There are a number of qualities that make Sholay (1975) a distinct film. As a masala western, the film is a hybridization of the plot structure of the Hollywood professional western, with the Hindi cinema of interruptions in which song and dance numbers are inserted into the film’s plot, and elements of the Indian dacoit (bandit) genre. But what really distinguishes Sholay from other action films is the way in which the film’s song and dance numbers are integrated into action scenarios.
