The height of hypnosis silences the rational mind and the people trapped in it reach the world of illusion. Such Mayalok are a part of the folk tradition not only of India but of the entire world, whose stories continue to be passed down from generation to generation through traditions even today. These are the same stories which have come to us through the words of our grandmothers, while warming themselves by bonfires on cold nights or enjoying the cool breeze on the rooftops of our houses in summers. It does not matter where the stories begin and where they end, but the connection they hold is its life.
Today, as soon as a child is born, he starts smiling while looking into the mobile camera, as soon as he opens his eyes, his first ‘smile pic’ is taken and he enters not the world of stories but the world of Google. Soon his fingers decide which world he will go to and he reaches the world of animation. It is a different matter that the villains of the animated world are more cruel than Gabbar. They want to create fear not only in the village or within 50 kilometers, but in the entire world; That too on the condition of the end of the world. In such a situation, Sholay’s Gabbar is not even worthy of being their pawn. Despite this, the magic of Gabbar or should we say the magic of Sholay is still intact even after half a century and four generations have been captivated by it.
Many tales have been told in this half century, but they are nowhere seen further back than this. Even today its magic remains such that no matter where you start watching this film, it takes you with you till the end.
This story was written by Salim-Javed duo i.e. Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar. If we talk about the story i.e. in the language of cinema, its story-screenplay and dialogue writers were Salim-Javed. But the backbone of this story i.e. the work of writing dialogues was done by Javed Akhtar alone. These are those dialogues, which have become part of our language today like idioms.
The language of Javed Akhtar’s dialogues presents the best example of folk language i.e. colloquial language. The dialogues bring the story closer to the audience like the waves of the ocean, which can be felt even while standing on the shore. The rhythm of the language with its sweetness not only adds flavor to the ears, but also tingles the mind and brain. The dialogues of the film create a picture and its indelible impression remains forever.
Many dialogues like “Hey O Sambha” or “Kitne Aadmi The” are being used as one liners and will continue to be used. Sholay is the story of some such spoken pictures. While watching Sholay, one must pay attention to the family background of its writers. It is easily available in the age of social media.
While watching Sholay, its story presents so many perspectives. Like Thakur is not a Thakur, he is the society of India. His honesty and strength are his arms, morality and courage are his legs. When he uses the power of his arms, Gabbar Singh, the symbol of the evils of the society, is seen held in his arms. When evil leaves his hands, it only encourages him to end evil.
Jai-Veeru are part of the same society, which is stuck in its morality. Sometimes independent, sometimes selfish, sometimes altruistic. Jai and Veeru are symbols of the willpower and confidence of the society. Basanti, the heroine of the story, is a symbol of the insatiable thirst of our desires. Look at it this way, money is very important among all the desires of the society and the symbol of the journey of the traveler Basanti of this destination is her tanga, which is being taken to the destination by her mare Dhanno. Radha is a mirage of the society, an unfulfilled thirst, which the society could not bring into the mainstream despite its willpower and self-confidence. Also note that Maulvi Sahib is blind, like our evil deeds and our bigotry, due to which we are unable to see evil. Maulvi Sahib’s son is a symbol of our gentlemanliness. Evils have always been killing him and carrying his dead body to us on the horse of cowardice. On top of that, it seems as if this dialogue challenges our conscience and our courage, “Why is there so much silence, brother?” The village of Ramgarh in the film keeps reminding us of our roots.
Surma Bhopali is a symbol of those people who are breaking all the rules and harmony of the society. It is noteworthy that Surma is the owner of Bhopali wooden peetha and just like today’s leaders, he is making us clap by making tall boasts. The two characters of the film, Sambha and Kalia, are symbols of high and low and casteism, who are still following the orders of their master with their eyes downcast. If you look at the jailers of the British era, the matter will become absolutely clear. Even today he is surrounded by sycophants like Hariram Nai, they are admirers of his presence and they are getting done only what they can get done with their average intelligence. By believing in them, they are burning their hands and saying, “We are the jailers of the British era.” We have changed so much but we have not changed.” He is making it clear that even today we are carrying the tradition of the British, which is a reflection of our bureaucracy.
Sholay was released during the Emergency. The period of thinking and creating its story was when the country was going through the conflict of morality and immorality. Thakur’s exit from that conflict and the imposition of emergency was as if the hands of the society had been cut off. Another mention among the countless tales and stories of Sholay, its dacoit is the first dacoit in Hindi cinema, who wore a soldier’s uniform, symbolizing the devil in the guise of a saint. This uniform was suggested by GP Sippy. Hardly anyone in this era could believe that Gabbar’s popularity was such that after him the dacoits started wearing uniforms. If you ever look at the pictures of Malkhan Singh, Ramesh Sikarwar, bandit beauty Phoolan Devi on the internet, the tradition of Gabbar Singh will be clearly visible.
This is not just a film, but a philosophy of life. Each character tells a different story of life. There is a philosophy behind every character, which tells us that life revolves around it.
For three weeks after the release of Sholay, the slogan ‘Sholay ke Nikal Gaye Chole’ kept echoing in the film industry. There is such an incident that Ramesh Sippy went to meet Sanjeev Kumar who was dubbing in Sunil Dutt’s Ajanta Studio. The work of a successful director’s film was going on there. Ramesh Sippy was returning after meeting Sanjeev Kumar. At that time there was tension on his face, his beard had grown and he had slippers on his feet. That successful director told his assistant, “If you ever get a chance in life, do not direct a film like Sholay, otherwise such a situation will happen.” Another story is that a female astrologer from Bengaluru, who used to make some strange predictions, had said that this film would run for 5 years. Sholay proved this prediction false. We are still talking about Sholay even after 50 years.
Half a century has passed with Sholay. The ending of the film was changed by the censor due to the emergency. In the end Thakur, a former police officer, does not kill Gabbar but hands him over to the police. The ending reminds us of a period which forced our independent thinking to follow its own path. However, there is talk that in the re-release, Gabbar Singh has been killed by Thakur. Whether we call it climbing up a ladder or going down a ladder is a matter of analysis.
A very popular song is, ‘Yahoo…Chahe Koi Mujhe Junglee Kahe…’ Very few people know that the voice of Yahoo along with Rafi Sahab was given by an unknown artist named Prayagraj. But Rafi kept getting the credit. Similarly, many Prayagrajs made Sholay ‘Sholay’. Cameraman Dwarka Dwivecha presented us scene by scene like paintings on the screen.
Sholay is a story written in the 19th century, which made its presence felt indirectly and indirectly everywhere in the society along with advertisements, speeches, idioms. Interestingly, Gabbar Singh i.e. Amjad Khan did not work again in any of Salim-Javed’s stories. It was for the best, because Gabbar’s work is a milestone and his other works don’t even come close to it.
Someone once asked, why the name of the film Sholay? Just look at the names of Javed Akhtar’s literary works, Tarkash and Lava. The matter will be understood in gestures.
(Arvind Mandloi is the author of Javed Akhtar’s biography Jadoonama)
