Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sholay review, 19 Mar 2003
First released in 1975, this film was so sucessful that it ran in Mumbai cinemas for around five years. The film revolves around two rouges; Veeru (dharmendra) and Jai (bachan) who are recrutied to capture a wanted bandit for a vengeful thakur. the friendship of these two are put through the tests as various circumstances arise in their adventure.
The film was shot by hollywood action and camera crew, making the scenes shot spectacular- even rivalling some of the work done today which is quite an achievement since it was shot over 25 years ago.The film has won global apraise for it's rememberable dialogues and acting, and with every shot cast, it is no wonder it has been voted best bollywood film of all time ('100 years of bollywood 2003') and rightly so.
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Watch this NOW!!!!!!!, 5 Sep 2006
In timeless classic bollywood tradition this movie is by far one of the best ever made, acting, singing, dancing and one of the best soundtracks you can lay your hands on. My partner(who's english) had never seen a hindi film before and was so taken back by it,laughing and crying along with the movie.
if this movie was released today it would still be a smash.
If you love movies, watch this....
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
scorching massala in the indian mid day sun , 28 Feb 2009
scorching massala in the indian mid day sun
this hugely entertaining yet moving stylish master-epic from ramesh sippy works as an indian western as well as a human drama on multiple levels,its characters are multi -dimensional though simplistic ,they are naive yet stylish and they drip charm with every line they deliver by the pen of the intelligent duo-saleem javed ,who wrote this legendary cinematic epic tale of dacoits in india.
the story involves thakur-sanjeev who is punished by a lethal dacoit don gabbar-amjad khan for arresting and having him convicted as a diligently conscientious police officer is a rather routine revenge drama.
thakur has his entire family massacred by gabbar while only his daughter-in-law[jaya ]escapes the brutal act ,he himself has his arms chopped off to be left to dwindle as a hapless cripple ,rather then dead as a reminder he dared to challenge the masochistic libertine .
but he has other plans rather then languishing in bereavement and the 2 cards up his sleeve are veeru-dharmendra and jai-amitabh ,2 ex-conmen who he is sure can redeem his vengeance from gabbar.
the movie though is more then that as it attempts a look at rural india and its socio-political structure ,where the masses live in fear of renegade dacoits ,the delicate relationship between hindu-muslim neighbours ,the joys and vicissitudes of the common silent poor peasant majority and their ambitions and ordinary joys and festivals .
it celebrates the indian woman by giving her dignity as a the tonga-driver -basanti [hema malini ]and not just making a sex icon or a doll out of leading lady plus giving her a delightful character ,and as the thakurs bereaving widowed daughterinlaw jaya bahaduri is very graceful in her mourning mode ,but its chief characters are the evil gabbar and the victim thakur-brilliantly acted by amjad-sanjeev on opposite ends of the law,who set the stage for a terrifying and really memorable finale,
with excellent set pieces from a train robbery to a dacoit attack on an indian village with the carnival of the HOLI festival in progress.
it makes you feel rather morose with the gruesome violence with the brutal killings of the innocent peasants but simultaneously brings you deadpan humour with brilliant pantomime romantic comedy between veeru and basanti on set pieces with a tonga and a watertank,
it provides every emotion and strikes every chord in your heart and mind,
this also reflects a technical maturity and finesse for indian action thrillers which was achieved with the aid of international stunt men and no expense was spared to create an authentic epic,the screen speaks for itself as no words can describe the action and emotion in this gem,hema malini as basanti and amjad khan as gabbar have become part of the folklore in india and abroad and they do steal this movie but everyone else is brilliant too ,
from peripher minor characters like asrani to basantis aunt [moosi].
RDBURMAN gave a haunting terrifying yet melodious sound to the stunning visuals as befitted the k.k.mahajan camerawork and ultimately the credit goes to the captain of the ship ,ramesh sippy who virtually succeeds in bringing every frame to life and coherently brings this delicious massala western together in a flawless manner.
shole is not derived from seven samurai or professionals ,but rather from the spaghetti western style of sergio leone epics where an operatic style combines with a wider emotional appeal in an overwrought but affective approach to sate your soul and senses ,and this is where it becomes great cinema .
also raj khosla dacoit dramas like mera gaon mera desh and kache dhaage were imperative in launching this epic and the look is similar to those worthwhile movies as well -but in its own right shole is unique despite being familiar and it has never been sucessfully emulated despite umpteen attempts .
there are obvious references to professionals -once upon a time in west and the wild bunch but the script is distinsctly indian nin every perspective .
trivia -try to see the origonal directors cut where the ending is much more realistic
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