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Sanjeev Kumar, Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Amjad Khan, Amitabh Bachchan ... see more see more... , Sachin , Jaya Bhaduri

This 1975 film provides a superb look at popular Hindi cinema. Although it can be called an adventure, it has a spaghetti-western storyline, martial-arts sequences, comedy, soap-opera melodrama, and e... read more read more...ven musical numbers, including an early scene that has the two main characters riding a motorcycle and singing like Elvis Presley in the carnival flick, Roustabout. The film itself is indeed a carnival, and many of the features produced by India's popular movie industry exhibit a similar mixture of ingredients in an attempt to meet the audience's every possible expectation. Veeru (Dharmendra) and Jaidev (Amitabh Bachchan) are two small-time troublemakers who, in the past, have run afoul of Thakur Baldev Singh (Sanjeev Kumar); the Thakur, a former law officer, has seen the pair's heroic nature despite their criminal ways. When a gang of bandits led by Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan) murders the Thakur's family and cuts off his arms, rendering him helpless rather than killing him, he enlists Veeru and Jaidev to help him seek revenge. In the Thakur's rural village, the two bandits find romance and a hope for redemption and seek to free the village from Gabbar and his minions. The massive appeal in India of films like Sholay becomes evident; surprisingly, it succeeds in almost every genre it attempts to play. ~ Jonathan E. Laxamana, Rovi

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95% liked it

7,930 ratings

PG, 3 hr. 12 min.

Directed by: Ramesh Sippy

Release Date: December 31, 1975

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DVD Release Date: July 13, 1999

Stats: 809 reviews

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Amjad Khan "Sholay" "Sholay" Still from "Sholay" Still from "Sholay" "Sholay" "Sholay" "Sholay" "Sholay" "Sholay" "Sholay" Bollywood movie-Sholay (1975). (Left to Right) - Amitabh Bachchan , Dharmendra Deol , Sanjeev Kumar and Amjad Khan Amjad Khan Amitabh as Jai Sholay (Embers) (Flames) (Flames of the Sun) Still from "Sholay" "Sholay" Still from "Sholay"
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Flixster Reviews (809)

  • ScoopOnline
    July 15, 2011
    ScoopOnline
    One of the greatest and unforgetable Bollywood Classics. R.I.P Amjad Uncle.

    Jab bache rote hain to maa kehti he soja warna Gabbar Singh ajayega.


    saab mene aap ka namak khaya he

    Ab Gholi Kha

    TRIVIA::

    This film was directly inspired by the spaghetti... read more westerns of Sergio Leone, by Akira Kurosawa's Shichinin no samurai, Bandidos (1967) among others. Some critics at the time even began calling it a curry western.


    Amitabh Bachchan was almost killed at the end of the movie when a stray bullet from 'Dharmendra' missed him by inches.
  • kenstachnik
    November 18, 2008
    kenstachnik
    My first Bollywood film.

    It's pretty badass, a little indulgent at 3+ hours, but that's par for the course with these films.

    A curry western with heavy American influences has a little bit of everything. Suspense, Slapstick, Romance, Singing and Violent Bloodshed

    India's firs... read moret 70mm film.
  • Doctor0Quinzel
    June 30, 2008
    Doctor0Quinzel
    This film is long. I think that if it would have been shorter I would have enjoyied it more.
  • CHILIcheeseDONUTSwithTUNAonTOP
    September 4, 2009
    CHILIcheeseDONUTSwithTUNAonTOP
    A three hour Indian film with many attributes similar to Westerns, as well as Seven Samurai. Many different genres are covered here with he obigatory sing-songs which must be mandated in Bollywood. Two criminals are recruited by a former police officer to help him exact revenge o... read moren a far worse criminal who killed his family and maimed him. The officer knew the criminals from a time log ago from when was transferring them as prisoners on a train, they gloriously defended the train and helped him survive. One of the criminals develops a crush on a local village girl who reminds me of Kelly Kapur. A well-rounded film that is worth your three hours, if not to only get a glimpse of Bollywood.
  • amitaishwaryajogi
    September 1, 2008
    amitaishwaryajogi
    The Casablanca of Indian Cinema: no other film has embedded itself so deeply into our nation's collective conscious as this one.
  • lurple
    August 27, 2008
    lurple
    Sholay is a famous "curry" western, India's answer to the spaghetti westerns of Italy. A rousing combination of action, romance, drama, comedy, music, and revenge, Sholay is a western that is epic in the best sense, and it deserves to stand alongside other classics in the genre.
    ... read more
    There are some obvious influences here from the Seven Samurai and Once Upon a Time in the West, but Sholay takes these influences and makes its own film out of them. The direction is assured, there is some great cinematography, and if R.D. Burman's score isn't quite as excellent as the best of Ennio Morricone's western scores, it's still very good.

    It may not be the greatest western of all time, but it's certainly made it to my "best of" list. If you like the genre you owe it to yourself to check this one out, even if you're not sure you're ready for Bollywood.
  • tamandocomando
    February 1, 2008
    tamandocomando
    i heard about this movie from a friend. i saw it today when school was cancelled. it was pretty good! it reminds me of 'rambo' meets 'the good, the bad and the ugly'. i love the songs from here, and in that one song where basmati is forced to dance for gabbar in front of veeru, h... read moreer dancing on the glass brought to mind the song 'teer-e-nazer' and meena kumari's performance as sabijaan in the movie 'pakeezah'. that guy who played gabban singh did a wonderful job as the villain, but i heard somewhere that there was an alternate ending in which thakur kills gabban. i couldnt find it on the dvd, but anyway, the drama was perfect and it made you want to cry when jai dies in veeru's arms. overall a wonderful movie with a wonderful soundtrack. perfect for desi lovers, but do some research into indian customs first-itll eliminate some of the confusion you get while watching it
  • punnjabi4lyfe
    June 13, 2007
    punnjabi4lyfe
    aaree oO kaliya kitne aadmi the re....
    srrrrdar 2
    aur tum 3
    phir bhi laut kar aa gayee...

    arrrrrre O samba
    ji sardar
    sarkar kitna eenam rakhe hai re hum par..
    Pure 50 Hazaar
    Woh is liye ki jab 50 5o kos ki doori par koi baacha rota hai to ma bolti hai,
    beta so ja so ... read moreja nahi to GABBAR Aa Jayega.....
  • jecroise
    March 17, 2007
    jecroise
    THE classic movie - must see for anyone who hasn't seen it yet..
    awesome soundtrack and good script - best of all actors were great!!

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  • This was the first film in the history of Indian cinema to celebrate silver jubilee (25 weeks) at over a hundred theatres across India.
  • Danny Denzongpa who was initially offered the role of Gabbar Singh was busy shooting for another film and he could not accept the role and the reluctant second choice Amjad Khan got it.
  • Shatrughan Sinha was initially cast for the role of Jai, but Amitabh Bachchan convinced the producers that he was suitable for the role.
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