Sholay…the
creative fire!
Sholay was
released on Independence Day in 1975! In my opinion, Sholay was the
'Gavaskar of Indian Cinema.' I mean, there were some fine players before Sunny
and there have many record breaking players after him, but Indian Cricket will
always be divided into two eras, Before Gavaskar and After Gavaskar.
Similarly,
there were some beautiful movies before Sholay and many blockbusters after
that, but nothing created the same impact as Sholay did.
For the millennials or
those who have just crept out from under a rock, Sholay went on to earn a record of 60 golden
jubilees across India, and was the first film in India to celebrate a
silver jubilee at over
100 theatres. It was shown continuously at Mumbai's Minerva theatre for
over five years! The movie had a powerful star cast and the impressive debut of
Amjad Khan as Gabbar Singh, but the biggest credit must go to the dialogues
penned by Salim-Javed. They even released a sound track with the dialogues
which set new record sales.
I was wondering whether Salim-Javed could have written such a
script in today’s times of political correctness and sensitivity towards
anything offensive.
I started recollecting some the famous scenes and dialogues.
To start with PETA would have objected to the use of horses
in the entire movie (and the squashing of the ant by Gabbar!)
The LGBT community would have protested that the dialogue “Suno,Thakur ne hijron ki fauj
banayi hai” is showing
eunuchs as weak.
The famous dialogue “Tera
kya hoga , Kaalia?” would be
seen as racist. So maybe that would be changed to a more euphemistic “Tera kya hoga, uhm, Shyam?”
Salim –Javed’s property would be vandalized by zealots because
of the scene showing Veeru impersonating Lord Shiva, when he plays a prank on
Basanthi in the temple.
On the other hand, ‘A certain minority community’ would
protest that Gabbar Singh killing Ahmed signifies victimization, so they would
demand that the scene be cut or his name is changed.
The Committee Representing Acting Professionals (CRAP) would
complain that Sambha has only one line in the entire film “Poore pachas hazaar”. They would
insist that his dialogue should be changed to a more meaty “Poore pachas hazaar,
actually not poore, because income tax will be deducted and this reward can be
claimed only if you show your Aadhar card”
The hilarious comedy scene between Jai and Mausi ,where Jai
goes with Veeru's marriage proposal, would have to be cut as it reflects a
patriarchal mindset because Mausi refers to Basanthi as “Seene pe patthar” and “bhoj”.
The Global warming NGO brigade would protest against wasting
water during the Holi song and using Coal in the Train sequence...the list goes
on!
If the film were to be made today, then Salim Javed would
feel more handicapped than Thakur !(oops, or should I say physically challenged)
In this era of political correctness, when everyone finds
everything offensive, the freedom of speech, opinion and creativity seem
severely compromised.
Not just in film making, but one can also see this permeating
into books, interviews or cartoons.
I also get to hear that it is a 'social responsibility'
to make films which send a relevant message. All I have to say is that if
someone chooses to make such a film, then good on them, but they are not
obliged to do so.
If some people find a film offensive, then they don't have to
watch it or can even start a peaceful campaign to boycott it.
In my useless opinion, which might fall on hearing impaired
ears, the right to free speech, creativity and opinion should be a fundamental right,
even if one may not agree with that view.
This is aptly summed up in the quote “"I disapprove of
what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”.
A voice inside me asked “Mei
zyada to nahin bol gaya?” but
I felt “Partner, ab bol
hi diya hai to dekh lenge!”
