It’s not as if it has a refreshingly original story. We remember its songs, its dialogues, its scenes we reference it in our daily conversations – “kitney aadmi they” is immediately recognised by everyone and we parody it, like “Gabbar ki Asli Pasand.” It is no longer a film-it is a cultural marker, and a milestone in the century-long journey of Hindi cinema. Yet, 40 years later, we are all celebrating Sholay as not just an iconic film but also as the greatest Indian film ever made. The original ending of the film, in which Sanjeev Kumar hacks off Gabbar’s arms before killing him, had to be changed, but a lot of other violent scenes escaped the censor’s eye. Those were the early days of the Emergency, which began on June 26, and the babus were particularly strict about enforcing it film producers had been told that excessive violence would not be allowed. Industry gossip also had it that producer G P Sippy, a powerful presence in the industry, had used his considerable influence to get the film passed with minimum cuts. The name Gabbar Singh bore a close resemblance to Jabbar Singh, the villain of Mera Gaon. If anything, it closely resembled another dacoit film, Mera Gaon Mera Desh that was released in 1971. True, the film was technically polished and had some exciting stunt scenes, but for the rest, it was just another potboiler, with a good mix of comedy, pathos, drama and action. Most publications dismissed it as another humdrum dacoit drama, a genre that was already fading away by then. When the Ramesh Sippy directed film, Sholay released on August 15, 1975, it was greeted with very lukewarm reviews.
0 kommentar(er)
