post-exertional malaise (PEM); greatly diminished capacity to accomplish tasks that were routine before the illness; and sleep disturbances. Orthostatic intolerance (difficulty sitting and standing upright) and cognitive dysfunction are also diagnostic. Frequently and variably, other common symptoms occur involving numerous body systems, and chronic pain is common. The unexplained and often incapacitating fatigue in CFS is different from that caused by normal strenuous ongoing exertion, is not significantly relieved by rest, and is not due to a previous medical condition. Diagnosis is based on the person's symptoms because no confirmed diagnostic test is available.


title: Chronic fatigue syndrome

text: Proposed mechanisms include biological, genetic, epigenetic, infectious, and physical or psychological stress affecting the biochemistry of the body. Persons with CFS may recover or improve over time, but some will become severely affected and disabled for an extended period. No therapies or medications are approved to treat the cause of the illness; treatment is aimed at alleviation of symptoms. The CDC recommends pacing (personal activity management) to keep mental and physical activity from making symptoms worse. Limited evidence suggests that rintatolimod, counseling, and personalized activity management helps improve some patients' functional abilities.


title: Chronic fatigue syndrome

text: About 1% of primary-care patients have CFS; estimates of incidence vary widely because epidemiological studies define the illness dissimilarly. It has been estimated that 836,000 to 2.5 million Americans and 250,000 to 1,250,000 people in the United Kingdom have CFS. CFS occurs 1.5 to 2 times as often in women as in men. It most commonly affects adults between ages 40 and 60 years; it can occur at other ages, including childhood. Other studies suggest that about 0.5% of children have CFS, and that it is more common in adolescents than in younger children. Chronic fatigue syndrome is a major cause of school absence. CFS reduces health, happiness, productivity, and can also cause socio-emotional disruptions such as loneliness and alienation. However, there is controversy over many aspects of the disorder. Physicians, researchers, and patient advocates promote different names and diagnostic criteria. Results of studies of proposed causes and treatments are often poor or contradictory.


title: Chronic fatigue syndrome

text: The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends these criteria for diagnosis:


title: Chronic fatigue syndrome

text: The CDC recommends that people with symptoms of CFS consult a physician to rule out other illnesses, which may be treatable.


title: Chronic fatigue syndrome

text: The onset of CFS may be gradual or sudden. When it begins suddenly, it often follows a period of infectious-like symptoms or a known infection, and between 20 and 80% of patients report an onset resembling an infection. When gradual, the illness may begin over the course of months or years. Studies disagree as to which pattern is more common. CFS may also occur after physical trauma such as a car accident or surgery.


title: Chronic fatigue syndrome

text: The functional capacity of individuals with CFS varies greatly. Some persons with mild CFS lead relatively normal lives with vigilant energy management; persons that are severely ill may be totally bed-ridden and unable to care for themselves. For the majority of persons with CFS, work, school, and family activities are significantly reduced for extended periods of time. The severity of symptoms and disability is the same regardless of gender, and many experience strongly disabling chronic pain. Persons report critical reductions in levels of physical activity. Also, a reduction in the complexity of activity has been observed. Reported impairment is comparable to other fatiguing medical conditions including late-stage AIDS, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and end-stage kidney disease. CFS affects a person's functional status and well-being more than major medical conditions such as multiple sclerosis, congestive heart failure, or type II diabetes mellitus.


title: Chronic fatigue syndrome

text: Often, courses of remission and relapse of symptoms occur, which make the illness difficult to manage. Persons who feel better for a period may overextend their activities, and the result can be a worsening of their symptoms with a relapse of the illness.


title: Chronic fatigue syndrome

text: About 25% of people with CFS are house-bound or bed-ridden for long periods during their illness, often for decades. An estimated 75% are unable to work because of their illness. More than half were on disability benefits or temporary sick leave, and less than a fifth worked full-time. Children who become ill with CFS are a major cause of school absence.


title: Chronic fatigue syndrome

text: People with CFS have decreased scores on the SF-36 quality-of-life questionnaire, especially in the sub scales on vitality, physical functioning, general health, physical role, and social functioning; however, the sub scales for "role emotional" and mental health in CFS patients were consistent with or not substantially lower than healthy controls.


title: Chronic fatigue syndrome

text: Cognitive dysfunction is one of the more disabling aspects of CFS due to its negative impact on occupational and social functioning. Fifty to eighty percent of persons with CFS are estimated to have serious problems with cognition. Cognitive symptoms are mainly due to deficits in attention, memory, and reaction time. Measured cognitive abilities are found to be below projected normal values and likely to affect day-to-day activities; for example, increases in common mistakes, forgetting scheduled tasks, or having difficulty responding when spoken to are observed.


title: Chronic fatigue syndrome

text: Simple and complex information-processing speed and functions entailing working memory over long time periods are moderately to extensively impaired. These deficits are generally consistent with the patient's perceptions. Perceptual abilities, motor speed, language, reasoning, and intelligence do not appear to be significantly altered. When poorer health status was reported, a person's perception of their cognitive problems was frequently greater. Better physical functioning in people with CFS is associated with less visuoperceptual difficulty and fewer language-processing complaints.


title: Chronic fatigue syndrome

text: Inconsistencies of subjective and observed values of cognitive dysfunction reported across multiple studies are likely caused by a number of factors. Differences of research participants' cognitive abilities pre- and post-illness onset are naturally variable and are difficult to measure because of a lack of specialized analytical tools that can consistently quantify the specific cognitive difficulties in CFS.


title: Chronic fatigue syndrome

text: The frequency of neuropsychiatric and neuropsychological symptoms is increased in the population of persons with CFS; the understanding of why this occurs is unresolved. Various hypotheses have been advanced to try to explain the relationship between the cognitive symptoms and the illness. Some researchers believe psychiatric causes underlie or contribute to the illness, while other researchers believe the illness causes biochemical and sociological changes in people that produce the symptoms.


title: Chronic fatigue syndrome

text: The cause of CFS is unknown. Genetic and physiological factors are thought to work together to precipitate and perpetuate the condition. A 2016 report by the Institute of Medicine states that CFS is a biological disease, "not a psychiatric or psychological illness," but that the biologic abnormalities are not sensitive or specific enough to be useful as a diagnosis.


title: Chronic fatigue syndrome

text: According to the CDC, "CFS is a biological illness, not a psychologic disorder", and those affected "are neither malingering nor seeking secondary gain".


title: Chronic fatigue syndrome

text: The World Health Organization (WHO) has always classified the condition as a neurological disease in its International Classification of Diseases for Mortality and Morbidity Statistics (ICD), ever since ME first appeared in 1968. The term CFS was created in the late 1980s by US CDC as an alternate term for ME and was later integrated into the ICD entry for ME. The current iteration, ICD-11 still codes CFS at G93.3


title: Chronic fatigue syndrome

text: Likewise, the US CDC's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) categorizes CFS as a neurological disease (at G93.32) in the current ICD 10-Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM), the official insurance codes and medical taxonomy of the United States. It specifies that CFS is mutually exclusive with the diagnoses of "Unspecified Chronic Fatigue" (R53.82) on the one hand and "Psychogenic Fatigue", "Neurasthenia" and "Psychasthenia" (all at F48.8) on the other.


title: Chronic fatigue syndrome

text: Because it may begin as an influenza-like illness with a sudden onset, various infectious causes have been proposed, but evidence is insufficient to prove such causation. Infections proposed include mononucleosis, "Chlamydophila pneumoniae", human herpesvirus 6, and Lyme disease. Inflammation may be involved. Often, the illness will follow a viral illness such as mononucleosis or gastroenteritis.


title: Chronic fatigue syndrome

text: All ages, ethnic groups, and income levels are susceptible to the illness. The CDC states that Caucasians may be diagnosed more frequently than other races in America, but the illness is at least as prevalent among African Americans and Hispanics. A 2009 meta-analysis showed that African Americans and Native Americans have a higher risk of CFS, though it specifically excluded other more common ethnicities worldwide, and it acknowledged that studies and data were limited.


title: Chronic fatigue syndrome

text: More women than men get CFS. A large 2020 meta-analysis estimated that between 1.5 and 2.0 times more cases are women. The review acknowledged that different case definitions and diagnostic methods within datasets yielded a wide range of prevalence rates. The CDC estimates CFS occurs up to four times more often in women than in men. The illness can occur at any age, but has the highest prevalence in persons between the ages of 40 and 60. CFS is less prevalent among children and adolescents than among adults.


title: Chronic fatigue syndrome

text: Blood relatives of those who have CFS appear to be more predisposed, implying that genetic factors may increase the risk of susceptibility to the illness.


title: Chronic fatigue syndrome

text: Post-viral fatigue syndrome (PVFS) or post-viral syndrome describes a type of chronic fatigue syndrome that occurs following a viral infection. A recent review found Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) antibody activity to be higher in patients with CFS, and that a subset of patients with CFS were likely to have increased EBV activity compared to controls. Viral infection is a significant risk factor for CFS, with one study finding 22% of people with EBV experience fatigue six months later, and 9% having strictly defined CFS. A systematic review found that fatigue severity was the main predictor of prognosis in CFS, and did not identify psychological factors linked to prognosis.


title: Chronic fatigue syndrome

text: Another review found that risk factors for developing CFS after mononucleosis, dengue fever, or Q-fever included longer bed-rest during the illness, poorer pre-illness physical fitness, attributing symptoms to physical illness, belief that a long recovery time is needed, as well as pre-infection distress and fatigue. The same review found biological factors such as CD4 and CD8 activation and liver inflammation are predictors of sub-acute fatigue but not CFS.


title: Chronic fatigue syndrome

text: A study comparing diagnostic labels found that people labelled with ME had the worst prognosis, while those with PVFS had the best. Whether this is due to those with more severe or longer-lasting symptoms results in a label with the description of ME, or if being labelled with ME adversely causes a more severe or prolonged illness is unclear.


title: Chronic fatigue syndrome

text: A range of neurological structural and functional abnormalities is found in people with CFS, including lowered metabolism at the brain stem and reduced blood flow to areas of the brain; these differences are consistent with neurological illness, but not depression or psychological illness. The World Health Organization classes chronic fatigue syndrome as a central nervous system disease.


title: Chronic fatigue syndrome

text: Some neuroimaging studies have observed prefrontal and brainstem hypometabolism; however, sample size was limited. Neuroimaging studies in persons with CFS have identified changes in brain structure and correlations with various symptoms. Results were not consistent across the neuroimaging brain structure studies, and more research is needed to resolve the discrepancies found between the disparate studies.<ref name="Jason10/2017"></ref>


title: Chronic fatigue syndrome

text: Tentative evidence suggests a relationship between autonomic nervous system dysfunction and diseases such as CFS, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, and interstitial cystitis. However, it is unknown if this relationship is causative. Reviews of CFS literature have found autonomic abnormalities such as decreased sleep efficiency, increased sleep latency, decreased slow wave sleep, and abnormal heart rate response to tilt table tests, suggesting a role of the autonomic nervous system in CFS. However, these results were limited by inconsistency.


title: Chronic fatigue syndrome

text: Central sensitization, or increased sensitivity to sensory stimuli such as pain have been observed in CFS. Sensitivity to pain increases after exertion, which is opposite to the normal pattern.