HUMANITIES INSTITUTE Stuart Blackburn, Ph.D.

EMBERS, SHOLAY 1975

( language)

OVERVIEW

Embers is one of ’s most successful films, combing elements of the ‘’ and the ‘buddy movie’ with traditional ingredients in Indian cinema. These latter elements, referred to in Hindi as masala (or a mixture of spices) include slapstick comedy, melodramatic plot and at least half a dozen song-and-dance routines. The story itself involves two ex-cons who are drafted in by a retired policeman to help protect villagers from the looting by a gang of violent outlaws (dacoits). Part of the plot is that the two men will get an extra reward if they capture the gang leader alive. The film presents a good dosage of sensational action, including gun fights, sprinkled with romance and self- sacrifice. The conclusion is bitter sweet since the capture of the wanted man and one amorous union (of a possible two) are undercut by the death of one of the heroes.

CULTURAL SIGNIFIANCE

Embers is consistently rated as the most popular Indian film of all time. Certainly, it is one of the most iconic films to come out of Bollywood. Its technicolour, swashbuckling action and three-hour duration have influenced the industry ever since. And it launched the career of , who went on to become a superstar. Curiously, or possibly intentionally, the film was released on Indian (August 15) in 1975. Six weeks earlier, Prime Minister had imposed the infamous ‘state of emergency’ and jailed thousands of political opponents. Many viewers thus saw Embers as dramatising the deterioration of the rule of law not only in the little village in the film but in the nation as a whole. It is also interesting to note that the character of the ruthless gang leader (Gabbar) was modelled on a real criminal of the same name who terrorised villages in the 1950s. Policemen who were captured by him had theirs ears and nose cut off, a detail picked up in the film by the amputation of a policeman’s arms.

STORY

The task A train arrives at a rural station, and a lone police officer disembarks, looking for Thakur. Thakur, literally ‘lord’ or ‘master’ is a respectful title for a member of one of the landlord castes who trace their lineage to ancient kshatriyas or warrior-aristocrats. The policeman gets directions and rides through a rocky landscape (which looks a lot like the ‘wild west’ but is actually central ) until he comes to the little town of Ramgarh. There, he meets Thakur, a retired officer wrapped in a gray shawl (this detail turns out to be important). The policeman explains that he needs the retired man’s help in recruiting two ex-criminals, Veeru and Jai.

Flashback 1 In answer to Thakur’s question about what good these two ruffians are, the policeman recounts an earlier encounter with them. He was escorting them to jail by train, when they were attacked by bandits and Veeru and Jai defended everyone valiantly. They aren’t completely angels, though, since they flip a coin to decide whether or not to take a wounded policeman to hospital (and get themselves re-arrested) and let him die to that they can escape. Jai ensures that they do ‘the right thing’ and take the man to hospital. Hearing this story, Thakur agrees to help find the notorious duo but wonders if they are out of jail.

Veeru and Jai An answer to that question is given in the next section, which shows the pair riding on a motorcycle and sidecar singing songs and joking. Their joyriding takes them to a crooked lumber merchant to whom they make an unusual offer: ‘Turn us into the cops, collect 2000 rupees and then split it with us when we get out.’ The man agrees, and Veeru and Jai end up in prison, but not for long. Having duped a stupid guard (who is proud that he was trained in England), they go back to pick up their 1000 rupees but are betrayed and land up in prison again.

Recruitment Thakur locates them in prison, arranges their release and explains that he needs their help in capturing a notorious gang leader named Gabbar. This time, they will receive a reward of 50,000 rupees and another 12,000 if Gabbar is captured alive. To seal the deal, Thakur gives each of them 5,000 rupees in advance and promises another 5,000 when they get to Ramgarh. They are impressed with the money and accept their role as Thakur’s recruits.

Romance Once they arrive in Ramgarh, where the thieving is taking place, Veeru is captivated by the lively personality of Basanti, a young woman who drives a horse-cart or tonga. Jai is similarly smitten by the sight of Radha, who is Thakur’s widowed daughter-in-law. Having received their 10,000 and seen the insides of Thakur’s safe, the two young men plan to rob their benefactor at night and make a getaway, but they are interrupted by Radha. Wearing the white sari of a widow, she gives them the key to the safe and encourages them to steal her jewellery, which (as a widow) she can no longer wear. Ashamed by her selflessness, Veeru and Jai feel guilty and abort their plan.

Basanti Basanti, the female horse-cart driver, displays her moral virtue by helping a blind Muslim cleric to climb down a steep hill. She agrees to try to convince his only son to leave the village and take a job in the city, even though this would leave the old man all alone. Basanti begins to pick green mangoes, when Veeru shoots them down for her. He and Jai then teach her how to use a gun.

Raid Soon this romantic sequence is ruptured by the arrival of a gang, who demand that the villagers pay protection money in sacks of grain. Thakur, supported by the fierce-looking Veeru and Jai, confront them and chase them away. When the gang returns empty-handed to their leader, the even fiercer-looking and sadistic Gabbar, punishes them.

Holi festival This gruesome scene is followed by the joyous celebration of , where Veeru and Basanti dance and sing a sexy duet, while poor Jai can only stare longingly at Radha from a distance. Another shock comes when Gabbar rides into this religious ceremony and nearly kills our heroes. Veeru is, however, angry at Thakur for failing to toss him a gun at the crucial moment.

Flashback 2 Thakur tells the tale of his long-standing hatred for Gabbar. Years back, when he was serving as a policeman, Thakur had been attempting to arrest Gabbar and his gang. In retaliation, Gabbar massacred his entire family and cut off Thakur’s arms (which is why Thakur always appears with a shawl, to hide his stumps). Shocked at this story, Veeru and Jai, themselves no strangers to violence, promise that they will kill Gabbar. But the ever-serene Thakur reminds them that he wants Gabbar alive, a result that will also increase the amount of their reward.

Gypsies Thakur is informed by a local person that a group of gypsies (a specific ethnic group of itinerant people) have arrived in the area. Thakur is alarmed because gypsies have the reputation of supplying guns to criminals. The camera cuts to the gypsy camp where they and the gang are dancing and singing around a large bonfire. While Gabbar and his men are mesmerised by the music, Veeru and Jai sneak up and attack. They are forced to retreat, and Jai comes home wounded. Radha rushes to help him, thus revealing her feelings to everyone.

Wooing Basanti Basanti goes to a temple to worship Shiva. Because it is Monday and she is unmarried, the custom is for her to pray for a good husband. Knowing this, Veeru tries to imitate the god’s voice but is caught out by the angry Basanti. Veeru then confesses to Jai that he wants to marry her and asks him to put in a good word for him with Basanti’s aunt. The aunt is dismayed at learning that Veeru drinks, gambles and chases after women. Rejected, Veeru threatens to kill himself, which forces the aunt to withdraw her objection to the marriage.

Revenge Gabbar’s men take revenge for the attack at the religious ceremony and kill the blind Muslim man’s son, who was on a trip to the city to take a job. They place a letter on the boy’s body threatening more retaliation if the villagers ’t hand over Veeru and Jai to the gang. This leads to a debate in the village council about the value and morality of violence. The villagers are on the verge of telling Thakur to surrender his two deputies when the blind Muslim man shames them by saying that he wishes Allah had given him more sons with which to fight the gang. Inspired by him, Veeru and Jai confront Gabbar’s men, outwit them and kill most of them.

Radha Meanwhile, the issue of Radha and Jai is discussed by Thakur and Radha’s father. Jai wants to marry her, but widow remarriage is frowned on in traditional villages. Faced with Thakur’s cogent arguments, however, Radha’s father finally agrees.

Final reckoning The finale begins when Gabbar’s men capture Basanti and Veeru, who has gone to rescue her. A famous scene occurs when Gabbar forces Basanti to dance for him, saying that he will kill Veeru (who is tied up) if she stops. In a spectacular closing sequence, Jai arrives and manages to free Veeru and Basanti, and the three of them escape. Pursued by the gang, they fight for their lives. Unaware that Jai is wounded, Veeru leaves him to get more ammunition. Jai then sacrifices himself by exposing his body to bullets so that he can blow up a bridge that kills the gang. When Veeru returns and Jai dies in his arms, he pursues and captures Gabbar. He practically beat the man to death until Thakur arrives and reminds him of his promise to hand Gabbar over to him alive. Thakur, now with his arm stumps exposed, manages to kill Gabbar in an ingenious way. After Jai's funeral, Veeru leaves Ramgarh and finds Basanti waiting for him on the train. Radha is left alone again.

Alternative ending This ending, however, was deemed too violent by the Censorship Board who forced the director to shoot it again. This time, the police arrive before Thakur can kill Gabbar and he is taken away alive by the police.

THEMES

Revenge The driving force of this phenomenally popular film is revenge (as it was in Once Upon a time in the West, 1968, surely one of the director’s inspirations). Beneath the romance, the comedy and the song-and-dance routines, there is a single-minded desire to get even that propels the action. It is significant that this revenge motive is not revealed until a good hour into the film, after the main characters and the setting have been established. But when Thakur explains to Veeru and Jai why he wants Gabbar handed over to him alive, we understand a great deal more. Gabbar massacred Thakur’s family and cut off his arms, which also explains why Thakur is never without a shawl to cover his arms. We now also know that Thakur has a widowed daughter-in-law, who will become Jai’s love- interest. Thakur’s mutilated arms are a powerful and multi-layered symbol. His revenge is not ‘an eye for an eye’ but ‘arms for arms.’ In hiring Veeru and Jai to help him catch Gabbar he obtains two useful ‘hands’ (both literally and also in the sense of an ‘assistant’ or ‘right-hand man’). It is telling that the director’s original ending (when Thakur gets his revenge by killing Gabbar) was replaced by one in which Gabbar is arrested alive by the police. Fortunately, the original ending was later reinstated. Without it, there is no satisfaction of revenge. Only then do Thakur’s words make sense when he looks at his dismembered arms and says, ‘These are not arms; they are the hangman's knot.’

Male morality Another major but more subtle theme is that of masculinity and morality. There are several layers to this. First, the pair of outlaws, Veeru and Jai, represent a ‘rogue masculinity,’ forces of untamed maleness that operates outside the conventions of society and the courts. They are, in effect, mercenaries as Veeru makes clear when he says that they ‘work only for money.’ This monetary aspect is reinforced by the constant mention of the bounty for capturing Gabbar and its exact amounts; there is also the pair’s attempt to steal money from Thakur. This claim of mercenary behaviour, however, is just bravado since the film reveals several instances where the heroes are motivated by a sense of justice (revenge on behalf of Thakur), honour (to save Basanti from her humiliating dance) and loyalty (when Jai sacrifices himself to prevent Veeru’s death). Then there is the unmitigated evil represented by Gabbar, who seems to enjoy sadistic violence. In the end, the social order is only restored when the misfit males (Veeru and Jai) defeat the purely sinister masculinity of Gabbar. Thus, the film explores the thin boundary between criminality and morality, between male violence and moral action.

MAIN CHARACTERS

Thakur Thakur is a retired policeman who wants revenge. Gabbar Gabbar is the leader of a criminal gang and the object of Thakur’s revenge. Veeru Veeru is a criminal, released from jail and hired by Thakur. Jai Jai is a criminal, like Veeru, and the two are ‘buddies.; Basanti Basanti is a young woman in the village who attracts Veeru. Radha Radha is the widowed daughter-in-law of Thakur, who attracts Jai. Imam Sahib Imam Sahib is a blind Muslim, whose son is killed by Gabbar’s men.

CHARACTER ANALYSIS

Basanti

Character Basanti is an independent-minded young woman in the village. Unmarried, she is also unconventional in that she does a man’s job by driving a horse-cart. She is outspoken and does not defer to men. She is, at the same time, a traditional Hindu in her piety and shows kindness to everyone, including a blind Muslim man.

Illustrative moments

Bold We are introduced to Basanti’s boldness in the very first scene in which she appears. When Veeru and Jai arrive at the train station, they need a ride into the village and approach a horse-cart driver. This person, to their surprise, is Basanti, who haggles with them, talking back in a saucy manner. She acknowledges that people in the village think she is not ‘lady-like,’ but she tells them, ‘My horse is a mare, so why can’t I, also a girl, drive it?’ When the men are unconvinced, she says, ‘You’re from the city. Don’t women drive cars there?’ That silences them and also charms Veeru, who is attracted by this lively, straight-talking woman. As she herself told them when haggling over the price for taking them in her horse-cart, ‘Look, I don't like to talk nonsense.’

Tough Another aspect of her character, which flows naturally from the first, is that she is tough. No sentimental, flower-on-the-wall stuff for this hardened village lady. The scene that best illustrates her strength comes toward the end, when she and Veeru have been captured by Gabbar. After tying Veeru to stakes, Gabbar makes Basanti dance for him or else he will kill Veeru. And to make it harder, he forces her to dance on broken glass. She undertakes this humiliating task with resolute firmness, dancing with an energy that seems to attack her oppressor. She flings herself around with total abandon that reflects her powerful emotions, both her love for Veeru and her contempt for Gabbar. She is tough, unwilling to bend and submit even in this degrading situation.

Thakur

Character Thakur is the lynch-pin which holds the action together in this ‘western served with curry,’ as one commentator put it. He stands tall (an image enhanced by the angle of the camera) as an embodiment of the law. He is mentally tough, as his twice repeated and often quoted line implies: ‘Only iron can cut iron.’ Thakur comes across as a patriarchal figure, but one who is partially incapacitated by the loss of his hands. He is a determined and single-minded man, bent on revenge against a man who massacred his family and then cut off his arms. It is this disability that defines him. The ‘long arm of the law’ is a phrase in Hindi as well as English.

Illustrative moments

Vengeful Thakur’s revenge is born out of a scene that is the crux of the whole film, and one of the most shocking in all Indian cinema. He is an active policeman who takes leave to go home and celebrate a religious festival. Dressed in a tailored Nehru suit, he arrives at his family home, carrying presents for his two sons, daughter, daughter-in-law and a little grandchild. As he approaches the house, he walks through a silent crowd staring at five bodies lying on the ground, covered with white sheets. He stops, stands rigid and stares at the bodies. His face twists in incomprehension and then anger. A powerful wind blows the cloth coverings away and exposes the five bodies of his family. Still clenched with anger, he utters a single word: ‘Gabbar’ (the gang leader). Then he explodes into action, runs and jumps on a horse and rides away. From now on, he has but one thought: revenge. Determined Thakur’s determination is illustrated throughout the film, but it is most dramatically shown in the finale. After many years, Gabbar has finally been captured by Thakur’s hired men (Veeru and Jai). Thakur arrives on the scene, confronts his prey and shrugs off the shawl that concealed his amputated arms. Gabbar looks at him with derision and says, ‘How can you hurt me without your arms?’ Thakur says, ‘I still have my feet’ and leaps at him from above, landing on his chest and sending him sprawling. In a furious fight, the armless man kicks, head butts and then drives his spiked shoes into Gabbar’s hands. The incapacitated Thakur defeats the fully-limbed Gabbar only because he is determined to win. At one point in this furious scene, he says, ‘I cannot bow and neither can I break. I can only win or die.’

Jai

Character In contrast to his sidekick Veeru, Jai is an introvert, a quiet and shy person. Whereas Veeru is jovial and carefree, Jai is more pensive and cautious. Veeru makes jokes, while Jai is sarcastic. Even in this amoral world of gangs, violence and family revenge, Jai maintains a moral conscience that guides him. He can, it seems, only tell the truth. His depth of character is also expressed in his unstinting loyalty to Veeru, a trait that leads to his own death. He is the true hero in the film, the one who never backs down.

Illustrative moments

Principled Jai displays his moral conscience in several key scenes in the film, but the most interesting and clever example comes early. It is part of Flashback 1, when the policeman is explaining why he thinks that Jai and Veeru are good men for Thakur to hire in order to hunt down Gabbar. In the flashback, Veeru and Jai are being escorted to jail when a gang attacks the train. Veeru and Jai survive, leaving them free to escape, but a policeman is badly wounded. They have a choice. If they take the wounded man to the hospital, they will be re-arrested; if they leave him to die, they will be able to escape. ‘Let’s flip a coin,’ Jai says. He takes a coin from his pocket and adds, ‘Heads the hospital; tails we run for it.’ It turns out to be heads, so they do the right thing and take the man to the hospital. Later on, we learn that Jai keeps a special coin with heads on both sides. Whenever he faces a tough decision, he makes sure that heads is the moral choice.

Loyalty Jai’s quiet, brooding nature is animated by loyalty to his friend, Veeru. This loyalty is demonstrated in the final scenes, in which Jai sacrifices himself in order to save his friend. The two men are fighting off Gabbar’s men to prevent them from crossing a bridge in the mountains. Veeru leaves Jai in order to get more ammunition, not knowing that Jai is already badly wounded. One of Gabbar’s men runs along the bridge toward him carrying a stick of dynamite. Jai shoots him dead and the dynamite rolls forward and stops in the middle of the bridge. Jai checks his pistol. Only one bullet left. He rises from his hiding position and advances along the bridge, where he is riddled with fire from Gabbar’s men. He staggers forward, close enough to use his last bullet to ignite the dynamite and blow up the bridge, thus saving Thakur and the others from the gang. Veeru returns only to hold the dying Jai in his arms. It is Jai’s final and finest hour.

(Thakur in his trademark shawl)

(Gabbar, behind, about to cut off Thakur’s arms)

(Veeru, left, and Gabbar, right).

(Basanti forced to dance for Gabbar, right)

(Jai, right, holds his special ‘moral’ coin)