Homosocial Relationships in Silsila and Sholay—K. Fallon
I was very interested by the song we watched called “Yeh Dosti” from the movie Sholay and how it can be compared to the homosocial relationship between Amit and Shekar in Silsila. The song lyrics describe the close friendship between the two friends and how it will never end. No matter how their friendship is defined, as we discussed, the scene can be interpreted as a romantic one, with the two person motorcycle ride and the song’s intimate lyrics. One character sings, “Your pain is my pain, my life is your life,” suggesting that the two men will be together forever. This can be compared to Amit and Shekar’s scene as they sit together on the porch. Shekar promises that he will never leave Amit. In class, this was defined as similar to a “lover’s promise,” and moreover, is a promise that Shekar tells Shoba he cannot make to her, suggesting that his love and allegiance to Amit is stronger than to Shoba. I also thought the coin flip in “Yeh Dosti” was an intriguing detail and signifies allegiance between men. The two men flip the coin to determine who will win the beautiful girl they see and the coin lands on its side, meaning neither of them wins. The woman quickly leaves the scene and the men forget about her. First, the coin flip can signify role reversal: the two men are equal in all ways and therefore can take the place of each other at any moment, just as Shekar and Amit do in Silsila. Second, I think the fact that the coin does not land on heads or tails shows that the men’s devotion is to each other and cannot be altered or replaced by devotion to a woman. This devotion can also be compared to Amit and Shekar. Although Amit in the end falls in love with Shoba, he only ever marries her because she meant so much to Shekar. Shekar is the driving force behind Amit and Shoba’s love for each other, showing to the viewers that Amit and Shekar’s bond was stronger than their bond to anyone else.
http://realityviews.blogspot.com/2012/08/lyrics-with-english-translation-of-song.html
Filed by kefallon at February 27th, 2013 under Uncategorized