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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.)

Tuber Tussle

Few commodities evoke as much attention as the humble potato, especially when its supply is throttled. For the better part of this year, the Trinamool Congress-ruled West Bengal led by its temperamental Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has engaged in an unseemly spat with neighbouring BJP-led Odisha over the tuber, highlighting both the perils of political brinkmanship and the economic ripple effects of disrupted trade.


At the heart of the dispute lies West Bengal’s sudden decision to halt the movement of potato-laden trucks across its border into Odisha. This blockade has strained the supply chain, pushing potato prices in Odisha’s markets to as high as Rs. 50 per kilogram, a steep jump from Rs. 35 just days ago. This has caused Odisha’s Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister to accuse West Bengal of playing politics.


Odisha’s response has been pragmatic, albeit costly. It swiftly turned to Uttar Pradesh and Punjab for alternative supplies, with truckloads of potatoes now arriving daily. This pivot comes with an added price tag of an extra Rs. 2 per kilogram for consumers. Yet, it underscores Odisha’s determination to avoid escalating the row into a tit-for-tat embargo, which could disrupt the delicate interdependence of state economies.


Officially, there is no explicit rationale for West Bengal’s blockade, though whispers of internal politics and protectionism abound. West Bengal’s own potato farmers face a flood of cheaper Bhutanese imports, and the state’s agricultural output has been hit by unseasonal rains. Odisha’s reliance on West Bengal for its spuds, historically grounded in shorter transport distances, has now become a liability.


Meanwhile, the trade embargo has laid bare the broader fragilities in India’s domestic supply chains. Despite frequent calls for economic federalism, states often act parochially when it comes to essential commodities. The disruptions have also exposed inefficiencies in logistics as transporting potatoes from Uttar Pradesh risks spoilage due to the longer journey.


The episode offers lessons for all stakeholders. Odisha’s plans to achieve self-sufficiency in potato production within two years are ambitious but overdue. The state’s dependency on West Bengal was a predictable risk, yet little was done to mitigate it. West Bengal, for its part, risks tarnishing its reputation as a trade partner, a move that could backfire should other states adopt retaliatory measures.


The broader question is whether India can afford such provincial spats over a staple crop. With climate change making agricultural yields increasingly unpredictable, states need to cooperate rather than compete. Disputes like these not only hurt consumers but also highlight the need for stronger national mechanisms to mediate trade disputes and ensure the free flow of essential goods.


For now, Odisha’s markets are stabilizing with fresh shipments from Uttar Pradesh, though prices remain volatile. But the damage - both economic and political - is done. Until cooler heads prevail, the humble potato will remain an unlikely symbol of inter-state discord.

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