Five decades after its release, Sholay remains a staggering triumph in every branch of film making. Every screening has kept the cash register ringing in film theatres while generations were mesmerized by this definitive film about revenge, friendship, crime and love, perhaps not in that order.

Sholay moved at breakneck speed one of the characteristics of it becoming a turbulent and entertaining film. Small wonder, it keeps its audience glued at the edge of their seats. There is nothing out of place. Everything is where it should be.

Today's cinema is struggling to follow in Sholay's footsteps. It has indeed left a difficult act to follow. And it enters a golden jubilee making it more than a hit film. It is more than an anniversary; it is a cultural reckoning.

A week is stated to be a long time in politics. But it's appeal remains the same 50 years after its release, Sholay is everything a film aims to be. Ramesh Sippy made a multiverse 50 years ago. Here is what makes it tick till date.

Jai and Veeru's friendship is the stuff of legends. Thakur is revenge enveloped in wrath restrained. Gabbar is evil personified who makes no pretence of what he is. Heoffers no sympathy nor does it expect any.

For want of a better description Basanti is spunky. One would like to be reminded that the expression feminist was not in vogue in the middle '70s.

And Radha in a no nonsense, sad and suffering, silently holds her own against stalwarts sharing screen space with her. To be honest, her silent presence speaks for herself.

Talk of Sholay being ahead of its times, and there is not a single dissenting voice. It took the film industry decades to catch up with its uniqueness and brilliance.

50 years have seen India transform. During this timespan, the country witnessed an internal Emergency, a change in established power blocs and their return, assassination of a prime minister and a former one, coalition governments, wars and clashes with neighbouring countries, rise of sectarianism and protests against it.

But Sholay remains unchanged. It is our biggest, loudest and most unforgettable bang on screen. Its real brilliance is it's continuity. Sholay has not cared to reinvent itself.

Every generation discovers it anew. If those on the wrong side of 60 found the scene of moving train ploughing through a pile of logs which a gang of dacoits had placed on its track to be fascinating, there were plenty of other scenes which had similar effect on other age groups.

The conversation between Inspector Thakur and Jai about the definition of Veeru is fascinating especially when the bandits raiding the train interrupt their conversation. The man in uniform shoots at the linking chain of the handcuff of Jai and Veeru and the trio literally walk the talk.

We have heard of sphagetti Westerns. Here is a curry Western right under our noses. Jai taking up a gun and shooting down the bandits on horseback while Veeru throwing charcoal embers on oil from a punctured barrel, these images manage to look exhilarating even today. These are only a few snaps of why people loved the film and everything that was in it.

Sholay had broken the marketing code long before it was a full proof marketing strategy It won't be inappropriate to say that this film is an institution in branding. To revisit Sholay does not mean looking at it with tinted glasses. It is a proof what Indian cinema is capable when every department is firing all cylinders.

At home and abroad, it resonates at every screening. It is a living symbol of Indian cinema's soft power. Comparisons have been drawn with Magnificent Seven of Hollywood and Kaala Sona closer home. It did not stand scrutiny. Sholay exported emotion. And emotion when done right outlives every trend. (IPA Service)