While Sholay is widely praised for its dialogues, dacoits, and drama, few remember that its most memorable character might be a village constructed of dust and brick. Released in 1975 and directed by Ramesh Sippy, Sholay is still an epic of Indian cinema. But beneath its brilliant cast and plot is an architectural setting so calculated and rich, it should have its own screen credit. The village of Ramgarh was not only a set, it was a character created through spatial detail, vernacular hints, and cinematic exigency.
Recreating Rural Realism
Visual- 3:06-3:34 _ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bp9XJuqdqzE
Sholay was filmed mostly in the rocky landscape of Ramanagara, Karnataka, with sets built to stand in for Ramgarh, a classic North Indian village. Ironically, it was the southern landscape that gave the raw, rugged look ideal for the dusty northwestern setting.
The Sholay architecture wasn’t just a static backdrop but it became a narrative device. The stone-paved chowk where villagers gather, the raised thana (police station), and Thakur’s fortress-like haveli all had narrative purposes. Their placement reinforced hierarchies, emotions, and character trajectories.
The genesis of Ramgarh’s built environment draws strongly upon North Indian vernacular typologies. Earth-toned plaster, load-bearing stone walls, timber detailing, and sloping tiled roofs were used to impart realism. Semi-arid topography dictated a dusty colour palette, evocative of the arid tone of Chambal valley dacoit tales that had inspired the film.
Spatial Narratives and Set Details
Picture Courtesy- Dont call it bollywood
The art department, under art director Ram Yedekar, incorporated a combination of permanent and temporary architecture. The iconic village square was created using radial symmetry, a deliberate choice to maximise visibility and blocking for dramatic camera angles. This layout facilitated characters moving into and out of diagonals, with continuous motion and visual tension.
Thakur’s house was built on a plinth, looking down on the rest of Ramgarh. Its massive stone walls, pillared verandas, and latticed windows told of a zamindari lineage. After the interval, its emptiness reflects the state of Thakur’s heart, a symbolism in architecture.
Bandits’ lair, excavated out of hillocks of stone, was a technical wonder. The team scooped out boulders with natural rock outcroppings to form an elevated lair. It was not just a set but a study in borrowing real topography for dramatic ends. The tiny openings and precipitous vertical lines created the impression of being trapped and moral turmoil.
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After filming, the crew left the structures intact. Over time, locals began to inhabit parts of the set, inadvertently turning it into a living village, which is a rare case of cinematic architecture becoming live heritage.
Picture Courtesy- Amar Ujaala
The train sequence, complete with pop-up railway track and specially crafted bridge, was an example of innovation. The engineers worked closely with the art department to craft collapsible sets that could be remotely controlled in action sequences. The station itself was a construct based on the architecture of colonial-era rail lines, with exposed trusses, high eaves, and wood louvres.
Notably, the use of light and shadow was architectural in intention. The shaded verandas, courtyards open to the sky, and jharokhas created a play of chiaroscuro, ideal for the film’s dramatic tone and cinematographer Dwarka Divecha’s lens.
From architectural hierarchy to topographic ingenuity, Sholay’s architecture wasn’t random, it was meticulously crafted. The set transcended to an immersive reality via thoughtful layouts, vernacular stylisation, and architectural symbolism that all supported the film’s ideas of justice, power, and friendship subtly.
The Craft of Cinema
Picture Courtesy- Indian Express
The architecture of Sholay reveals how built spaces can become more than mere background and instead develop into active tellers of the story. In an era pre-dating green screens and CGI, the crew built a world so real that its ruins continue to resonate with cinematic heritage. Ramgarh wasn’t dreamt up; it was built brick by brick, with technical precision and consideration of narrative continuity. For architecture fans and film lovers alike, Sholay is an ageless case study in how space, material, and setting infuse life into storytelling.
Ar. Pranjali Gandhare
Architect | Architectural Journalist | Historian
