Sholay

I would like to discuss the idea of the “Curry Western” for this post. The opening scenes are very similar to westerns from the 60’s and 70’s especially with the central plots evolving around a farm/ open arid desert or the train station/ tracks. The theme of the not so good protagonists is very prominent within the film, the first thirty minutes being spent on a song and dance number and montage of the brother’s current situation and their stint in jail. Relating this to many westerns of the time I was reminded of Quentin Tarentino in his earlier days as a nonsense mercenary who takes matters into his own hands.

A point I would like to raise was why the jailor’s mustache was similar to Hitler’s, was that a coincidence? It seems that there was a resemblance due to how he treated the prisoners but I am not sure. Amitabh Bachan’s character is also in stark contrast to Dharmendra’s character in this film, one is talkative, and the other (Amitabh) is skilled but silent. The two play off each other brilliantly and made for some great characters.

Another point I would like to raise is that the movie reminds me of a comedy western in certain scenes. This comedy western theme is especially true when Dharmendra’s character meets and then subsequently tries to win over his love interest.

The scorned sheriff character with his tragic backstory is very similar to many classic westerns in Hollywood. The more tragic the backstory the more understanding of prior behaviors towards the protagonists are forgiven, such as when he did not shoot Gabbar.

The super villain, Gabbar, certainly demonstrates in the film how evil he is, there is no remorse and in some cases no real reason behind some killings. He also uses torture and is just a despicable character throughout the entire movie. When I was reading the subtitles, his dialogue did not seem well written, but the actor was great with the scenes he was given. He seems like his character was to be this all-encompassing terror to the village and it was portrayed that way.