 Dissanayeke and Sahai note that , although the film borrowed heavily from the Hollywood Western genre , particularly in its visuals , it was successfully " Indianised " . As an example , William van der Heide has compared a massacre scene in Sholay with a similar scene in Once Upon a Time in the West . Although both films were similar in technical style , Sholay emphasised Indian family values and melodramatic tradition , while the Western was more materialistic and restrained in its approach . Maithili Rao , in Encyclopedia of Hindi Cinema , notes that Sholay infuses the style of the Western genre into a " feudalistic ethos " . Ted Shen of the Chicago Reader notes Sholay 's " hysterical visual style " and intermittent " populist message " . Cultural critic and Islamist scholar Ziauddin Sardar lampoons the film in his book The Secret Politics of Our Desires : Innocence , Culpability and Indian Popular Cinema , both for its caricature and stereotyping of Muslim and women characters , and for what he calls mockery of innocent villagers . Sardar notes that the two most prominent Muslim characters in the film are Soorma Bhopali ( a buffoonish criminal ) , and an impotent victim of the bandits ( the imam ) . Meanwhile , the sole function of one female character ( Radha ) is to suffer her fate in silence , while the other female lead ( Basanti ) is just a garrulous village belle . 
 Dissanayeke and Sahai note that , although the film borrowed heavily from the Hollywood Western genre , particularly in its visuals , it was successfully " Indianised " . As an example , William van der Heide <a href='been_done' title='1'><mark>has</mark></a> compared a massacre scene in Sholay with a similar scene in Once Upon a Time in the West . Although both films <a href='uninflect' title='2'><mark>were</mark></a> similar in technical style , Sholay emphasised Indian family values and melodramatic tradition , while the Western was more materialistic and restrained in its approach . Maithili Rao , in Encyclopedia of Hindi Cinema , <a href='uninflect' title='3'><mark>notes</mark></a> that Sholay <a href='uninflect' title='4'><mark>infuses</mark></a> the style of the Western genre into a " feudalistic ethos " . Ted Shen of the Chicago Reader <a href='uninflect' title='5'><mark>notes</mark></a> Sholay <a href='null_genetive' title='6'><mark>'s</mark></a>" hysterical visual style " and intermittent " populist message " . Cultural critic and Islamist scholar Ziauddin Sardar <a href='uninflect' title='7'><mark>lampoons</mark></a> the film in his book The Secret Politics of Our Desires : Innocence , Culpability and Indian Popular Cinema , both for its caricature and stereotyping of Muslim and women characters , and for what he <a href='uninflect' title='8'><mark>calls</mark></a> mockery of innocent villagers . Sardar <a href='uninflect' title='9'><mark>notes</mark></a> that the two most prominent Muslim characters in the film are Soorma Bhopali ( a buffoonish criminal ) , and an impotent victim of the bandits ( the imam ) . Meanwhile , the sole function of one female character ( Radha ) <a href='drop_aux' title='10'><mark>is</mark></a>to suffer her fate in silence , while the other female lead ( Basanti ) <a href='drop_aux' title='11'><mark>is</mark></a>just a garrulous village belle . 
Dissanayeke and Sahai note dat , although the film borrowed heavily from da Hollywood Western genre , particularly in its visuals , it was successfully " Indianised " . As an example , William van der Heide done compared a massacre scene in Sholay w a similar scene in Once Upon a Time in the West . Although both films was similar in technical style , Sholay emphasised Indian family values and melodramatic tradition , while tdaWestern was more materialistic and restrained in its approach . Maithili Rao , in Encyclopedia of Hindi Cinema , note tdatSholay infuse the style of the Western genre into a " feudalistic ethos " . Ted Shen of the Chicago Reader note Sholay  " hysterical visual style " and intermittent " populist message " . Cultural critic and Islamist scholar Ziauddin Sardar lampoon thdailm in his book The Secret Politics of Our Desires : Innocence , Culpability and Indian Popular Cinema , both for its caricature and stereotyping of Muslim and women characters , and for wht he call mockery of innocent villagers . Sardar note thdathe 2 most prominent Muslim characters in the film r Soorma Bhopali ( a buffoonish criminal ) , and an impotent victim of thedandits ( the imam ) . Meanwhile , the sole function of one female character ( Radha ) to suffer her fate in silence , while the other female lead ( Basanti ) jus a garrulous village belle .