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Epic in all proportions, a thoroughly entertaining wild east cowboyesque film fizzing with vengeance, violence and, for the time, visionary film making and performances. There's a reason some films embrace longevity and not just through their duration, if you fancy a wild, fierce, ferocious and untamed piece of excitement then set aside an hour or three and a half, charge your beaker to the rim with stimulants and embrace a unique and original take on an often visited theme that wont leave you disappointed.

I think Sholay is a great Hindi film of its times, although with the amount of praise and superlatives it has been getting throughout the years, I must admit it's a little overrated. The film was indeed ahead of its time in many ways. First, the action was really good - there were some glitches here and there, but it was far more credible than what the times had set the public for. Secondly, the attention to detail, as expected from Ramesh Sippy, is first-rate. Sippy, a great director whose combination of professional, technically skilled direction, impressive storytelling, and the delicate yet honest depiction of his stories, produced several classic Hindi pictures. Sholay is a good product although sadly it mixes too many genres and is overlong for the story it tells. It could have easily edited out some parts. Given the extraordinary brutality of the villainous characters and the situations, as well as the marked contrast between the good and the evil, I think the comedic parts (except for those of Basanti) were grossly redundant, among others, as they dragged the narrative and undermined its consistency as well as the minimalist approach that was so successfully employed by Sippy in some key scenes.

Set in a rural, remote region in southern India, the film is beautifully shot, and Sippy manages to capture the essence of the village and its people. One wonderful scene shows the routine of the village and the different activities of its inhabitants in the morning, a rare glimpse into the cultural weight of the place, which few directors would bother to tap into. This is where our heroes and villains are thrown, in an interesting story which benefits from Sippy's unique direction. The realism with which some of the situations are portrayed is striking, and it is matched by a careful handling of the proceedings in ways the Indian moviegoing public, which was used to being spoonfed by Hindi filmmakers, had not been accustomed to. Note for one the way the romance between Veeru and Radha is portrayed. Just watch the scene in which Jai is playing his harmonica as Radha is walking around and turning off the Kerosene lamps. Such subtlety is rarely seen in Hindi films. This is not to say that the film is devoid of any sentimentality. Still, the overall thing is really good - the film is both entertaining and then it is also quite moving and heartbreaking in some hard-hitting scenes, not to mention the famous, harrowing parts.

The film's authenticity is achieved in large parts through the acting, particularly the grounded, authentic performances of the main characters. Sholay is in my view Sanjeev Kumar's story as it is his character's determination that carries the narrative forward. He is tremendous. Dharmendra plays the energetic and happy-go-lucky Veeru pretty well, but Bachchan is fantastic in a subdued, quiet performance as Jai. Hema Malini is wonderful as the iconic, highly talkative and kind-hearted village belle Basanti; her comic timing is top-notch, and her dance numbers are never less than fabulous. Out of the two couple, it is Jaya Bhaduri of course who can always be trusted to do so much by doing so little. Her quietly understated performance is one of the film's assets, the other one being Amjad Khan's phenomenal turn as one of the greatest screen villains of Hindi cinema. Sholay is greatly aided by the great background score which enhances some of the most difficult scenes and helps alleviate others. R. D. Burman's soundtrack is as memorable as the film. Sholay is definitely a classic in many ways. It is not flawless, nor do I think it matters. In many ways it is a landmark film, and I'm sure non-Indians might enjoy it just as much.

The Indian filmmaker G.P. Sippy died last December at the age of 93. his son Ramesh directed this film, which remains the most famous Hindi-language movie and the biggest commercial success for Bollywood. If you want to watch one Bollywood film in his honor, this is it.

This epic has everything. It has a magnificent Seven type story, but there are only two who come to save the village. They are thieves hired by a former policeman to capture the bandit leader.

It is a spaghetti-western of sorts as there are plenty of horses, and shooting, and fights.

It is a lavish musical with amazing color and costumes as the villagers really put on a show for their simple festival of colors.

It has comedy, slapstick, romance (but NO kissing!), music, a little horror, almost continuous action, tragedy, and triumph. Like, I said, if you only see one Sippy production, this should be it.

Just wanted to add the perspective of someone who didn't grow up watching Indian movies: This is terrific entertainment.

Maybe you're new to Bollywood movies... maybe you like the newer movies and aren't sure if you would like one from the '70s. Trust me, you can't go wrong with SHOLAY. This is Hindi film-making at its best. High production values (even for the '70s), a great buddy story, a smooth villain, exciting stunts, amazing camera work, and the musical numbers are very entertaining even without the subtitles.

They just don't make 'em like this any more... in Bollywood OR Hollywood!

One of the greatest movies ever made, no doubt. I have seen this movies some umpteen times in my life, was just 14 when I saw this movie in 1975. Downloaded a DVD (XVID) version from internet (Director's Cut Version) 205 Min's. One of the major goofs I noted is (which is also there in the actual theater release). Now for the GOOF…Jai and Veeru are fighting the last encounter with the bandits. Jai is left alone to fight the bandits and he is using both the hands for holding the guns and pistols, keeps firing from them regularly. Later Veeru returns and holds Jai in his arms, during that period you can see Jai's both palms in open position, there are many shots and for many minutes that shows his open palm, but at the end Veeru is seen picking up the "Magic" coin from one of Jai's closed fist. Can a dead man take out a coin from his pocket and hold it, nor can a person use guns holding a coin in his palms ? When Basanthi is being chased by bandits, while crossing the wooden bridge she does a small stunt, she moves the horse cart and breaks down the bridge and moves ahead, so the bandits are forced to take a detour to catch her. Veeru follows them and also find the bridge broken and takes a detour. Both Basanti and Veeru are caught by the bandits and Jai rescues them later. While returning after being saved by Jai from Gabbar's den, Veeru, Basanti and Jai are seen crossing the same bridge which is FULLY intact. Also just before the final climax the bridge is seen FULLY intact before the bridge is blown off by the bomb thrown by a bandit. During that fight the bridge does not have any dead bandit, but when Veeru is seen riding a horse to have a dual with Gabbar, crosses the same blown off bridge you can note a dead bandit lying on the bridge. (TWO MAJOR GOOFS in an important climax of a great movie)

Sholay is probably the crowning achievement of the so called Curry Western genre, meaning films that imitate the American western genre without being made in the US. Curry Western of course being a play on Spaghetti Western, westerns made in Italy.

Sholay is the story of two close friends, Veeru (Dharmendra) and Jai (Amitabh Bachchan). They're criminals, outlaws and con artists, as well as quite credible gunmen, who end up being recruited by their one time adversary, police officer Thakur (Sanjeev Kumar), who wants them to protect his village from a demented criminal, Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan), and his band of outlaws. At first the two are quite reluctant, but slowly the idyllic mountain village and its people win them over.

Sholay is an epic. Much like the Dollars trilogy by Sergio Leone, it takes its sweet time, allowing us to get to know its main characters. Yet it knows how to pace itself. There's just enough action, character drama, moodiness and atmosphere to make the film feel dynamic, always in motion. And yet there's tranquility to it, underneath which lurks violence.

I like the characters most of all. Veeru and Jai are rogues. Utterly likable, charming and outside the boundaries of law, yet there's something dangerous about them. Thakur is dignified and steadfast, whereas Gabbar is all sevens shades of crazy.

If I had to name a flaw, I would point out that the female characters are rather outdated and sexist. Hema Malini as Basanti, a local girl who operates the local horse cart service, is the only one of them to rise above clichés and quiet, forlorn sighs, but she alone is not enough to save this film from being a completely and utter sausage fest.

Basanti as a character is awesome, though. Make no mistake.

Nevertheless, Sholay is a great film. One of the best westerns I've seen and easily in my Top Five Indian films.

What to say of this 'almost perfect Bollywood movie' and arguably among the greatest from the industry, it had absolutely everything in it, a blend of all the facets of Hindi cinema, yet modelled on the Western movies running in Hollywood at that time and before. No need to elaborate on any of the elements of this film, as any Hindi movie lover would know; but to mention just one, I would talk of the action sequences in the running train which were such perfectly shot that they seemed way ahead of its time. It had a slow opening in the theatres but gathered steam in the second week and o boy, it never looked back from there. I still remember it running as late as the 90s in some theatre or the other in the city and had a release every year whenever they found a slot for this classic. If the number of times a movie been watched by any viewer is the question, it would perhaps make the Guinness Books by now. 8/10

Only non-Indians will say its not a great movie...I wouldn't give it a 10 because my personal favourites are always the realistic and artistic movies...but when it comes to masala movies,there are few movies which are comparable to this movie. Agreed,the movie draws inspiration from many western movies.But thats nothing to be ashamed at.In present days,filmmakers are almost making remakes while copying ideas...that must be avoided but taking inspiration is not bad.moreover what made sholay so successful are the performances..especially the aspect of dialogues and dialogue delivery...now that wasn't copied...the whole actress aspect wasn't lifted and is so much loved. Gabbar sing became a huge huge success...33 years later I played this character in my college fest and I was a star after that.such is the craze level of this character. I agree it isn't that great in technical terms or in matters of storyline..but the fact remains that everything in the movie fits in so perfectly.You can take all the tasty ingredients but unless you have a perfect mixture,you wont have the perfect taste....this is what sholay is...a perfect mixture...That will remain something to be proud of.