Director Ramesh Sippy reveals how Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra were chosen

Bombay:

Sholay, a cult classic of revenge and redemption, was initially supposed to have its key military characters Jai-Veeru and Thakur and a different ending, says director Ramesh Sippy, who never imagined the phenomenon his film would become 45 years old when released. since. After doing “Andaz” and “Seeta Aur Geeta”, Sippy wanted to switch to the action genre and make a movie similar to Hollywood Westerns. And luckily, the famous writer duo Salim Khan-Javed Akhtar told it Sholay, who had been with Manmohan Desai and “probably Prakash Mehra” but couldn’t take off.

Sippy said that when the story came to him, he stayed true to his original idea of ​​two guys on the run and their involvement in helping Thakur avenge the murder of his family by a dreaded dacoit terrorizing his village.

“The color and the characters appeared later, but the basic storyline was in place. Except the two guys (Jai and Veeru) were from the military and Sanjeev Kumar’s role of Thakur was that of an officer. from the military, who was turned into a cop, “Sippy told PTI.

“The basic idea was about two young guys (Jai and Veeru) on the run, their love of adventure and how they get involved in this moving Thakur story. The whole character fell into place. one by one. It took a life. of its own as we discussed and moved forward in the script, ”he added.

The journey of creation Sholay, including screenwriting and casting, took a little over two years. Filming began on October 3, 1973, and the film hit theaters on August 15, 1975.

The director said they know they have a good movie in their hands. “We thought we were making a hell of a good movie but certainly not that 45 years later we would be talking about it. Everyone did their best. But we weren’t expecting so much (love and sequel). It has become a phenomenon, ”he said.

Sholay was also one of those rare stories, where villainous Gabbar Singh’s character was one of the biggest highlights, even during the casting process.

Sippy said the film’s main stars Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan and Kumar were all up for the role and were ready to give up their hero image, but he found his Gabbar in Amjad Khan, who was roped up after Danny Denzongpa has resigned. due to his involvement in the film “Dharmatma” by Feroz Khan.

It was Salim-Javed who suggested Khan’s name for the role. “I remember seeing a play by him (Khan), in which my sister was there, he was very impressive on stage,” recalls Sippy.

“His face, his frame, his personality, his voice all felt good. We told him to grow a beard, put it in the suit, take pictures and he just felt like a tough tough guy. “, he added, revealing that Khan had prepared for the game by reading” Abhishapth Chambal “, a book on the dacoits of Chambal.

Manufacturing Sholay was a long and arduous journey but it was worth it for the director.

“It was a tough and grueling shoot. Almost 500 days of shooting and we didn’t have the convenience of the visual effects and all the technology that has developed today. We did everything we could. It was a struggle, ”he told me.

The casting of other characters is an equally interesting story. Sippy said that after working with stars like Dharamendra, Kumar and Hema Malini in “Seeta Aur Geeta”, he was keen to work with the trio of Sholay.

While Dharmendra was interested in playing the role of Thakur (played by Kumar) when Sippy informed that he would then have to give up the role of Veeru, who is paired against Basanti (Malini), Dharmendra decided not to miss the opportunity.

“I wouldn’t go into their private life. Dharam ji was fascinated by the role of the villain but then he said that maybe (he would like to play) Thakur because the whole story is from Thakur but then I told him that “He won ‘t get Hema Malini. He laughed and said ok (playing Veeru),” Sippy revealed.

Bachchan’s name was also recommended by Salim-Javed and Sippy, who had seen the actor’s then booming work in “Anand” and “Bombay to Goa”, believed he had a good presence at the screen.

“I was afraid to take another star because we had Dharam ji, Hema ji, Sanjeev Kumar ji and Jaya Bhaduri. We needed a good actor. There were suggestions on Shatrughan Sinha. I was skeptical of have so many stars and manage so many ego. “

“It’s another thing that when we started filming Mr. Bachchan became a star. His popularity grew with the release of ‘Zanjeer’ and ‘Deewar’,” he added.

Sippy is proud that even after 45 years, the “little characters” of Sholay including the jailer (Asrani), Kaalia (Viju Khote), Sambha (Mac Mohan), Soorma Bhopali (Jagdeep), Rahim Chacha (A K Hangal) and Mausi (Leela Mishra) are beloved.

“All of these characters are important to the movie… They were all exceptional characters, which were so well received thanks to the actors who played the roles so easily,” he added.

Sippy said the film took a long time to complete mainly because he wanted every shot to be “perfect.”

“The train sequence at the start of the film with Jai, Veeru and Thakur, took seven weeks to shoot. Today, an entire movie is finished in seven weeks.

“We wanted the best. And getting each shot, organizing it and shooting with the train, the horses, the people, the guns and the ammunition going out, getting the cast and everyone ready, that was a very difficult shot.” , did he declare.

According to the director, each sequence took about 20 days or more to shoot, the motorcycle visuals with a sidecar in the song – “Yeh dosti” took 21 days to shoot, but he really loved the process. The 73-year-old filmmaker said he was inspired by Japanese director Akira Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai” (1954) and American director John Sturges’ “The Magnificent Seven” (1960) – both revolving around saving a village of bandits in addition to the Hindi films “Khote Sikkay” (1974), “Mera Gaon Mera Desh” (1971) and “Ganga Jamuna” (1961).

When Sippy’s Sholay released in theaters on August 15, 1975, it received bad press, with some calling it “dead embers”, others “a very flawed attempt”. Commercial success, however, is another story. Sippy said the film had a good reservation in advance, but that it was heartbreaking to read negative reviews, which the team said would hurt the film’s commercial possibilities.

“But the audience never reacted like that, they liked the movie. We saw there was a rehearsal audience as they rehearsed the dialogues. I was told (by theater guys) that people wouldn’t leave their seats to buy cold drinks and popcorn. ” added the director.

Sippy considers Sholay his “greatest achievement”.

“I always try to do a good job, but that’s what was appreciated the most. You can never plan all of that. I am amazed by the cult status of the film,” he said.