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By:

Rajeev Puri

24 October 2024 at 5:11:37 am

Before Sholay, there was Mera Gaon Mera Desh

When the comedian and television host Kapil Sharma recently welcomed the veteran screenwriter Salim Khan onto his show, he made a striking claim. India, he joked, has a national bird and a national animal; it ought also to have a national film. That film, he suggested, would surely be Sholay. Few would quarrel with the sentiment. Released in 1975 and directed by Ramesh Sippy,  Sholay  has long been treated as the Everest of Hindi popular cinema -quoted endlessly, revisited by generations and...

Before Sholay, there was Mera Gaon Mera Desh

When the comedian and television host Kapil Sharma recently welcomed the veteran screenwriter Salim Khan onto his show, he made a striking claim. India, he joked, has a national bird and a national animal; it ought also to have a national film. That film, he suggested, would surely be Sholay. Few would quarrel with the sentiment. Released in 1975 and directed by Ramesh Sippy,  Sholay  has long been treated as the Everest of Hindi popular cinema -quoted endlessly, revisited by generations and dissected by critics. In 2025, the film marked its 50th anniversary, and the release of a digitally restored, uncut version introduced the classic to a new generation of viewers who discovered that its mixture of revenge drama, western pastiche and buddy comedy remains curiously durable. The film’s influences have been debated almost as much as its dialogues – from scenes taken by the Spaghetti westerns of Sergio Leone, particularly ‘Once Upon a Time in the West’ (1968) or to the narrative architecture of ‘Seven Samurai’ (1954) by Akira Kurosawa. Others note echoes of earlier Hindi films about bandits and frontier justice, such as ‘Khotey Sikke’ (1973) starring Feroz Khan. Yet, rewatching ‘Mera Gaon Mera Desh,’ directed by Raj Khosla, one cannot help noticing how many of the narrative bones of  Sholay  appear to have been assembled there first. Released in 1971,  Mera Gaon Mera Desh  was a major hit at the box office, notable for holding its own in a year dominated by the near-hysterical popularity of Rajesh Khanna. The thematic framework of the two films is strikingly similar. In  Sholay , the retired policeman Thakur Baldev Singh recruits two petty criminals - Jai and Veeru - to help him avenge the terror inflicted upon his village by the bandit Gabbar Singh. In  Mera Gaon Mera Desh , the set-up is not very different. A retired soldier, Jaswant Singh, seeks to protect his village from a ruthless dacoit and enlists the help of a small-time crook named Ajit. Even the villain’s name seems to echo across the two films. In Khosla’s drama, the marauding bandit played by Vinod Khanna is scene-stealing performance is called Jabbar Singh. In  Sholay , the outlaw who would become one of Indian cinema’s most memorable antagonists was Gabbar Singh. There is an additional irony in the casting. In  Mera Gaon Mera Desh , the retired soldier Jaswant Singh is played by Jayant - the real-life father of Amjad Khan, who would later immortalise Gabbar Singh in  Sholay . The connective tissue between the two films becomes even clearer in the presence of Dharmendra. In Khosla’s film he plays Ajit, a charming rogue who gradually redeems himself while defending the village. Four years later, Dharmendra returned in  Sholay  as Veeru, a similarly exuberant petty criminal whose courage and irrepressible humour make him one half of Hindi cinema’s most beloved buddy duo alongside Amitabh Bachchan as Jai. Certain visual motifs also appear to have travelled intact. In Khosla’s film, Ajit finds himself bound in ropes in the bandit’s den during a dramatic musical sequence. A similar image appears in  Sholay , where Veeru is tied up before Gabbar Singh while Basanti performs the now famous song ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan.’ Other echoes are subtler but just as suggestive. Ajit’s pursuit of the village belle Anju, played by Asha Parekh, anticipates Veeru’s boisterous attempts to woo Basanti, portrayed by Hema Malini. Scenes in which Ajit teaches Anju to shoot recall the flirtatious gun-training sequence between Veeru and Basanti that became one of  Sholay ’s most cherished moments. Even the famous coin motif has a precedent. Ajit frequently tosses a coin to make decisions - a flourish that would later appear in  Sholay , where Jai’s coin toss becomes a running gag. Perhaps most intriguingly, the endings of the two films converge in their original form. In  Mera Gaon Mera Desh , the villain is ultimately killed by the hero. The uncut version of  Sholay  reportedly ended in a similar fashion, with Gabbar Singh meeting his death at the hands of Thakur Baldev Singh. However, censors altered the climax before the film’s 1975 release, requiring that Gabbar be handed over to the police instead. All this does not diminish  Sholay . Rather, it highlights the alchemy through which cinema evolves. The scriptwriting duo Salim–Javed took familiar ingredients and expanded them into a grander narrative populated by unforgettable characters and stylised action. On the 55 th  anniversary of  Mera Gaon Mera Desh , Raj Khosla’s rugged western deserves a renewed glance as the sturdy foundation on which a legend called  Sholay  was built. (The author is a political commentator and a global affairs observer. Views personal.)

Delhi CM presents Rs 1 lakh cr 'historic budget'; women empowerment, infrastructure key focus areas

  • PTI
  • Mar 25, 2025
  • 4 min read

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday presented Rs one lakh crore FY26 Budget with ten focus areas, including Yamuna cleaning, economic empowerment of women, infrastructure, water, and connectivity, asserting that it is a roadmap for making the national capital self-reliant.

In her 138-minute speech, Gupta, who also holds the finance portfolio, called the maiden Budget of the BJP-led Delhi government "historic", emphasising that the era of "corruption and inefficiency" was over.

This is the first Budget presented by a BJP-led government in Delhi in over 26 years, following the party's victory over the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in last month's Assembly elections.


Highlighting the focus on infrastructure development in the city, the chief minister announced that the government has doubled capital expenditure to Rs 28,000 crore in its 2025-26 Budget.

The total Budget outlay for fiscal year 2025-26 marks a 31.5 per cent increase from the previous year.

To combat pollution in Delhi, Rs 300 crore has been set aside by the BJP government.

Taking a dig at the AAP which ruled the city for over 10 years, CM Gupta recited lines of renowned poet Bashir Badr, "Dil ki basti puraani dilli hai, jo bhi guzra hai usne lootaa hai" (The locality of my heart is old Delhi, whoever has passed through it has looted it).

Gupta said that the Budget is the first step to develop the national capital.

"Delhi went down in every aspect of development in the past decade. The previous government ruined the economic health of the national capital like termites," she said.

A major focus of the Budget is the cleaning and rejuvenation of the Yamuna River, inspired by the Sabarmati river-front project.

The government has allocated Rs 500 crore for Yamuna cleaning, ensuring that only treated water enters the river through the decentralization of 40 sewage treatment plants (STPs).

Additionally, Rs 500 crore has been earmarked for the repair and upgradation of STPs, and Rs 250 crore for replacing old sewer lines.

A major focus has also been placed on clean drinking water and sanitation, with Rs 9,000 crore allocated for related projects.

The health sector has been allocated Rs 6,874 crore, with a focus on setting up health and wellness centres and expanding the Ayushman Arogya Mandir initiative. The Delhi government has also allocated Rs 210 crore for providing nutrient kits and an allowance of Rs 21,000 to expecting mothers.

The Delhi government has allocated Rs 1,000 crore for improved transport links connecting NCR and a total of Rs 12,952 crore for the transport sector.

To curb corruption in the free-bus ride scheme for women, the government will replace pink tickets with cards.

For women's welfare, Rs 5,100 crore has been earmarked to provide Rs 2,500 per month to eligible women. Additionally, the government will install 50,000 CCTV cameras across the city to enhance women's safety.

Gupta announced that the government aims to make Delhi an investment- and innovation-friendly city. To achieve this, a new industrial policy and a new warehouse policy will be introduced. A Traders' Welfare Board will also be established.


Furthermore, Delhi will host its first-ever 'Global Investment Summit', which will be held every two years. To support small-scale industries, Rs 50 crore has been earmarked for skill development programs, including bee-keeping.

In a major cultural initiative, the Delhi government will host an 'International Film Festival' with a budget allocation of Rs 30 crore.


The government has also allocated Rs 696 crore for the development in slum clusters and Rs 100 crore has been set aside for opening 100 Atal Canteens across the national capital.


"There is a lot of difference between us and them (AAP). You (AAP) made 'Sheesh Mahal' for yourself, we will build houses for the poor. You installed pot toilets worth lakhs, we will make toilets for the people in slum areas," she said.


On education, Gupta attacked the previous AAP government, accusing it of misleading people about the quality of education. "The AAP government has failed many students in 9th and 11th standard so that their 10th and 12th results appear better," she alleged.


To reform the education system, the government will set up 'CM SHRI Schools', inspired by 'PM SHRI Schools' and aligned with the New Education Policy 2020. The FY26 Budget has allocated Rs 100 crore for these schools.

Additionally, the Delhi government will provide free laptops to 1,200 students passing class 10th and has allocated Rs 7.5 crore for this.


CM Gupta also announced a new education hub in the Narela area. The government has allocated Rs 100 crore for a pilot project to remove overhead electrical lines and shift high-tension power lines.


The environment and forest department will receive Rs 506 crore.

In a key infrastructural move, the Delhi government has set aside Rs 6,897 crore for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. A new jail will also be set up on the city's outskirts to shift Tihar Jail.


For animal welfare, the government will set up modern cow shelters in Delhi's Ghummanhera area with an allocation of Rs 40 crore.


"This is not just a Budget but a vision for the future of Delhi. We have set some objectives in this Budget-now Delhi will be the city of trust, not void promises," Gupta said.

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