top of page

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.)

Small vs. Mighty: Lithuania’s Strategic Shift Against China

Updated: Oct 21, 2024


Small vs. Mighty: Lithuania’s Strategic Shift Against China

Lithuania, a small northeastern European country of just 65,000 square kilometres and a population of 2.8 million has emerged as a source of diplomatic tension for China. In contrast, China is a vast nation with approximately 9.6 million square kilometres and a population of 1.4 billion.

Lithuania, annexed by the USSR in 1944 during World War II, gained independence in 1990, becoming the first country to break free from Soviet control. China was among the first countries to recognise Lithuania’s independence, seeing it as a strategic foothold in the Baltic region despite Lithuania’s limited economic significance. Diplomatic relations were established in September 1991 with China opening its embassy in Lithuania in 1992, followed by Lithuania’s embassy in China in 1995.

Relations between the two countries remained sluggish as Lithuania focused more on building stronger ties with Europe and the United States, eventually culminating in Lithuania joining the EU and NATO in 2004. Following its EU membership, trade between Lithuania and China began to grow, with Lithuania exporting machinery, electronics, and agricultural products to China, and importing consumer goods.

China sought to expand trade and investment in Central and Eastern Europe, forming a group with 16 countries from the region, including Lithuania in 2012, known as “16+1”. In 2019, Greece’s entry made it “17+1”. Trade between China and Lithuania increased through the EU and “17+1”, as did concerns about China’s policies in Hong Kong and Xinjiang. Similar concerns were rising in other EU countries, leading to declining relations with China.

Geopolitical shifts emerged with Donald Trump’s presidency in 2016 as he reassessed US trade policies and global involvement, sparking a new cold war with China. The US also began pressuring its allies to join in exerting pressure on China.

Some young lawmakers from Lithuania’s conservative Homeland Union-Christian Democratic Party (TS-LKD) saw this as an opportunity to shift Lithuanian foreign policy focus from China to Taiwan, believing that this would please the US and bolster Lithuania’s leadership claim within the EU. They argued that Taiwan is a small democratic nation facing pressure from a powerful authoritarian neighbour, so Lithuania should stand with it rather than align with China.

In 2019, following a visit to Taiwan, Lithuanian parliamentarians proposed establishing formal diplomatic relations. They reasoned that such a partnership would enhance Lithuania’s national security and high-tech industry development while helping Taiwan preserve its democracy. Their efforts gained traction, securing support from the Lithuanian President and the Liberal Party (LS), amid other ongoing concerns about leasing Lithuania’s main port to a Chinese company.

In the same year, a split in the Liberal Party led to the Freedom Party (LP) formation, whose members also supported closer ties with Taiwan. Following the October 2020 parliamentary elections, a new coalition government led by TS-LKD was formed.

In March 2021, Lithuania announced plans to open a diplomatic office in Taiwan while reducing involvement in the “17+1” group, citing insufficient economic benefits. In August 2021, Taiwan announced the opening of a representative office in Lithuania under the name “Taiwan” instead of the customary name “Taipei,” defying China’s “One China” policy. In response, China recalled its ambassador, expelled the Lithuanian ambassador, and imposed undeclared boycotts on Lithuanian companies. By 2022, Lithuania fully exited the group, angering China.

Lithuania then sought support from the EU and the US, securing new business alternatives that helped stabilise its economy. The EU and the US, already in conflict with China, saw an opportunity to counter China’s influence by backing Lithuania. Lithuania’s limited economic dependence on China also made this strategy feasible.

However, this situation has resurfaced due to the upcoming elections in Lithuania and the U.S. Taiwan fears that a pro-China government in Lithuania might compel it to withdraw. Similarly, the US presidential election could alter US-China relations, impacting countries like Lithuania and Taiwan. However, strong anti-China sentiments in Lithuania make a rapid policy shift unlikely.

While the future course of action largely depends on the outcomes of Lithuanian and US elections, Lithuania has shown that even a small country can challenge a giant like China by playing its cards wisely. This gambit serves as a valuable lesson for other countries around the world.


(The writer is an IT professional. Views personal)

Comments

bottom of page