Curated for Pride Library, University of Western Ontorio, Canada
Copyright Sridhar Rangayan, 2009
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DISCLAIMER: All interpretations and readings is by the author. All the images and videos on this site have been used only for reference, collated from sources on the internet.
CREDITS
Title: Sholay
English Title: Flames
Year: 1975
Language: Hindi
Genre: Feature / Popular Entertainer
Director: Ramesh Sippy
SYNOPSIS
Two convicts and small time crooks Veeru and Jai are picked by Thakur, a former police officer, to seek vengeance on the dangerous bandit Gabbar Singh because he killed all of Thakur's family (except a daughter-in-law) and maimed Thakur for life. This was a result of an earlier incident in which Thakur -- acting as a police officer -- had captured Gabbar and helped in his conviction in the court. Gabbar managed to escape and wreaked havoc in Thakur's life. Now Thakur seeks the help of these two crooks to get Gabbar. The ensuing action makes for one of the most exciting Indian movies made to date.
QUEER NOTES
Much has been written about the homosexual overtones in this buddy movie of all time. The protagonists the motor-bike riding for a song captured male friendship in a way that definitely left a mark on the cinema. The song �Yeh Dosti hum nahi chodenge (We Shall Never Break This Bond of Friendship)� has been read as homoerotic with one of the verse being openly sexual - "I will take anything from you "-"Tere Liye Lelenge." "Lelenge" is Hindi street slang for the phrase "getting fucked."
ACTOR/S IN QUEER ROLE
Amitabh Bacchan as Jai and Dharmendra as Veeru (male bonding)
LINKS
Imdb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073707/
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sholay
queer portrayals in Indian films