 The film was loosely styled after Akira <unk> 's 1954 film Seven <unk> , and drew heavily from the conventions of Westerns , especially Sergio Leone 's <unk> Westerns such as Once Upon a Time in the West ( 1968 ) , and John <unk> ' film The Magnificent Seven ( 1960 ) . Sholay was also influenced by the <unk> of Sam Peckinpah , such as The Wild <unk> ( 1969 ) and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid ( 1973 ) ; and by George Roy Hill 's Butch <unk> and the Sundance Kid ( 1969 ) . A scene depicting an attempted train robbery was inspired by a similar scene in North West Frontier ( 1959 ) , and a scene showing the massacre of Thakur 's family has been compared with the massacre of the <unk> family in Once Upon a Time in the West . Some plot elements were borrowed from the Indian films Mera <unk> Mera <unk> ( 1971 ) and <unk> <unk> ( 1973 ) . 
