Sholay

Sholay (translation: Embers) is a 1975 Indian Hindi-language action crime film directed by Ramesh Sippy, produced by his father G. P. Sippy and written by Salim-Javed. Considered as one of the greatest and most influential Indian films of all time and released worldwide on 15 August 1975 (28th Independence Day of India), the film stars an ensemble cast of Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Hema Malini, Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bhaduri and Amjad Khan. Sholay was also an overseas success in the Soviet Union and was the highest-grossing film in India ever at that time, while it is also a defining example of the masala film which mixes several genres in one work. 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. 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".
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, and broke records for continuous showings in many theatres across India, thus running for more than five years at Mumbai's Minerva theatre. Sholay 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. 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. 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.
Cast
The cast is listed below (according to the opening credits) -
Dharmendra as Veeru
Sanjeev Kumar as Inspector Thakur Baldev Singh
Hema Malini as Basanti
Amitabh Bachchan as Jai; a.k.a. Jaidev
Jaya Bhaduri as Radha; Thakur's widowed daughter-in-law
Amjad Khan as Gabbar Singh
A. K. Hangal as Rahim Chacha; the blind local imam in the village and Ahmed's father
Satyen Kappu as Ramlal; Thakur's domestic worker
Iftekhar in a cameo appearance as Inspector Khurana; Radha's father
Leela Mishra as Mausi; Basanti's maternal aunt
Mac Mohan as Samba; Gabbar Singh's henchman
Keshto Mukherjee in a cameo appearance as Hariram; the prison barber
Sachin Pilgaonkar as Ahmed; Rahim Chacha's son
Viju Khote as Kaalia; Gabbar Singh's henchman whom he kills in a game of Russian roulette
Asrani as Jailor of Jai and Veeru; a comical character modelled after Charlie Chaplin in The Great Dictator
Helen as item number in "Mehbooba Mehbooba" song
Jagdeep as Soorma Bhopali; a comical wood trader
Jalal Agha in a cameo appearance in "Mehbooba Mehbooba" song
Om Shivpuri in a cameo appearance as the Police Inspector who arrests Gabbar Singh
Notes
References
1975 comedy movies
1970s epic movies
Indian movies
Movies directed by Ramesh Sippy
Movies about outlaws