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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.)

It’s all in the DNA

Updated: Oct 21, 2024

It’s all in the DNA

Forensic DNA evidence, often hailed as the gold standard for identifying individuals, plays a crucial role in crime investigations and legal proceedings. It is instrumental in connecting suspects to crime scenes, exonerating the wrongly convicted, and establishing or excluding paternity. The reliability of forensic DNA evidence surpasses many other types of crime scene evidence, thanks to its high discrimination power, stability, and sensitivity. DNA tests are considered nearly infallible due to precise accuracy.

The pioneering work of Sir Alec John Jeffreys, a British geneticist, led to the development of genetic fingerprinting and DNA profiling techniques. These advancements are now globally utilized in forensic science to aid police investigations, resolve paternity disputes, and address immigration issues.

In India, forensic DNA evidence was first recognised in the criminal justice system by the Madras High Court in 1985. The landmark case of Kunhiraman v. Manoj (1991), adjudicated by the Kerala High Court, marked a significant milestone. The court upheld the admissibility of DNA evidence under Section 45 of the Indian Evidence Act, which permits expert opinions in legal matters. This ruling established that DNA evidence, like the opinions of chemical analysts or fingerprint experts, could decisively determine paternity.

Several high-profile cases in India have since relied on DNA evidence for crucial breakthroughs:

Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case (1991): DNA fingerprinting was used to identify both the victims and the attacker.

Naina Sahni Murder Case (1995): DNA evidence confirmed that the burnt remains were those of Naina Sahni, leading to the conviction of Sushil Sharma.

Beant Singh Assassination Case (1995): DNA fingerprinting revealed that one of the victims was Babbar Khalsa operative Dilawar Singh, confirming suspicions of a human bomb attack.

Priyadarshini Mattoo Case (1995): DNA evidence played a key role in the conviction of Santosh Kumar Singh, with the Delhi High Court sentencing him to death in 2006 based on DNA evidence found on the victim’s undergarments.

Shiney Ahuja Rape Case (2009): The actor was convicted after DNA samples from the victim matched his. Nirbhaya Gangrape Case (2012): DNA evidence, along with the victim’s dying declaration, led to the death sentences of all accused.

Hyderabad Blasts Case (2013): DNA samples from a house linked to the accused helped the National Investigation Agency secure convictions.

Mumbai Shakti Mill Gang Rape Case (2018): DNA evidence was crucial in identifying the victim through personal belongings, leading to the conviction of the accused. Interestingly, DNA profiling has even been utilized in anti-corruption cases. For instance, a bribe taker who swallowed tainted currency notes was forensically implicated when DNA profiling of saliva on the recovered notes confirmed his guilt.

In essence, DNA evidence serves as a biological GPS for the accused—a divinely notified Aadhaar card, ensuring justice is served. Just as in cricket where catches win matches, in crime, DNA matches win convictions.

(The writer is a retired IPS officer and a forensic expert. Views personal.)

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