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Technical Specifications
Sound Mix: Dolby Surround 5.1
Aspect Ratio: 1.37 : 1
Other Details
Country of Origin: India
Language: Hindi
Summaries
Plot Summary
- The film begins in a small village named Rampur, which is home to ex-policeman Thakur Baldev Singh (Sanjeev Kumar). He summons an old colleague and requests him to track down a pair of small-time thieves he had once apprehended in the line of duty. Though the two petty criminals Veeru (Dharmendra) and Jaidev (Amitabh Bachchan) are notorious, the Thakur feels that they would be the ideal men to help him end the tyranny of Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan), an infamous outlaw wanted by the authorities for a 50,000 reward. After scenes show how the three fought together during a train robbery attempt, and how the criminals often get in and out of jail, and often settle their differences with a coin toss, Veeru and Jai are found and brought to Ramgarh. They are told by the Thakur that they are to hand over Gabbar alive to him for 20,000, plus the 50,000 rewards.Three of Gabbar's enforcers arrive in Ramgarh to collect supplies from the defenseless villagers, but they go back empty-handed due to Veeru and Jai's intervention. In Gabbar's camp, the tyrant interrogates the three about why they were defeated by only two men. His psychotic nature is shown when he subjects his men to a game of Russian roulette, but eventually they are shot dead.Gabbar attacks Ramgarh during Holi, and in a tough battle, Veeru and Jai meet their match and are held at gunpoint. With his two recruits facing death, Thakur has a chance to throw a gun to Veeru. Instead of helping, he stands watching. With quick thinking, Veeru and Jai manage to save their lives. They then state their intentions to leave the villagers to defend themselves, due to the Thakur's cowardice. Before they can leave, Thakur tells them the real reason of why he wants Gabbar, and why he could not help them. Some time ago, Thakur had caught Gabbar and had him imprisoned only for him to escape and plot an evil revenge. Gabbar made his way to the Thakur's home and killed most of his family. The only person to survive this massacre was Thakur's younger daughter-in-law, Radha (Jaya Bhaduri).Thakur tracked down Gabbar, but this time the tyrant held the upper hand due to his gang and cut off both of Thakur's arms. Thakur had hidden this disability from Veeru and Jai, but now it was clear why he could not physically help them in the first place. Feeling sorry for Thakur, Veeru and Jai decided to forget the reward, though Jai swore on his word to Thakur that he and Veeru will bring Gabbar alive as promised.Living in Ramgarh, the cynical young Jai and lively Veeru find themselves growing fond of the villagers, especially two girls. Veeru is attracted to Basanti (Hema Malini), a feisty, talkative young woman who makes her living by driving a horse-cart, calling her mare as Dhanno (the name of the mare). Jai is drawn to Radha, Thakur's reclusive widowed daughter-in-law, who returns his affections very subtly.Basanti and Veeru are captured, and Jai follows. The three escapes, but Jai is wounded by a gunshot, and with the bandits still following, they hide behind a rock at the foot of a bridge, due to shortage of ammunition. Jai orders Veeru to go back to the village with Basanti, and then return with some ammunition. Veeru, even though unaware of Jai's wound, hesitates, insisting that Jai return to the village instead, upon which Jai suggests that they resolve the matter by tossing a coin. The toss, as always seems to happen, is in Jai's favor, and Veeru heads back to the village with Basanti. Jai, slowly dying with only a few bullets remaining, manages to fend off advances by the bandits, and kills most of Gabbar's men.After failing in most of their advances (and unaware that Jai is alone), in one last attempt, the bandits throw a stick of dynamite, which lands on the bridge near him. Realizing he has only one bullet remaining, Jai attempts to shoot the bomb off the bridge, but ends up hitting the bomb itself, causing it not only to explode and kill all remaining bandits, but also to injure himself. Veeru returns to find Jai dying, and immediately wants to take him back, but Jai refuses. He jokingly laments on missing Veeru's marriage and telling stories to Basanti's and Veeru's children. Some of the villager's rush to the scene, including Radha, who once again has to endure the anguish of losing someone. Veeru then notices Jai's coin lying on the ground, and, upon examination, discovers that both sides of the coin are the same, and realizes that Jai had cheated him on every coin toss, including the one that resulted in his demise.Veeru goes after Gabbar in a rage. He catches Gabbar, and almost beats him to death, when the Thakur appears and reminds Veeru of his promise to hand over Gabbar to him alive. Veeru rubbishes the promise and is about to kill Gabbar anyway, when he is reminded that the promise was made by Jai and not him. Veeru tells Thakur that the only reason for him doing so was because it was Jai who made the promise, and leaves. Thakur then advances towards Gabbar, revealing spike-soled shoes, intended to torture Gabbar and beg for death. Thakur severely assaults Gabbar, destroying his hands, and is about to kill him, when the police intervene, reminding Thakur that he, too, was once a police officer and that Gabbar must be arrested and dealt with by the law. As Gabbar is taken away, Thakur is denied vengeance, but walks away with solace that Ramgarh is free.The film ends with Veeru, after Jai's funeral, leaving on a train. However, as he boards, he sees Basanti in one of the seats. As they embrace, the train steams off, with Thakur watching. (In the alternate ending to the film, Gabbar actually dies as he is kicked into a spike that is protruding from the posts where Thakur's arms were cut off. Thakur then falls to his knees and is comforted by Veeru.)
Storyline
- Sholay means "embers" in Hindi. In this film, a police officer whose family was filled by a bandit named Gabbar Singh decides to fight fire with fire and requires two convicts, Jai and Veeru, to capture Gabbar. He approaches them in jail and puts the proposal in front of them, and they agree to bring in Gabbar Singh alive--for a hefty price. After their discharge from jail, they travel by train to the village where the police officer lives with his widowed daughter-in-law. The three band together to fight one of the most elusive and dreaded bandits of all time. Will the two ex-cons be able to bring Gabbar alive to the police officer? — Calista Retired police officer Thakur Baldev Singh gets two convicts, Jaidev and Veeru, to capture Gabbar Singh, a bandit chief who has been terrorizing the small village of Ramgarh. Gabbar massacred Thakur's entire family and even had his arms cut off. Unable to take revenge himself, Thakur Baldev Singh recruits Veeru and Jaidev, both small time crooks. Both agree to capture Gabbar Singh alive and hand him over to Baldev Singh. Things do not go as planned: Veeru falls for the local horse-carriage driver Basanti, and Jai starts to have romantic feelings for Baldev Singh's widowed daughter-in-law Radha. To make matters worse, Gabbar has sworn to kill both Jai and Veeru, and he holds Basanti hostage to lure them to him. But Jaidev and Veeru are so clever that no bandit can outwit the two. — gavin@sunny_deol2009@yahoo.com In order to avenge the brutal killings of his family members by notorious bandit Gabbar Singh, ex-police inspector Thakur Baldev Singh recruits two convicts, Veeru and Jaidev, and logged their stay in a small Indian village that is Gabbar's main target. When Gabbar learns that Jai and Veeru have come to kill him, he begins to kill all the residents of that village one by one. Now these two con-men and Thakur will be forced to quit their mission or continue risking innocent villages' lives. — gavin (racktoo@hotmail.com) Two convicts and small time crooks (Amitabh and Dharmendra) are picked by Thakur (Sanjeev Kumar), a former police officer, to seek vengeance on the dangerous bandit Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan) because he killed all of Thakur's family (except a daughter-in-law) and maimed Thakur for life.This was a result of an earlier incident in which Thakur -- acting as a police officer -- had captured Gabbar and helped in his conviction in the court. Gabbar managed to escape and wreaked havoc in Thakur's life. Now Thakur seeks the help of these two crooks to get Gabbar. The ensuing action makes for one of the most exciting Indian movies made to date. — Chetan Ahuja <Ahuja@student.msu.edu> 1 more See all
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