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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.)

‘He made science accessible to all’

It is with profound grief that I learnt of the passing away of Dr. Jayant Vishnu Narlikar, an eminent scientist in astrophysics, cosmology, and science communication, on May 20, 2025.


As we mourn his loss, it is also a time to reflect and celebrate a life of extraordinary intellect, curiosity, and dedication to unravelling the mysteries of the cosmos.


Dr. Narlikar’s contributions to theoretical astrophysics, his role in nurturing scientific talent in India, and in the establishment of the IUCAA, a globally acclaimed institution, and his efforts to make science accessible to all will continue to inspire generations.


Dr. Narlikar was born on July 19, 1938 in Kolhapur, Maharashtra to illustrious parents - Vishnu Vasudeva Narlikar, a well-known mathematician, and Sumati Narlikar, a Sanskrit scholar of eminence.


He received his early education at Banaras Hindu University (BHU), where his father worked as a Professor and Head of the Department of Mathematics.


The young Jayant Narlikar had a brilliant career in school and intermediate. He obtained his BSc degree from the BHU in 1957.


As was the case in those days, he opted to pursue his higher studies at Cambridge, UK. He was a Wrangler and Tyson Medallist in the Mathematical Tripos at Cambridge, from where he obtained his degrees in mathematics: B.A. (1960), Ph.D. (1963), M.A. (1964), and Sc.D. (1976).


He also distinguished himself at Cambridge with the Smith’s Prize in 1962 and the Adams Prize in 1967. He stayed back at Cambridge till 1972, as a Fellow of King’s College (1963-72) and Founder Staff Member of the Institute of Theoretical Astronomy (1966-72).


It was during this period that Dr Narlikar laid the foundations of his research work in cosmology and astrophysics in collaboration with his internationally acclaimed mentor, guide, and collaborator, Fred Hoyle.


One of Dr. Narlikar's most significant contributions is his development of the "Hoyle-Narlikar Theory," also known as the "Quasi-Steady State Cosmology (QSSC).”


This cosmological theory proposes an alternative explanation for the origin and evolution of the universe, challenging the widely accepted Big Bang theory of that time.


Dr. Narlikar returned to India from Cambridge to join the Theoretical Astrophysics Group at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), where he served for seventeen long years, from 1972-1989.


This group, under the leadership of Dr Narlikar, expanded and acquired international standing for TIFR in the field of theoretical astrophysics, which TIFR continues to enjoy even today.


In 1988, Dr Narlikar was extended an invitation by the University Grants Commission (UGC) to set up the proposed Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), as its Founder Director.


Today, IUCAA stands out as one of the institutions of excellence in teaching and research in astronomy and astrophysics, not just in India but globally, and the ideals the work ethics, and culture, which Dr Narlikar instituted at this institution, have continued to guide this institution.


Dr Narlikar has also served as the President of the Cosmology Commission of the International Astronomical Union from 1994 to 1997.


He has received several national and international awards and honorary doctorates.


He was a Bhatnagar awardee, as well as a recipient of the M.P. Birla award, the Prix Janssen of the French Astronomical Society, and a prestigious Associate of the Royal Astronomical Society of London.


He was a Fellow of the three national science academies as well as of the Third World Academy of Sciences.


Dr. Narlikar, belongs to one of the rare breed of scientists, who notwithstanding their international stature, always find time to connect ‘Science with People’, either through his popular science writings, fiction, both in English and most importantly in his mother tongue Marathi.


It is therefore no wonder that most school and college going students from yesteryears to current times, have grown up reading Dr Narlikar’s writings, particularly his fiction works.


Two examples of his fiction writing in Marathi, which he had written three decades ago, resonate with current times. ‘In his fictional story, titled Athenscha Plague’ (The plague in Athens), included in his book ‘Antaralatale Bhasmasur’ (Demons in the Space), Narlikar had written about the deadly viruses and how they pose danger to human society.


Dr Narlikar has contributed many science articles in leading newspapers and has participated in radio/TV programmes for debates and discussion as a part of his science popularisation activities.


For his stellar contributions to science communication and popularising science, Dr Narlikar was honoured by UNESCO in 1996 with the prestigious Kalinga Award for his extraordinary popular science works.


Dr Narlikar is also the recipient of the prestigious Padma Bhushan award from the Government of India in 1965 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2004. In the year 2011, the Maharashtra government awarded him the state’s highest

civilian award, the Maharashtra Bhushan.


Dr Narlikar served as the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Nehru Science Centre, Mumbai, the centre, which I had the honour to head for two terms. I vividly remember the honour that I had to conduct a curatorial walk of the exhibition on ‘100 Years of Nobel Prizes’, which was presented at IUCAA in 2001. Dr Narlikar has delivered innumerable lectures and conducted many interactions with students at the Nehru Science Centre.


Dr. Narlikar’s life was a testament to the power of curiosity, rigor, and compassion. He not only expanded our understanding of the universe but also inspired countless individuals to dream big and pursue knowledge. May his soul rest in eternal peace, and may his legacy continue to illuminate the cosmos and our lives.


Rest in Peace, Dr Jayant V. Narlikar.


(The author is Advisor at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya Mumbai, and a former Director with Nehru Science Centre in New Delhi & Mumbai. Views personal.)

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