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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.)

Tough Policing

Updated: Mar 17, 2025


The Ahmedabad Police, in conjunction with the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), recently undertook a decisive operation against individuals accused of vandalism and terror in the Vastral area. Fourteen individuals, including a minor, were arrested for engaging in violent acts using weapons. More significantly, in a move designed to deter future offenders, authorities razed the illegal properties of seven accused individuals, while publicly parading and punishing the perpetrators. If deterrence was the aim, then the police’s execution was near flawless.


But there is something else in this incident. For years, a segment of India’s commentariat has been quick to paint the Gujarat police as selectively heavy-handed, particularly in cases involving communal tensions. The charge often levelled was that law enforcement is ‘anti-Muslim’ in its response to crime and public disorder. Yet the events in Ahmedabad last week tell a different story - one of firm, unbiased policing that puts public order above political posturing.


The accused, who are all from the majority community, were neither shielded by identity politics nor given leniency based on affiliations. Not a single one spared. This is precisely the kind of even-handed action that should be replicated across the country - one where criminals are treated as criminals, not as political symbols to be defended or targeted based on convenience.


The approach taken by the Ahmedabad Police is a masterclass in law enforcement strategy: swift arrests, visible punitive measures and the use of state resources to dismantle illicit networks. Illegal properties of offenders were not just seized but demolished, reinforcing the notion that the long arm of the law extends beyond mere custodial detentions. In an age when many police forces hesitate to act decisively for fear of backlash - legal, political or otherwise - this is an example worth emulating.


Predictably, there were protests. Family members of the accused attempted to obstruct the demolition drive, a familiar spectacle where lawbreakers seek public sympathy by casting state action as draconian. But the police stood firm. This refusal to buckle under pressure is a key takeaway: a state that enforces the law without hesitation is one that commands respect.


Many police forces in India struggle with both credibility and operational effectiveness. Too often, political interference hampers their ability to act with impartiality. Too often, criminals find protection in identity politics, making the simple act of law enforcement an exercise in public relations management rather than governance. The Ahmedabad incident offers a compelling counterpoint in police action that is firm, immediate and unambiguous in its messaging.


While elements of the operation - the public sit-ups, the compelled apologies, the lathi punishment - may raise eyebrows among human rights activists, they serve a larger purpose: reinforcing the cost of public disorder. In a society where lawbreakers often operate with impunity, visible punishment acts as a crucial deterrent. The question then is not whether such methods are too harsh, but whether they are necessary.


India’s police forces are frequently maligned as corrupt, communal or incompetent. While some of this criticism is well-earned, blanket generalizations erode public trust in the very institutions tasked with maintaining order. When policing is reduced to a narrative of selective victimhood, it creates an environment where genuine criminals can operate with greater confidence, secure in the belief that political and ideological forces will shield them.


The Ahmedabad operation stands as a rebuttal to this trend. Here was a case where police action was neither selective nor politically motivated. It was a demonstration of what a functional police force looks like - one that does not hesitate, does not discriminate and does not fear backlash.


While the main accused is still at large, the message is clear: those who disrupt public peace will be held accountable, regardless of who they are. The rest of India’s police forces would do well to take notes.


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