India, Aug. 10 -- It was probably a coincidence thatSholaywas released on Independence Day in 1975. But this does add a quixotic twist to the story we can call India afterSholay.

The legend, as told in the film world, is that the film was already before the censor board when the Emergency was declared on June 25, 1975. In the version the censors first saw, Thakur, the chief protagonist of the film, kills the villain Gabbar Singh.

This was unacceptable to the censor board - in keeping with the Indira Gandhi government's projection of the Emergency as a tool for restoring order and rule of law. The producers ofSholaychanged the ending so they could get the censor board certificate. In the version we have been watching for 50 years, the cl...