Thakur, a former police inspector, hires two criminals he previously captured, named Veeru and Jai, to assist him on a dangerous mission. Thakur was impressed by their fighting prowess and was convinced they had goodness in them. Thakur needs help because his village is constantly raided for ‘protection money/goods’ by Gabbar Singh, a dacoit (bandit) and his evil clan. Additionally, Thakur has a personal vendetta against Gabbar, who took nearly everything from him. Veeru and Jai agree to Thakur’s terms and come to his village. The two men, famously unbound to any allegiance but each other, fall in love with the place and its people. They begin to make plans to settle down when Gabbar and his men show up to (literally) ruin the party. Over the course of the film, several battles ensue in a struggle to break free from oppression that is guaranteed to lead to loss.
If the story sounds familiar, it’s because it’s one of the most famously remade premises every—starting with Seven Samurai, and then The Magnificent Seven, and more. This film also borrows a great deal from “Once Upon a Time in the West” and “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”. In addition to borrowing from many westerns, the film spans multiple genres and styles (in Indian cinema, this is known as a “masala film”). At times, it feels like a Leone western, Rambo film, an adventure film, a romance, a drama, and a Mel Brooks-style comedy (there’s a weird detour with a slapstick, effeminate-Hitler character). And then of course—the film is a musical as well, with several song and dance sequences. This is all a lot to weave through but the film does so well and is entertaining through and through. This is my first Bollywood film (since high school) and apparently this is all standard fare for the medium. It’s taken me far too long to get to an Indian film (the Indian film industry is the largest in the world, in terms of films produced), and I look forward to watching more.
My only criticism of this film is that it was excessively long and the version I watched had a distracting 3D conversion (I didn’t watch it in 3D, but could see silly moments where I was meant to see the effect—like an exploding wooden plank flying towards the camera). The film clocks in at just under 3.5 hours. There were several flashbacks or alternate character stories included to build drama and “show” the audience how bad the situation was, but interrupted the plot or wasn’t worthy of the detour. In particular, there was a moment right before intermission (I won’t spoil it). It was a character choice that I could see coming, and I knew it would be brilliant. The film then cuts to a flashback to “show” me what happened, instead of tell me. The sequence added 20-30 minutes to the film and frankly wasn’t as well executed as a heart-wrenching monologue could have been. Or maybe another musical sequence!