Sholey : Then And Now

The question that everyone is asking is - Will Amitabh Bachchan be able to give Gabbar a new lease of life in Ram Gopal Varma’s Sholay?

The chief of bandits in the new version is an underworld don and has lost his original crassness for a sauve though scar-faced sinister self.

Meanwhile, trying to fit into the Amitabh’s big shoes of the strong and silent Jai is newcomer Prashant Raj, another brooding baritoned tall order.

A charmer, a comic and a big flirt, that pretty much defined the original Veeru. And Ram Gopal Varma has roped in the very intense Ajay Devgan to reprise Veeru, an unlikely choice.

The new Veeru like the old one too loves his drink, still has a roving eye and is trying to get up, close and personal with Basanti who in the new version is Ghungroo, played by Nisha Kothari.

If Basanti has become Ghunghroo, then her trusted horse, Dhanno has become an autorickshaw named Laila. But the street smart, Rajnikanth-emulating Ghunghroo, clearly lacks the innocence of Basanti..

However, Ghunghroo has something that Basanti didn't have - Durga for a friend. Durga, is to Ram Gopal Varma what Radha was to Ramesh Sippy (director of the original Sholay). The mute-Radha always clad in white was played by Jaya Bachchan and Durga is played by Sushmita Sen.

And finally there's the Thakur. Inspector Baldev Singh now returns as Inspector Narsimha played by Mohanlal.

Ram Gopal Varma’s Sholay might be set in present day Mumbai but it's characters are a remix of the unforgettable characters from the 1975 classic. But then, it's the story, which matters the most, and as every Sholay fan knows - Is Story Mein Emotion Hai, Drama Hai, Tragedy Hai (This story has emotion, drama and even tragedy).