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Every now and then, the media gets an outbreak of what can be called 'Sholay fever.' That is when Sholay gets back in the news and is discussed, dissected and deconstructed. It happened most recently in 2005, when the film completed 30 years.
Now, with the announcement that a producer has coughed up $100 million for the official rights to remake the film, it's hit the front pages with a bang. Not only that - Pritish Nandy wants to make an animated version and a prequel and a sequel respectively too. Which means, we will get to see Gabbar Singh's childhood and perhaps his progeny too.Is there a franchise in the offing, like Star Wars?
Not that there have been no attempts, mostly 'unauthorised' to make Sholay clones, the latest one being an travesty which will not be named. They can be safely ignored. But anyone who pays serious money deserves to be taken seriously. The producers probably hope to bring it to an entirely new audience, one that has no first-hand memory of the film but has heard enough of the legend and lore from a previous generation. Is that enough to draw the popcorn eaters to the multiplex?
Before one attempts to tackle these questions, a quick relook at the film and where it is located in our cultural space is called for. Too much has been written about it, but a lot of it is seen through the fog of memory, nostalgia or such blind admiration that a realistic assessment becomes difficult. It is almost impossible to view Sholay in a detached fashion and point out its warts, but it must be done.
The film, seen at a distance, is not without its flaws. Let's be honest, RD Burman was not at his scintillating best. Most songs were average, if not mediocre, and the only true hit was 'Mehbooba, mehbooba', which was a straight lift from Demis Roussos's 'Say you love me'.
Then, viewing it today, one realises that there are just too many distractions in the story that interrupt its smooth flow. Many of them have become set pieces today - the jailer sequence, for example - but they have been squeezed to death. The film could have easily been reduced by half an hour without any loss to it. Compare Sholay with Mera Gaon Mera Desh, which is a much tauter story, staying focused on the main idea of a dacoit who terrorises a village. Yet, such is Sholay's power and legend that many of these scenes have become popular in their own right.
Cliches abound: in a Hindi film that is not such a bad thing, because it gives a comfort zone to the audience, but for a movie that is claimed to be a breakthrough, the presence of a Holi scene or the token Muslim shows that the film-maker wanted to remain within bounds.
Indeed, the whole film is derivative from a variety of sources, local and imported. Salim-Javed were one of our most 'inspired' writers and in Sholay, they cast their net far and wide: The story itself echoes The Magnificent Seven, Gabbar Singh's look resembles the rustic villain in For A Few Dollars More, Dharmendra's water tank scene is a direct lift from The Secret of Santa Vittoria and so on.
Yet, Sholay was a smash hit and is loved and revered (and even parodied). Which other
film in Hindi cinema history has the same resonance? Do we, for example, observe the anniversaries of Pyaasa or Mughal-e-Azam? Why is this so?
One short answer: in Sholay, all the ingredients that make for a good film came together like never before - a great script, a smooth narrative, memorable stand-alone scenes and terrific acting.And above all, as they say, Amjad Khan. Take him away and Sholay would remain an average revenge drama. It was he who lifted it from the commonplace to put it on a pedestal where it has remained for evermore.
Till then, dacoits were either honourable men (Mujhe Jeene Do) or hearts of gold which allowed them to convert to an honest life (Upkaar, Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai). Gabbar had no such redeeming features - he was content running his business and life till the Thakur went after him; after that it became personal. Gabbar was probably an ex-army man, without a job, maybe an OBC with no real prospects, who took to dacoity as a career. The caste politics angle may provide a lead for the next version.
It has been said that Khan had the advantage of being a newcomer with no previous screen persona; but then he had to contend with heavyweights and could have easily flopped. He didn't and getting a replacement for him will be the new producers' greatest challenge--that and getting someone to write some ripping dialogue.
Finally, will the popcorn crowd really care to see a remake of a classic set in another era? The record so far has been somewhat discouraging. But then, who knew Devdas, the story about zamindars and nautch girls, would become so popular? Each generation has had its own Devdas; perhaps each generation must have its Sholay too.
Email: sidharth01@dnaindia.net
