Sholay was not a direct copy of Seven Samurai. It was a direct copy of Mera Gaon Mera Desh which was also a mega hit. In that movie and ex-army man Jayant (Amjad Khan's father in real life) inspires a drunk thief Dharmendra (who played a similar role in Sholay) to help him defend the village from the dacoits led by Vinod Khanna. In Mera Gaon Mera Desh Dharmendra took the most important decisions of his life by tossing a coin, which was copied again in Sholay.
