Ramesh Sippy’s Sholay turns 50 on 15 August. Amitabh Bachchan, who played the reticent, brooding Jai, still recalls the tension in the room when Sholay didn’t create a dhoom on release.
“We were all silent as though mourning for the dead. If it was today’s scenario, the film would have been pulled out of theatres in the first week,” says Mr Bachchan.
Amitabh Bachchan remembers that tense Friday in 1975 when Sholay was declared a flop. “Sholay team had an emergency meeting on 16 August 1975 where they mulled over the idea of reshooting the ending as it was felt that my death at the end was one of the reasons for the audiences’ ostensible rejection of Sholay. They decided to reshoot the ending as a happy one where I lived. But decided to wait until Monday. The rest is history.”
As Ramesh Sippy’s historic Sholay completes 50 years, Amitabh Bachchan confesses he never expected it would turn out so big. “Salim-Javed had worked with me in Zanjeer and they recommended me for Sholay. I also pleaded with Dharamji (who played the other lead in Sholay) to put in a compassionate word for me.”
When Mr Bachchan heard the script, it wasn’t the reticent Jai that he wanted to play. “When I heard the script I begged Salim Saab and Javed Saab and later Ramesh Sippyji to let me play Gabbar Singh. I knew that it would be very popular and liked. Amjad and I met on the sets of Sholay, and remained dear friends till his passing.”
Mr Bachchan and director Ramesh Sippy went on to work in Shakti, which, according to many critics, was a better film. Says Mr Bachchan, “It is not fair to say we did better work in Shakti, but Sholay became a benchmark. Each film has its own USP. Sholay had its own as did Shakti. Each project is looked at differently. I would like to believe that each project for a maker is the equivalent of giving birth to their child. How could one child be different from another in affection, care and concern.”
Also Read: Ramesh Sippy On 50 Years Of Sholay: Why the Original Ending Was Never Shown
