Sholay

Epic in all proportions, a thoroughly entertaining wild east cowboyesque film fizzing with vengeance, violence and, for the time, visionary film making and performances. There's a reason some films embrace longevity and not just through their duration, if you fancy a wild, fierce, ferocious and untamed piece of excitement then set aside an hour or three and a half, charge your beaker to the rim with stimulants and embrace a unique and original take on an often visited theme that wont leave you disappointed.

If you liked "Once upon a time in the west", "The magnificent seven" and "A fistful of dollars", you will love "Sholay". It takes all the good ingredients of a western, spices it with a lot of Indian ingredients and lets it simmer until you get one of the finest "curry" westerns imaginable. Though obviously very much inspired by the "spaghetti" westerns of the late 1960s/early 1970s, this easily surpasses most of the films it's modeled after. A masterpiece.

This is one movie which is flawless. Great performances from everyone. The cast of the movie is just perfect. Gabbar's character remains indelibly etched on your mind once you've seen him in action. Amitabh is definitely one of the greatest actors of all times. His portrayal of a criminal with morals is all the way tops along with Brando's Vito Corleone. I think the part about cheating with false coin to save Viru's life (sacrificing his own) was a lovely storyteller's touch. 10 all the way!

I think Sholay is a great Hindi film of its times, although with the amount of praise and superlatives it has been getting throughout the years, I must admit it's a little overrated. The film was indeed ahead of its time in many ways. First, the action was really good - there were some glitches here and there, but it was far more credible than what the times had set the public for. Secondly, the attention to detail, as expected from Ramesh Sippy, is first-rate. Sippy, a great director whose combination of professional, technically skilled direction, impressive storytelling, and the delicate yet honest depiction of his stories, produced several classic Hindi pictures. Sholay is a good product although sadly it mixes too many genres and is overlong for the story it tells. It could have easily edited out some parts. Given the extraordinary brutality of the villainous characters and the situations, as well as the marked contrast between the good and the evil, I think the comedic parts (except for those of Basanti) were grossly redundant, among others, as they dragged the narrative and undermined its consistency as well as the minimalist approach that was so successfully employed by Sippy in some key scenes.

Set in a rural, remote region in southern India, the film is beautifully shot, and Sippy manages to capture the essence of the village and its people. One wonderful scene shows the routine of the village and the different activities of its inhabitants in the morning, a rare glimpse into the cultural weight of the place, which few directors would bother to tap into. This is where our heroes and villains are thrown, in an interesting story which benefits from Sippy's unique direction. The realism with which some of the situations are portrayed is striking, and it is matched by a careful handling of the proceedings in ways the Indian moviegoing public, which was used to being spoonfed by Hindi filmmakers, had not been accustomed to. Note for one the way the romance between Veeru and Radha is portrayed. Just watch the scene in which Jai is playing his harmonica as Radha is walking around and turning off the Kerosene lamps. Such subtlety is rarely seen in Hindi films. This is not to say that the film is devoid of any sentimentality. Still, the overall thing is really good - the film is both entertaining and then it is also quite moving and heartbreaking in some hard-hitting scenes, not to mention the famous, harrowing parts.

The film's authenticity is achieved in large parts through the acting, particularly the grounded, authentic performances of the main characters. Sholay is in my view Sanjeev Kumar's story as it is his character's determination that carries the narrative forward. He is tremendous. Dharmendra plays the energetic and happy-go-lucky Veeru pretty well, but Bachchan is fantastic in a subdued, quiet performance as Jai. Hema Malini is wonderful as the iconic, highly talkative and kind-hearted village belle Basanti; her comic timing is top-notch, and her dance numbers are never less than fabulous. Out of the two couple, it is Jaya Bhaduri of course who can always be trusted to do so much by doing so little. Her quietly understated performance is one of the film's assets, the other one being Amjad Khan's phenomenal turn as one of the greatest screen villains of Hindi cinema. Sholay is greatly aided by the great background score which enhances some of the most difficult scenes and helps alleviate others. R. D. Burman's soundtrack is as memorable as the film. Sholay is definitely a classic in many ways. It is not flawless, nor do I think it matters. In many ways it is a landmark film, and I'm sure non-Indians might enjoy it just as much.

Some of the most pathetic conversion from 2D-3D available on screen, that puts the shoddy 'Clash of the Titans' on a pedestal for how to do things. The wonderful original background score has also been screwed-with (thankfully, not to a great extent) by someone called Raju Singh. Atmos sound works most of the time. Better viewed in 2D, and I shall remedy the mistake when/if I get the chance, though I'd have to live with the screwed-over score in any case (I think).

Having said that, the audience members who watched this one when I did, had the following attributes: 1. Intent in capturing selfies during the movie's running time. Cams pointed right at the audience as well, flashes going off to the tune of 5-10 occasions every half hour. 2. Babies, who (obviously) brought the house down with the (oh so pleasant) screaming when Atmos accentuated every gunshot, every death-scream, and every swear word. 3. Cam phones once again, being used by geniuses to take snaps of the (3D) images on screen. Wait, there's more... 4. Cacophonous laughs and jeers at every quite moment, some of which were romantic, most of which were tragic/poignant. Same batch of geniuses (see above) joining in, with quite a few followers to boot......

Now, in spite of not blowing a blood vessel at all that (quite used to putting up with, nee living with, said geniuses that populate most cinemas, including multiplexes), I confess to having not felt bored even during (what I consider the weakest element of this masterpiece) those interminable flashbacks, and dated-looking/sounding/seeming scenarios on display. The performances are still top-notch, the music plays a huge role (the not-too-destroyed RDB-original score during the train sequence being a case-in-point - the rest having been butchered by Raju Singh).

All-in-all, I do hope someone coverts this for IMAX (hopefully, without the 3D), or someone updates the 3D sometime, even with crowd-funding, if that's an option. Still, this compares well against most of the other trash playing, and being appreciated, out there.