Life imitates bolly (updated w/ film)

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Gabbar Singh: You have a lot of strength left in your arms, don’t you? Remember what you said to me that day? ‘These aren’t arms, they’re your noose’. Look at you now, the noose has opened! You still have alot of strength in your arms, don’t you? Give me your arms, Thakur.

Gabbar Singh: How do you plan to fight me Thakur? I’ve long cut off, and discarded, your arms.
Thakur Baldev Singh: One uses their feet to crush a snake Gabbar, not the hands. [imdb]

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p>The highest grossing Bollywood film ever, and still one of the best, is the 1975 film Sholay. [Film synopsis.]

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p>As a boy, my favorite part of the film was the (original) ending, where Thakur Baldev Singh confronts his nemesis, the dacoit Gabbar Singh. The Thakur has no arms, Gabbar Singh having cut them earlier, but he still manages to fight and kill Gabbar Singh using just his feet.

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p>It’s perfect bolly. The scene rings true emotionally, but makes little sense as a fight. I mean, who could believe a man with no arms could defeat somebody who was built like Amjad Khan? Clearly I was overly skeptical:

Snelville, Georgia police are investigating whether William Russell Redfern, who has no arms, may have caused the death of his neighbor after head-butting and kicking him in a fight.

… Elliot said the armless man attacked her brother. “They got into a big confrontation, a verbal confrontation and a fist fight and he came after my brother, he came with full force, and head butted him as hard as he could,” said Elliot. [Link, via 3V]

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OK, head butting somebody until they have a heart attack lacks the potent symbolism of killing them by “trampling him with spike-soled shoes” but it seems that the movie was more “realistic” than I had thought.

Film clips of the fight on the other side of the fold.

p.s. sadly, that fight scene doesn’t seem to have been posted on youtube, although there are plenty of other Sholay clips. Maybe I’m the only one who thought it was cool.

Update: big penn found the clip! Shivers down my spine. The second clip has the original, bloodier, ending. ANNA, no watching the ending before you see the rest of the movie.

49 thoughts on “Life imitates bolly (updated w/ film)”

  3. Ennis, You are not the only one ! Sholay was great – dialogues/action/actors/emotion/songs I have a friend who swears that there is a Sholay dialogue for every situation in Project Management 🙂

  6. I can accept Thakur killing Gabbar at the end with his special shoes, but how did he take care of business on a daily basis? 🙂

    I’d imagine the director/writers were influenced by Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West. Nevertheless, Sholay remains a classic and doesn’t lose its charm on repeated viewings.

  7. “I can accept Thakur killing Gabbar at the end with his special shoes, but how did he take care of business on a daily basis? :)”

    Remember he had Ramu chacha or some such chap always around to help him.

    Another dialogue which I always loved was “Yeh haat nahi, phaansi ka fanda hai!” ( These are not hands, they are the noose around your neck!)

  8. “love the movie. what do you all think of aag coming out? the remake of this movie.”

    bollywood – and hollywood – should realize that there are some movies you don’t mess with (even if the originals could be improved upon in some way due to modern technology, sensibilities etc). i thought the don remake was not bad and didn’t mind that. but sholay? and from what i’ve read, what were rgv and amitabh thinking??

  9. Another dialogue which I always loved was “Yeh haat nahi, phaansi ka fanda hai!

    My favorite : “Sarkar, maine aapka namak khaaya hai” “To ab goli kha!” ( loses much in translation : “Chief, I have taken( shared) salt with you “”Then now take this bullet”)

    As for RGV ‘s Aag ,in principle I refuse to watch it because I don’t want to contribute a single cent towards RGV ‘s hubris- thinking he can better Sholay !Bah!

  12. My favorite: Amreeka kee pachasion states may jub raat ko bachcha rota hai to ma kehtee hai – so jao warna Islamo-fascist/gays aajayengay…..

  13. I like Sholay dialogues only when used at inappropriate moments. Like yelling “Basanti in kutton ke saamney mut naach” at classical dance recital.

  14. but he still manages to fight and kill Gabbar Singh using just his feet.

    There are actually 2 versions of that fight out there. The older, sanitized version where the Thakur merely kicks Gabbar’s ass and allows the police to take him away, and the newer DVD version where Gabbar actually gets killed. Much more satisfying 🙂

    Sholay is just the best movie evaaaahhhh!

  15. It’s a great film, close to perfect, hard to really find a fault in it. Realistic or not, by that point of the film you want the thakur to stomp a mud hole in ol’ gabbar, well that’s what I think anyway, but I’m a sucker for a hero ending and Sholay did it masterfully.

  16. i remember when they showed it on turner classics. shame it was such a poor quality print though.

  17. I have never seen Sholay.

    Commence calling me a coconut/oreo/bounty bar/deprived girl in 3, 2, 1…

  19. I have never seen Sholay.

    neither have i!

    Commence calling me a coconut/oreo/bounty bar/deprived girl in 3, 2, 1…

    i have also not seen many movies that are considered ‘classics’ of hollywood – citizen cane, top gun, any of the star war movies….the list goes on and on. and i’m not really sure i will ever summon up enough interest 😉

    As for RGV ‘s Aag ,in principle I refuse to watch it because I don’t want to contribute a single cent towards RGV ‘s hubris- thinking he can better Sholay !Bah!

    he he. i refuse to watch a lot of bollywood movies (and some hollywood ones) for this very reason…

  20. I can accept Thakur killing Gabbar at the end with his special shoes, but how did he take care of business on a daily basis? 🙂

    In the original ending (which is now available on DVDs), Thakur actually kills Gabbar Singh with his shoes.

    However, when the movie was released, due to censors being tough (you only have two categories in India – U/ A), the theater release had Thakur almost killing Gabbar, and police (cops) interjecting.

    Even though it is inspired by countless westerns (some of the similarities even scene by scene are almost Sippy’s homage to these movies), Charlie Chaplain’s Great Dictator (Asrani and globe scenes, his whole character) and also no other Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai, it is the Indian movie, in some almost two perfect. The movie was shot near Bangalore, and lot of extras from South Indian film industry, and even expertise from Amreeka.

    It probably has one of the best train robbery sequence, and gypsy dancing, even by any world standards.

  22. “gypsy dancing, even by any world standards”.

    that bit was pure class and very classy, Helen is pure beauty!! AR Rahman sang mehbooba right? the songs are so good.

  23. There are actually 2 versions of that fight out there. The older, sanitized version where the Thakur merely kicks Gabbar’s ass and allows the police to take him away, and the newer DVD version where Gabbar actually gets killed. Much more satisfying 🙂

    It is the other way around…….DVD version is the original version, before censors asked Sippy to change the ending for theater release.

  25. i enjoyed it, it has great elements, and it is iconic, but i never really thought it was all that. maybe it was the weight of expectations because i already knew about its reputation before i saw it.

  27. “arrey bhai yeh suicide kya hota hai?”

    “jab angrez log martey hain toh usko suicide kehte hain”

  30. I think Sholay is just famous for being famous. As big a Bollywood fan as I am, I don’t get Sholay. Anybody see Indian stand-up comedians doing Sholay jokes? Raju Srivastava has the funniest ones.

    We can always count on Kush Tandon to bring some good information to the table regardless of the topic.

  31. I think Sholay is just famous for being famous. As big a Bollywood fan as I am, I don’t get Sholay.

    deewar on the other hand… that’s a great movie.

  32. As for thakur and his daily business goes, here’s one funny version of it.

    Why was jaya bachchan sad throughout the movie?? ’cause she had to clean up after thakur..

  33. The one movie that should have never have been redone. The original is beyond reproach. On the one hand Bachanji is reciting his father’s poetry at Lincoln Center, on the other hand he’ll seemingly take any role that comes his way.

  34. when they are scythian.

    Yeah !! But here a person did die from an ‘Alleged Headbutt and Stomping’ .. I just dont think its funny .. !!

    Gotta give it to hypocrites here .. though !! If it was a brown guy being stomped .. I would wonder if you wud still laugh it off .. ??

  36. Gotta give it to hypocrites here .. though !! If it was a brown guy being stomped .. I would wonder if you wud still laugh it off .. ??

    Police coming, mausi going jail. Mausi chakki peesing and peesing and peesing… ?

    Bahut yaaraana lagta hai…bahut yaaraana lagta hai ?

    …..yeah brown guy

  37. I think Sholay is just famous for being famous. As big a Bollywood fan as I am, I don’t get Sholay.

    Sholay was far far ahead of its time .. great camerawork .. excellent sound and music..coupled with memorable dialogues and gripping action scenes .. Never before a movie had all the elements working for it on full cylinders like Sholay did .. if you get Sholay .. you dont get Indian Movies. Period. 😛

  38. We should have a contest between Godfather and Sholay. I personally think that Godfather had more memorable lines.

  39. excellent sound and music

    I was somewhat disappointed to find out later that R.D Burman ripped off the “Mehbooba Mehbooba” tune. Though to me the film has never been equalled in terms of sheer spectacle by any other Bollywood film.

  41. I was somewhat disappointed to find out later that R.D Burman ripped off the “Mehbooba Mehbooba” tune. Though to me the film has never been equalled in terms of sheer spectacle by any other Bollywood film.

    Yes, the song has the same tune which is common knowledge. The great power of Mehbooba Mehbooba is Helen’s dance (there never been a dance like that), and the context within the movie – the whole show.

    There are sequences that are carbon copy of some of the westerns – like Tarantino’s Kill Bill movies – so what – for example, the scene where Jaya B is removing the dried clothes, and gets shot – is inspired by a western – google, you will find quite a few similarities – they are even similarities to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid – the way Jay and Vijay rush out shooting in one of the scenes – yet, it is one of the greatest spectacle ever made.

    Comparing to movie made by a novel, like Godfather, is unfair. They are different.

    You bring Sholay anywhere in the world in a theater – 80% of the audience will repeating the dialogues in a sing-song/ karoki way – this is from a movie, that initially had a slow start, some of the national newspapers in India in first week or so had declared it a flop – one national newspaper had said it nothing indian in it – by 2-3rd week, it had become a classic by word of mouth.

  42. From Wiki artcile for Sholay: The massacre of a family near the middle of the film is similar to a scene from Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West as well as a scene from John Ford’s The Searchers.

  44. Okay, I am getting on the bandwagon here. Try this link of comedian Raju Srivastava’s Sholay routine.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoSEG4p4q0o

    “Kitne Aadmi They” is the ultimate cut-to-the-chase management question that they should be teaching in B-school. In fact, I recall my own management style was quite like Gabbar’s when I was younger.

  46. I think Sholay is just famous for being famous. As big a Bollywood fan as I am, I don’t get Sholay.

    I must agree with Floridian@30 on this one – I watched it the first time when I was 8, and it seemed like yet another masala movie – perfectly entertaining, but not much more. It was years later that I read about how it set some standards – the first foul-mouthed Bollywood villain (as opposed to the previous smooth-talking suave James Bond-style villains, in Zanjeer for instance), how the Sippys had to battle with Indira Gandhi during Emergency to get the film approved, and how they combined Seven Samurai and a bunch of spaghetti Westerns into something totally Indian. Ultimately, even though I’m not emotionally attached to the movie, I hold it to be a landmark in the same spirit that Straw Dogs was a landmark for Hollywood, and that it should ideally be watched by all film buffs to see how adaptation and localization should be done. I would not however recommend it as an Introduction to Indian Movies movie for non-desi non-film-buffs – for one thing, it’s liable to give the impression that a good Indian movie always needs to stand on the shoulders of others; for another, it is not representative of most Indian movies (in any language) made in the last 5 years in terms of content.

  48. Are we laughing about the death? We’re discussing the movie.

    Then what else was your intention with this post .. ???

    OK, head butting somebody until they have a heart attack lacks the potent symbolism of killing them by “trampling him with spike-soled shoes”

    So, you are saying now that this was just a morbid comparision ..and you did not want to tickle anyone’s funny bone ..??

  49. love the movie. what do you all think of aag coming out? the remake of this movie. it’s not getting any good reviews.

    Friends Arnab at Greatbong.net has already ripped into it. Read it in parts, or else you will split your sides laughing.