On August 15, 1947, India achieved Independence. 18 years later, the country’s populace was enslaved by a motion picture experience named Sholay. India’s first film to succeed in the 70mm format, it was its first movie made in Stereophonic Sound and consolidated the multi-star trend set earlier by Roti Kapada Aur Makaan and Deewaar. Produced by G.P. Sippy and directed by Ramesh Sippy, the Salim-Javed-written blockbuster featured Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Hema Malini, Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bhaduri (now Bachchan) and Amjad Khan. R.D. Burman scored music and Anand Bakshi wrote the lyrics.
Here are 12 rarer facts that you may not know about this film and its team.
- The film ran for an uninterrupted run of 250 weeks at its main theatre, Minerva, Mumbai, at three shows daily (not the customary four, thanks to its length). But the Current Booking (where tickets are also available at showtime) opened only past the 75th week!
- The Dharmendra-Hema Malini romance that was brewing (this was their 10th film together since 1970) picked up steam during the simultaneous making of this film and Dharmendra’s home production, Pratiggya, which released on June 23 that year. The fact that he was in love and married too stressed the actor so much that he began consuming more alcohol. He even decided to ‘punish’ himself and walked from his hotel to the sets of Ramnagram at dead of night!
- On sets, he would keep doing retakes just to spend more time with Hema Malini. The light boys who controlled the trolleys and reflectors would be bribed with Rs. 100, a great sum in those days for them, with a quiet signal that they could ask for a retake if he touched his nose. Hema Malini revealed in her biography that on some days the light boys became richer by over Rs. 1000!
- The role of Gabbar Singh was so popular that the entire lead cast—Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan—implored the director to give them that chance. Of them all, only Bachchan was (un)lucky to get that opportunity—in the 2007 fiasco, Ram Gopal Varma Ke Sholay!
- Dharmendra also revealed in his autobiography (by this writer) that Sholay took major inspiration in theme, characters and execution, from his 1971 blockbuster, Mera Gaon Mera Desh, including the coin used as a decision-maker and naming the amoral villain as Gabbar Singh instead of Jabbar Singh!
- Sachin, who played a small role in the film, termed the director as his guru and did not accept money. Instead, Sippy gifted him a Fedders Lloyd air-conditioner! Sachin says that since that time he has never slept without an AC!
- The music of the film did not sell and a smart executive of the music label, Polydor, now known as Universal Music, saw the response to the film’s dialogues and (as in the year’s earlier blockbuster, Deewaar) immediately released a double-album of the soundtrack. The two ‘dialogues’ Long-Play records along with the music LP jointly qualified for the Platinum Disc for sales.
- Danny Denzongpa was earlier approached for the role of Gabbar but had to forgo it as he was busy shooting for Feroz Khan’s Dharmatma. Salim-Javed insisted on Bachchan though Sippy wanted Shatrughan Sinha as Jai.
- The Britannia Glucose ad later done by Amjad Khan (when such things were looked down upon then for big stars) was scripted by Salim-Javed themselves. Original props were used and Khan agreed on condition that it was given out that he did it to donate his fees for charity.
- Asrani, who played the ‘Angrez ke zamane ka jailor’ was provided books and photographs so that he could emit authority as a Hitler-ian figure.
- Sanjeev Kumar was originally to play an Army officer but his role was shifted to that of a cop, as the makers anticipated censor issues.
- Jai and Veeru were named after Salim Khan’s college friends, Veerandar Singh Bias, and Jai Singh Rao Kalevar, a vegetable farmer.