Is Sholay the greatest Bollywood movie of all time?

[TM Riddle]

Watched it again last night .
What a film , what an era!
Everything about the movie seems so perfect be it screenplay , acting , music .
Pretty sure most of you here have watched this film.So can be it called as the greatest film to come out of Bollywood?

 

[marlonbrowndo]

Anand is better

 

[big_gamer007]

Great movie not sure about being greatest or not as everyone has a different taste in movies..But I would think it's the most popular Bollywood movie and will be a front runner if a poll was ever taken for the best Bollywood movie ever alongside Mughal e Azam and DDLJ..

 

[TQ89]

Not necessarily but it is surely the most beloved movie and certainly the most popular. It is a symbol of bollywood and is represents indian cinema in popular culture everywhere. You cant take sholay out of bollywood history.

On a side note, You should black friday, dev d, gulaal & most definitely the Gangs of Wasseypur parts. Then you will know which is the best bollywood movie.

 

[WebGuru]

Don't know why but Sholay remind me of "The good The Bad and The Ugly"

 

[TM Riddle]

Don't know why but Sholay remind me of "The good The Bad and The Ugly"

It's a desi western.

 

[TQ89]

Sholay is based on different western concepts. there is shades of seven samurai, once upon a time in the west and lot of other movies.It is why i loved the movie when i watched it for the first time as i am a huge western fan Plus it had slow motion gunshots too in the beginning.

 

[Hitman]

The most popular by far. My personal favorite is Anand. Good enough to make anybody shed a tear.

 

[CricketCartoons]

Yes, my personal favorite. For showing what true friendship is between two men. When society did not judge two men enjoying each others company. When the pollution from the western society and convent education had yet not taken root.

 

[TQ89]

Jai's death scenes can bring anybody to tears. I so hated gabbar after that

 

[Zaz]

Id say its the best movie that represents indian masala movies

It contains all the key ingredients of bollywood come together spectacularly, heroic stars, romance, a top draw villain, suspense, humour, great music and songs, a great finale

If anyone wants to know whar bollywood films are known for sholay is the best representation

Yes its probably the greatest bollywood film But its far from being a great film

 

[GBK_Fan]

Fantastic movie one of my favourites

 

[Justcrazy]

No its not the best movie. There are others which are better than Sholay.

 

[Asif khan]

Don't know why but Sholay remind me of "The good The Bad and The Ugly"

That's because it plagiarised it as well as Once upon a time in the west and The Magnificent Seven.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

That's because it plagiarised it as well as Once upon a time in the west and The Magnificent Seven.

The Magnificent Seven itself was plagiarised from a Japanese film I believe. Anyway, I watched Sholay as a kid and haven't really seen it since so no idea if it would look dated now. Even if it did I'll still remember it for some outstanding performances. Can't really recall seeing Darmendra in any other films that suited him so well although obviously Gabbar Singh and Thakur were the hailed performances.

 

[Syed1]

The original Don with Amitabh also has to be right up there as one of the best.

 

[Asim_khan]

Think it was marketed as a Curry Western when it was released overseas.

Gabbar Singh is an ATG villain.

 

[saadibaba]

Despite its lack of originality, basically being the Bollywood remake of Kurosawa's epic "Seven Samurai" and heavily inspired by the spaghetti westerns of Sergio Leone, the soul of the movie lies with Jai and Veeru's friendship. The bond they vowed that will never be broken, even in death. "...toren ge dum magar, tera sath na choren ge".

The whole picture is a set up to prepare us for the final showdown, the heroic and tragic death of Jai in the arms of his beloved. The ephemeral reality of our lives, the fragility of our relationships, the mortal actuality of our beings, so poignantly expressed in that scene that it stays with us forever.

The buddy movie trend may have started with "Anand" or "Namak Haraam" with Rajesh Khanna playing the main role and Amitabh as his side kick, but after Sholay the trend changed to Amitabh in the main role and other actors filling the role of best friend/side kick. Ironically this trend culminated in "Yaraana", when Gabbar himself (Amjad Khan) played the role of Amitabh's best friend.

Sholay represents whats best about Bollywood. Taking influences from foreign movies and genres and mixing it up with south asian sensibilities with the help of superb acting, memorable dialogues and iconic characters. It takes a lot of things to come together just right to make a movie so special and everything came together remarkably in Sholay. Long live Sholay, long live Jai and Veeru.....

 

[hussain123]

Sholay is a perfect masala film though amitabachan's other movies like silsile,don,namak halal were equally good.

 

[JaDed]

Commercially yes ,although personally I would go for Waqt,Deewar,Don in those genres.

 

[90MPH]

It used to be one of my best films.

However as soon as I started watching spaghetti Western films like the Good, the bad and the ugly, a few dollars more and once upon a time in the west I lost a bit of respect for it because it copied too many scenes from these movies.

It's a very good well made movie and in my top 10 of all time but not the original I had once thought.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

It used to be one of my best films.

However as soon as I started watching spaghetti Western films like the Good, the bad and the ugly, a few dollars more and once upon a time in the west I lost a bit of respect for it because it copied too many scenes from these movies.

It's a very good well made movie and in my top 10 of all time but not the original I had once thought.

I do generally hate it when you get Hollywood films blatantly ripped off and redone in Hindi, but in this case I don't think it applies. The basic story translates very well to life in the rural areas in India and their struggles with bandits. Because it seemed so authentic I don't think most people even realised there was a similarity with spaghetti westerns until it was drawn to their attention. Stories are timeless, there are probably international versions of the same ones in every continent. The only criteria should be was it done well?

 

[90MPH]

I do generally hate it when you get Hollywood films blatantly ripped off and redone in Hindi, but in this case I don't think it applies. The basic story translates very well to life in the rural areas in India and their struggles with bandits. Because it seemed so authentic I don't think most people even realised there was a similarity with spaghetti westerns until it was drawn to their attention. Stories are timeless, there are probably international versions of the same ones in every continent. The only criteria should be was it done well?

Yeah but for me personally it was one of my favourite movies till I started watching Sergio Leone's western classics because too many ideas came from those movies.
Even Gabbar Singhs epic laugh came from these movies.

Not to say Sholay is still a classic well made film. It still will be but does take the gloss and shine off somewhat when you realise it wasn't the original I had once thought it was.

 

[PakLFC]

Not at all. "Mughal-e-Azam" and even "Pakeezah" are much better.

 

[Justcrazy]

Not at all. "Mughal-e-Azam" and even "Pakeezah" are much better.

" Mughal E Azam " was a true masterpiece , there were 7 dialogue writers . Incredible movie.

 

[saadibaba]

With memorable performances in the movie by Amitabh, Amjad Khan and Dharmendra, I feel Sanjeev Kumar's acting gets relegated to the back seat. His acting was instrumental in making this a great movie. Known mostly for his art movies, he was one of best character actors to grace the Bollywood screen.

Haunted by the tragic murder of his family at the hands of Gabbar, hiding and lurching under the shadows, the hate brewing inside his crippled body, under that long shawl. He embodied that role flawlessly. At the end when he finally has the wounded and defeated Gabbar to himself, those epic martial arts moves using his legs to make mince meat out of Gabbar are up there with Jet Li's skill level. I know he must have used a stuntman but still. The movie is pure gold.

 

[Big Mac]

Wouldn't have had this gif without it so yes, it's the GOAT Bollywood movie

[MENTION=46929]shaz619[/MENTION]

 

[SandyB]

[MENTION=130700]TM Riddle[/MENTION]

Bollywood's greatest film ? Not objectively .

But Sholay is :

• The most definitive "Bollywood Film"
• The most Iconic "Indian" film.
• The most widespread and well known film PAN INDIA
• Most Iconic villian
• Some of the most memorable characters.
• The prototype of what a bollywood movie was/is supposed to be.

Like some posters said above, Sholay was the typical bollywood combo : Foreign influence + Indian sensibilities + Desi Masala + Memorable plot/movie/dialogues ..

It took this formula and perfected it to a level no other mainstream Indian film has done before or since .

 

[Raf Pragmatic]

Dil wale dulhaniya le jayenga..

 

[IgnitedMind]

I think Ram Gopal Varma's Satya !

Brought a commercial success to offbeat films...and Stardom to directors who make non Masala content. IF today we are seeing so much different content and controversial subjects...It is this movie which was beginning of it.

Sholay was great...but There were Masala movies before Sholay and After Sholay...and some which even stood the test of time. But impact on the direction of the industry as a whole..I am not really sure. It was same thing all over...after the release !

 

[TM Riddle]

Satya is a brilliant film but in terms of impact it won't even make top 10.

 

[Gayle_Force]

DDLJ is hands down the most iconic Bollywood movie ever

 

[Saj]

Never get tired of watching this film.

I literally know the lyrcs by heart now.

Blockbuster of a film.

 

[SandyB]

DDLJ is hands down the most iconic Bollywood movie ever

Limited to the Hindi/Urdu speaking urban/NRI crowd. The rural folks and non-hindi Indians had lapped up "SHOLAY" like no other film before or since.

DDLJ inspired countless RomComs in Bollywood. But the sheer Impact of Sholay has to been seen in Indian regional cinema for years after its release.

I'm from the far south which has it's own well established movie industries, but even then "Sholay" in its Hindi and dubbed forms had re-releases and theatrical reruns for upto 10-15 years after its release.

The plot, rural/valley/dacoit setting of sholay, its villian , and the buddy angle(Jai-veeru) has had countless imitations in regional cinema.

Even in the most Anti-North / Anti-Hindi states like Tamil nadu, you'd find huge number of people who can recite a few lines of "yeh Dosti", or people who recognize Amitabh/Dharmendra's characters from hat film.

DDLJ though one of Bollywoods top 5 iconics films, still is a bit overrated by NRI desis and urban youth.

 

[SandyB]

Satya is a brilliant film but in terms of impact it won't even make top 10.

Company has way better visibility than Satya in general perception.

 

[Gayle_Force]

Limited to the Hindi/Urdu speaking urban/NRI crowd. The rural folks and non-hindi Indians had lapped up "SHOLAY" like no other film before or since.

DDLJ inspired countless RomComs in Bollywood. But the sheer Impact of Sholay has to been seen in Indian regional cinema for years after its release.

I'm from the far south which has it's own well established movie industries, but even then "Sholay" in its Hindi and dubbed forms had re-releases and theatrical reruns for upto 10-15 years after its release.

The plot, rural/valley/dacoit setting of sholay, its villian , and the buddy angle(Jai-veeru) has had countless imitations in regional cinema.

Even in the most Anti-North / Anti-Hindi states like Tamil nadu, you'd find huge number of people who can recite a few lines of "yeh Dosti", or people who recognize Amitabh/Dharmendra's characters from hat film.

DDLJ though one of Bollywoods top 5 iconics films, still is a bit overrated by NRI desis and urban youth.

Sholay is definitely the greatest Bollywood movie of its era but without a doubt, DDLJ started the trend which brought Bollywood where it is today.

While the impact in India is debatable, DDLJ put Bollywood on the international map and the concept of the movie is still imitated to this day. Every single song of the movie is memorable and there are a number of iconic scenes, including the train scene at the end.

 

[SandyB]

While the impact in India is debatable, DDLJ put Bollywood on the international map and the concept of the movie is still imitated to this day. Every single song of the movie is memorable and there are a number of iconic scenes, including the train scene at the end.

That is also a wrong perception. If "International map" means just US/UK , germany and France and the WEST , then yes, bollywood has had to wait till DDLJ.

But the first great global import of Bollywood was from the showman Raj Kapoor himself ! Shree420, Aawara, etc in th 50's.

The whole of southeast asia (including china), the middle east, the entire soviet bloc , adored those films to a level DDLJ can even dream of. "mein awaara hoon", "joot ahai Jaapani" etc are still sung widely in Russian/Turkish/Easter european reality shows/competitions to this day. And many people still romanticize those songs in china, korea as well . That is a sizeable global appeal for an Indian film. Sadly bollywood could never capitalize on Raj Kapoor's gains, and our films faded in popularity in those places.

http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report-raj-kapoor-s-awara-leads-bollywood-s-global-appeal-1096069

Awara has enjoyed more transnational success than any other film over a prolonged period of time. It is difficult to think of any other film from the 1950s that was seen in so many countries and was as widely acclaimed as Awara. “Most film history books analysed other films and mentioned Awara only in passing, yet I cannot think of any other film from that period that would have enjoyed such popular success transnationally. Indeed, during those key periods, songs from Indian films were huge hits in many other countries.”

“However, the fascination with a film like Awara was everlasting; everybody knew Raj Kapoor’s ever-singing dancing persona. Nothing could match up to the experience of watching Awara; this film was more fascinating than any other I can remember.”

“Even though repeat viewing is not typical for the cinema going practices of Bulgarians, many admit that they have seen Awara numerous times. Why such fascination? It was the candid praise of love and affection in the Indian movies that was truly enchanting for us... Awara remains a truly enduring global hit, yet one that is understudied and under-researched.”