* It drew heavily upon the conventions of Western films, especially Sergio Leone's spaghetti Westerns. The massacre of a family near the middle of the film is similar to a scene from Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West as well as a scene from John Ford's The Searchers.
* Sholay's extensive use of slow-motion in shoot-outs was influenced by the westerns of Sam Peckinpah, films such as The Wild Bunch (1969) and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)
* The first film to show a village hiring mercenaries to protect itself from bandits was the Japanese director Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. Hollywood remade Seven Samurai as The Magnificent Seven in 1960, fifteen years before Sholay.
* Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) featured two appealing outlaws, just like Jai and Veeru.
* Critics also cite the Indian films Mera Gaon Mera Desh (1971) and Khote Sikkay (1973) as possible inspirations.
* Gabbar Singh was modeled on a real-life dacoit of the same name wh ...more

Chhole

HI Gabbar,
The theme and essence of Sholay was inspired by several films from Hollywood and India.
1.The adventure and drama prevelant in the film was inspired from the Westerns, especially Sergio Leone's Spaghetti Westerns, with which the writer and director were influenced by.
2. The theme of a village grouping or hiring gunmen to protect itself from bandits was inspired from The Magnificent Seven (1960), and The Seven Samurai which again was the inspiration for The Magnificent Seven.
3. The theme of two light-hearted outlaws came from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), on which the writers wanted to base the characters of Jai and Veeru.
Regards,

The movie with a reverse name YALOHS

The fire