SHOLAY 1975 - THE BIRTH OF THE FANDEMIC

India had seen hits before. But Sholay seared into its collective psyche like a badland bullet. The effect was on a scale never seen before- one film creating a new mass folk culture. And a trail of monster blockbusters that still continues

- BY SUHANI SINGH

Chholey.” Believe it or not, that’s what they called it. Notes of scepticism and vinegary derision marked the Hindi cinema universe’s first responses to this self-consciously grandiose, Rs 3-crore curry west-ern which, at three hours and 20 minutes, must have seemed like a little too much chholey! Trade papers prophesied doom amidst a tepid first fortnight after Sholay’s release on August 15, 1975. The commentariat—including, er, INDIA TODAY—reacted negatively to the cultish violence reminiscent of Sergio Leone and Sam Peckinpah. But soon, something started welling up from the street.

At a tactile level, it may have been disorienting at first for audiences—what with India’s first stereophonic sound. At some point, though, the compelling drama at the heart of that sheer visual-aural expanse started filtering through. This wasn’t just robotic technical wizardry. Mounted atop the saddles of this dizzily revolving fairground merry-go-round was a real human panorama. The characters were endearing and attractive while being gritty as granite. The landscape charred by gunsmoke also exploded with laughter. And there was Gabbar Singh, a descent into the unknown. Nobody had seen evil quite like it. Sholay began speaking to the audiences. And soon enough, the audiences began speaking Sholay! Literally, parroting the Salim-Javed lines.

The rest of the story is well-known.