Gabbar Singh and gang arrive to disrupt Ramgarh's holi celebrations, right at the end of the song, right on cue - Holi ke din dil khil jaate hai. Jai is cornered, Veeru is coaxed out of hiding and Gabbar is understandably exulted. Seizing the moment he reinforces the psychological hold of fear he has over the hapless denizens of Ramgadh. Gabbar pretty much stamps his authority on the situation, creating the illusion of dependency and inevitability. He proclaims in dreaded tongue, even as most villagers cower behind closed doors and windows:
GABBAR KE TAAP SE TUMHE EK HI AADMI BACHA SAKTA HAI, EK HI AADMI...KHUD GABBAR!
(There is only one man who can save you from Gabbar's heat, only one man...Gabbar himself!)
As for fans, here is our lesson:
Unwittingly, Gabbar meant that nobody can help us, but ourselves...A lesson in self-reliance. Thank you Gabbar, you missed the Teacher's Day function by the way...
These Sholay posters are sourced from the Internet and are called minimalist art - a poster usually celebrates one aspect of the movie or draws a collage of several elements of the movie. One who has seen the movie generally gets it, minimalist and cult get along fine.
Whatever you do, do it with passion and ensure that you have your daily dose of adventure, as Thakur says: SHAYAD KHATRON SE KHELNE KA SHAUKH HAI MUJHE...
It was on October 2, 1973 that Sholay was officially launched and exactly 40 years later Ramesh Sippy was interviewed at Ramanagaram, Karnataka by The Indian Express Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta. Ramanagaram was where most of Sholay was shot. Here are some snippets from the interview, as we chronicle parts of what Ramesh Sippy said:
On Sholay remake, sequel, parodies and 3D
...I think a classic like Sholay should be where it is. In 40 years, it's still remembered. I know, you can make a lot of money doing so. But what is the point in making a film which has still not been forgotten. Somehow, it doesn't feel right.
I don't think there's anything wrong in people remaking or doing sequels or all that, but somehow I don't think that Sholay is a film that should be touched.
On Sanjeev Kumar dying young
It is true. It was, unfortunately, a family thing. Everyone in his family had died young. He was, of course, another great guy, who loved his work and was superb.
Why Ramanagaram?
All the films that had been made on dacoity and banditry before this were made in the Chambal valley - be it Ganga Jumna, Mujhe Jeene Do, even the Raj Khosla film, Mera Gaon Mera Desh.
I felt, let's make it different. Ram Yedekar was our art director. Being influenced by western cinema, we talked about those big boulders and things like that. He said,"I think I know just the place."He came here, took a lot of photographs and showed them to us later.
On Gabbar
Although I would definitely say that every aspect of the film went into the making it an all-time classic, it cannot be denied that the iconic figure in the film has to be Gabbar. His dialogues sold more than the music of the film. People were mesmerised.
On the Sholay phenomenon
It's almost impossible to explain what a phenomenon is. It happens. The entire team of Sholay went about trying to do their best. But for it to have turned into this...we could not have imagined it at that time. Today's generation is as much aware of Sholay, as of the other films around them.
