Reflections of the Hindi film Sholay

Reflections of the Hindi film Sholay

Ramish Sippy’s (1975) film Sholay is a story about the tyranny of a rural community by Sikh bandits, the suffering and revenge of a police officer, and the bond and rehabilitation of two petty thieves. The plot unfolds when Thakur Baldev Singh recruits two of his legendary arrestees, the inseparable duo of Veeru and Jai, who only concedes to a coin toss to help him avenge his family’s slaying and his maiming, and to repel the vicious control of the city of Ramgarh by the infamous bandit Gabbar Singh, the bane of Thakur Baldev Singh’s existence.

Gabbar Bandits Terrorizing the City of Ramgarh

Attracted by the compensation package, Veeru and Jai, report for duty, but after discovering Thakur Singh’s real inspiration behind the mission, they eventually agree to offer their services pro bono.

Jai, Veeru, and Thakur Negotiating Deal

The outlaw buddies eventually become immersed in the life of Ramgarh, both developing romantic interests, Veeru in Basanti and Jai in Radha.

Basanti and Veeru Bonding

Their communal engagement also takes them through phases of attrition and reconciliation; however, the painful sacrifices of liberating themselves and the city take their toll on their body and spirit, registering the film’s tragic grand narrative.

Jai and the Village in Mourning over Murdered Boy

Melancholia and suffering dominate the thematic elements of this film. This is most vividly portrayed in Radha’s constant grieving over the massacre of her family and Thakur Baldev Singh’s obsession with revenge. Radha, speaks only one line in the film, and as an allegory, her dumbness possibly represents the protracted suppression by a generation of Indians of the trauma suffered from the violence and carnage surrounding partition.

The Grieving Widow, Radha

Another conspicuous element of Sholay is the extent of the male bonding between Veeru and Jai. Traditionally, Indian cinema tends to highlight gendered relationships, whether through oedipal complexes or heterosexual romance, but in Sholay these formulaic relationships are subordinated to the intimate friendship between Veeru and Jai. So when Jai is killed by Gabbar’s men, Veeru must abandon his promise to marry Basanti and mount a near suicidal counterattack to avenge his friend and ameliorate his own pain.

Jai Dying in Veeru Arms

The film also offers a normative commentary on the role of women in rural Indian society. Basanti’s agency in life relies on her ability to get married to a “worthy” man. Her guardian, Mausi, clearly emphasizes this ambition, when Jai represents Veeru in asking for her hand in marriage.

Jai Seeking Mausi's Approval for Veeru's and Basanti's Marriage

Therefore, when Gabbar Singh tortures her fiancé Veeru,  it comes as no surprise that she must share in the suffering, even to the point of dancing on glass, until overcome by fatigue, in her quest to save his life and ironically hers, for without Veeru, she losses a sense of worth or societal value.

Basanti Dancing, Hoping to Save Veeru's Life

These tropes point to the film’s narrative contestations between the traditional and modern. When Jai explores the possibility of marrying the widow, Radha, he must wrestle with the community’s traditions and its prescription of the widow’s role. Also, Veeru’s citified concept of dating, contrasts with Basanti’s adherence to the traditional processes of romantic bonding. Ultimately, he has to go to extreme means, feigning suicide, to circumvent one of the most deep-seated community values, that of parental consent to marriage.     

Veeru Threatening Mausi with Suicide

Sholay also highlights complex, race, cast, and religious anxieties and prejudices. Although the film is Hindi, Gabber, the unscrupulous bandit, is a Sikh and one of his most trusted followers the film’s lone black man.

Gabbar the Terrorist

This was the first time that I had seen a person of African descent in Hindi cinema, and disappointedly it replicated the Hollywood racial stereotypes of that period by demonizing him. Interestingly, there are no obvious Hindi villains, and those who engage in immoral behavior are eventually humanized.                                                

Thakur Releasing Jai and Veeru from His Custody

Additionally, the film also points to the limited presence and influence of the state in rural communities. The police is absent from the community of Ramgarh, forcing the impotent  and retired police officer Thakur Baldev Singh to rely on vigilantism to protect the community. Sholay also  endorses Virdi’s (2003) theory that many post-independence Hindi films present characters that are physically dismembered or disfigured. Imam Saheb is blind and Thakur Baldev Singh has lost his both arms to Gabbar’s cruelty.

Reference:

Virdi, J. (2003). The cinematic imagination: Indian popular films as social history. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.