Sholay,” one of India’s iconic films of all time, celebrated 50th anniversary in style with its fully restored and uncut version screened on June 27 at the prestigious Il Cinema Ritrovato Festival in Bologna, Italy. This tribute was paid at the open-air Piazza Maggiore there.
The uncensored or uncut version shows Thakur, played by Sanjeev Kumar, killing Gabbar Singh in the climax. The climax had to be changed due to objections by the Censor Board.
Incidentally, the special screening in Italy came months after a special postal cover to honour Sholay was released in January. The stamp was unveiled by director Ramesh Sippy at an event organised in Mumbai by the Maharashtra Postal Circle.
Speaking at the event, Sippy said, “Everyone associated with Sholay worked really hard on the film, and that’s why we are all here today. 50 saal baad Sholay pe stamp ka thappa bhi lag gaya.”
Actor turned politician, Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan in March urged the Centre to issue commemorative stamps celebrating 50 years of the iconic Bollywood films Deewaar and Sholay.
Speaking in a Parliamentary session, Jaya Bachchan, who starred in Sholay along with megastar and her husband Amitabh Bachchan, highlighted their cultural significance and lasting impact on Indian cinema, she said.
Sholay and Deewar were released in 1975. Jaya and Hema are currently Members of Parliament while Amitabh and Dharmendra are ex-MPs.
‘Sholay,’ in a way changed film making in India. Written by hit duo Salim-Javed, the movie was shot in rugged locales in a rural location, miles outside then Bangalore, now Bengaluru. The locales captured the essence of the script wherein two small-time criminals are hired to take on a dacoit in hinterland.
Also, Ramesh Sippy kept the script taut and as one famous director once said all the characters including the main leads and those actors playing smaller roles aptly fitted into the scheme of things.
Often labeled desi Western film, Sholay has many interesting tit-bits which made it into one of the most commercially successful films of all times.
Shatrughan Sinha was initially slated to play the role of Jai but as luck would have it Amitabh Bachchan, who was yet to make a mark till then, bagged the role and as they say rest is history.
Amitabh reportedly acknowledged that he got the role on Dharmendra’s recommendation.
The duo featured as Veeru and Jai in the film and their song ‘Yeh Dosti hum nahin chorenge’ became the yardstick for youngsters including yours truly to define friendship.
Two more scenes like when Veeru asks Jai to approach Basanti’s aunt for a marriage proposal and Jai praising his friend’s qualities to mausi, played by Leena Mishra are all time great. As regards Amjad Khan landing Gabbar Singh’s role, it is well known that Danny Denzongpa was selected for this role but he could not do so as he was already committed to some other movies. Ramesh Sippy and Salim-Javed then zeroed on to Amjad.
It may be mentioned here Sholay was the first Indian film to be screened in 70mm in theatres. Also, it was for the first time that a film’s dialogues, mostly by Gabbar Singh, were sold in the form of long playing records and newly introduced cassettes.
This proved to be a game changer as Amjad’s dialogues like ‘kitne aadmi thae’ were played at the street corners of the country adding to the popularity of the film. The hit song ‘Mehbooba, Mehbooba’ enacted by Jalal Agha has another interesting story. While filming the song, Agha reportedly scraped his knees repeatedly as he had to swirl on them.
Or, take Asrani playing ‘Angrezon ke zamane ke jailor.’ His get up was a spoof on Hitler. Similarly, Jagdeep as ‘Soorma Bhopali’ is part of film folk lore even after half a century.
The film is considered an inalienable part of Indian pop culture due to its popular characters.
“Some things in life remain permanently etched in your mind. ‘Sholay’ is one such film,” said Amitabh Bachchan, who played the role of Jai in the movie.
He also recalled the “unforgettable experience” of shooting the movie. “At the time I had no idea that it would be a watershed for Indian cinema. “It’s wonderful that the Film Heritage Foundation has restored ‘Sholay’ and that they have managed to locate and include the original ending as well as some deleted scenes in the restoration. I hope that even 50 years later, the film will capture the imagination of new audiences across the world,” he added.
Dharmendra, who enacted the part of Veeru, called “Sholay” the 8th wonder of the world. “I am thrilled to hear that the film is being restored and I am sure it will have the same success as it had 50 years ago.
Who can forget the dialogues of Salim-Javed and the direction of Ramesh Sippy? So many scenes have gone down in the history of Indian cinema and every character became a star. But the real hero was the coin,” he said.
The veteran actor revealed that he was initially offered the choice between the roles of Gabbar and Thakur, but he wanted to play the role of Veeru as “he is so much like me”. “I had so much fun on the shoot. My favourite scenes were the tanki scene, the scene in the temple, and so many others, but the most powerful scene I feel was the death of Jai, which is still etched in my mind,” he added.
Restoration of Sholay
Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, director of Film Heritage Foundation, said, “I was six years old and I remember lamenting because my mother refused to allow me to go to the cinema to watch the film.”
“I would never have imagined that 50 years later, I would have the opportunity to work on the restoration of the film — often described as the greatest Indian film ever made — with Shehzad Sippy of Sippy Films,” he added.
Sippy, representing Sippy Films, called the project a deeply personal journey. “Sholay is the cornerstone of our family heritage and I am so proud that Sippy Films has been able to do a world-class restoration of the film with the Film Heritage Foundation. It has taken us three years, but we were able to find the original ending and some deleted scenes that the world will see for the first time at the grand premiere at the Il Cinema Ritrovato Festival in Bologna,” he added.