Sholay – 1975, Ramesh Sippy

by Allan Fish

(India 1975 210m) DVD2

Aka. Flames

The art of crushing a snake

p  G.P.Sippy  d  Ramesh Sippy  w  Salim Khan, Javed Akhtar  ph  Dwarka Divecha  ed  M.S.Shinde  m  Rahul Dev Burman  ly  Anand Bakshi  ch  P.L.Raj  art  Ram Yedekar  cos  Shalini Shah

Dharmendra (Veeru), Abitabh Bachchan (Jai), Sanjeev Kumar (Thakur), Hema Malini (Basanti), Amjad Khan (Gabbar Singh), Jaya Badhuri (Radha), A.K.Hangal (Imaam Saheb), Leela Mishra (Mausie), Satyendra Kapoor (Ramlal), Iftekahr (Narmalaji), Vikas Anand (jailer), Mac Mohan (Sambha), Keshto Mukherjee (Hariram),

When the British Film Institute conducted a poll as to the greatest Indian films of all time, the results might have been seen as surprising.  It may have been taken as a given that the films of Satyajit Ray would dominate, and yet only two of his films made the top 10 (Pather Panchali at 2 and Charulata at 6), the same number as Ritwik Ghatak.  Their films went against the grain of Indian cinema, however, not Bollywood musical or genre productions but humanist dramas influenced by western and Japanese ideals.  Several Bollywood films made the top 10 as well, including Mother India, Pyaasa and Awaara, all also included in this selection.  It was neither, however, that took the premiere spot.  That honour was set aside for the Sippys’ Sholay. 

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