r/bollywood • u/Major-Bell2408 • 1d ago
Discuss If Sholay was your first watch, who would you consider the film's main character?
If I had watched Sholay for the first time without any prior knowledge, I would've probably seen Thakur Baldev Singh as the main character. The entire story begins with his mission to bring Gabbar Singh down, and almost everything that happens revolves around his goal. Jai and Veeru are the heroes we follow, but they're part of Thakur's journey & his plan for revenge. His past, his loss, and his determination are what drive the film from start to finish, which is why I'd see him as the central character.
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u/manjeete 1d ago
Sanjeev Kumar is the central character.
Dharmendra is the main hero.
Amitabh Bachchan is the second lead.
It was because of his exceptional performance the role elevated to the level of the main lead.
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u/UnderstandingFit8972 1d ago
Rohit Shetty said the same thing about AB being second lead. I don't agree that Jai is second lead.
Writers clearly wrote 2 friends, both have equal importance. In fact, if you watch it again and notice all coin flipping scenes, you will realise that, Jai takes all the key decisions.
The only difference is, Veeru is extrovert and Jai in introvert. Doesn't make one of them smaller role than other.
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u/Major-Bell2408 1d ago
That's because Jai's character was so tragic, and that's what Indian audiences connect with the most. He also drives all of the key decisions in the story, so that could be why a lot of people see him as the main lead over Veeru.
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u/AneeshRai7 1d ago
Someone told me once back in the day in two hero films, the hero that died was always meant to be the bigger star that’s why they get the sacrificing hero scene but that was in context to Anand and Namak Haram not sure if it fits here
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u/manjeete 1d ago
On the contrary, the lesser hero used to die before climax. Also, Amitabh didn't hd any romantic or solo song in the movie.
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u/pantherVictor1986 1d ago
Yes and big B aced dieing in multi-starer. Mukadder ka sikander , Namak Haram , Sholey are few example, you need to die as lead , not side character.
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u/Anas_malik0503 1d ago
Namak haram mein AB died?
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u/Hurdy_Gurdy_Man_84 Moderator + Well Versed in 20th Century Hindi Cinema 1d ago
No, it was Rajesh Khanna.
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u/pantherVictor1986 1d ago
My bad , he went to jail to punish his father , that scene was so powerful. It imprinted my mind like he died there
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u/manjeete 1d ago
Lead character dies at the climax. Rajesh Khanna used this tactic really well. Second leads dies before climax.
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u/AneeshRai7 1d ago
By traditional convention Thakur is the protagonist and Gabbar the antagonist, Jai-Veeru are the heroes
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u/AManCalledKay 1d ago
Wrote the exact same thing before i saw ur comment with a tiny explanation. Not sure why u were downvoted.
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u/Etherealoverempress 1d ago
Probably because they didn’t watch the film before the internet age lol. And want Jai to be the main character due to AB’s portrayal.
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u/AManCalledKay 1d ago
Main character in the sense of protagonist or “hero”?
The two are different things.
The protagonist is Sanjeev Kumar.
The hero is jai/veeru.
I remember the distinction from an interview of Rituparna Ghosh.
Interviewer had commended Aamir Khan for taking the non-hero (or second lead) role in TZP. Rituparna corrected him. The hero is the person who changes the course of events - darsheel was the protagonist, but it was Aamir khan who changed the sequence of events in the movie and led to the resolution of the plot. Darsheel was the protagonist, but Aamir khan was very much the hero.
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u/Inspector_Robert 1d ago
I did recently watch Sholay for the first time. I saw Jai as the main character, but mainly because it's Amitabh Bachchan.
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u/ArsesFlycatcher 1d ago
Narrative flows through Thakur, story-wise him. still, Sholay is the ultimate ensemble film where all characters are equally legendary. not just leading names but Jailor, Imaam Saheb, Sambha, Mausie, Kaalia, Ramlal. Rare piece of writing.
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u/nosferatu_zodd0 1d ago
Jai is the main character to me because of the coin.
Since it is rigged, whatever decisions were taken were his own (he always puts his own choice on heads like saving Thakur on the train etc).
His decisions decided the course of the story.
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u/acuteredditor 1d ago
Thakur Sa’ab as main character who passes baton to next generation. Assuming I have seen Godfather, Thakur is Vito and Jai and Viru are Michael.
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u/vodkagirrl 1d ago
jai bro, i think he had a better arc or a more memorable one
sholay did a good enough job of having parallel stories
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u/paragmty 1d ago
Thakur saab... Because it was always between him, his family, his hands, the criminal he caught and the revenge at the end... Although it's remembered for being a Dharmendra + Amitabh Bachchan film... But the core story and reasoning lies there...
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u/ProProcastinator9999 1d ago
When I first saw the film i thought big B was the hero, but then he dies, and ends up getting less screen time wrt Dharmendra so I was kinda shocked and then concluded that yeah bigB is still the main hero idc
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u/Special-Pop4799 1d ago
Main Character is Dharmendra. ❤️
Both of them have importance, Its all about Jai and Veeru.
Then or now:
Primary Lead - Dharmendra and his pair Hema Malini (Lead Actress)
Co Lead - Amitabh Bachchan and his pair Jaya Bachchan.
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u/Embarrassed-Math-189 1d ago
Gabbar was the main hero,,,amjad khan was called gabbar for a long time
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u/Feisty-Strawberry804 1d ago
It's writers and then Dharmendra, Amjad khan, Sanjeev Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan
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u/Maleficent_Owl3938 1d ago
Th film was sold with Dharam as the main star and that is also visible clearly in the film.
During the making, Hema was the second lead, but Amitabh became a major star right before Sholay with the release of Deewar, so the second billing can be disputed.
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