Filmmaker Ramesh Sippy, the mind behind Bollywood’s finest classic, Sholay, spoke about the iconic movie in a session held at the 56th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) on November 27. The session titled ‘50 years of Sholay: Why Sholay still resonates’ saw Ramesh Sippy spill the beans over how the late supervillain Amjad Khan got on board for the iconic character of Gabbar in the movie.
“Amjad Khan himself was a discovery. I had seen him earlier in a play with my sister about South Africa, and I remembered he was a good actor, but I had completely forgotten about him.” He added, “When Salim–Javed suggested we look at him, it clicked.
He came in for the part, but only because Danny Denzongpa, who was originally signed for Gabbar, was in Afghanistan shooting with Mr Feroz Khan and couldn’t return. We didn’t have to make changes anywhere because of the language or accent, especially for Gabbar. Amajd’s UP-style accent worked beautifully. ”
The filmmaker concluded, “Danny’s absence gave birth to Amjad Khan as Gabbar, and the rest is history.” He also discussed how the film’s Rocky Mountains and barren landscape, immortalised as Gabbar’s territory, later became symbolic of dacoit land.
Ramesh also shared insights into how this iconic location was first discovered. “We chose that particular location because all the dacoit films until then had been shot in the North, Rajasthan, the Chambal Valley, and similar places. I felt it was time to find a new, fresh location.”
He elaborated, “We went down South, and I saw this rocky area around 50 kilometres out of Bangalore on the way to Mysore. I just stood there looking at it and felt, ‘this is the right place.’ I can’t explain it; it just happened. We faced many challenges there, but shooting in that location gave the film a whole new look.
No set could have created that.” Sippy further said, “People often say this was the first time a dacoit film wasn’t set in the typical Chambal region. "For the first time, the backdrop was actually in the South, and this location was suggested by our art director, M.R. Achrekar.
And I immediately liked the place. For the first time, people saw dacoits in a landscape completely different from what had always been shown before, and it brought a fresh visual identity to the subject. Shooting around Bangalore and beyond gave the film a distinct tone," he added.
Talking about Sholay, the movie starred Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Amjad Khan, Jaya Bachchan and Hema Malini in the lead. The movie that was released in 1975 is considered to be one of the most iconic movies of all time.
The cult classic gave audiences not just iconic songs but characters such as Jay, Veeru, Basanti, Thakur, and Gabbar that, even after 50 years of the movie’s release, continue to rule the roost as Bollywood’s finest onscreen characters.