Sholay Climax Was Changed Due To Emergency, Reveals Farhan Akhtar
Ramesh Sippy's classic Sholay, led by Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Amjad Khan, Hema Malini, will complete its glorious 50th year on August 15 this year. The climax - Gabbar being arrested by police - was not the one that screenwriters Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar wrote originally. The original climax was changed due to the pressure during the Emergency era (1975). Farhan Akhtar, during a promotional event for his upcoming film 120 Bahadur, revealed what the orginal climax was and why it got changed.
What Farhan Akhtar Revealed
In the original climax, "Sanjeev Kumar AKA Thakur was originally meant to kill Gabbar Singh with his bare feet in a brutal act of revenge after losing his family and arms to the dacoit," said Farhan Akhtar.
"That was the emotional core of the film - Thakur plotting his revenge after his hands were cut off. We get lost in the Jai-Veeru friendship, but the real spine was the honest cop going after the dacoit who ruined his life," Farhan added.
"They had to change it due to the Emergency, and the original ending is now available. That is actually when he cries - after crushing Gabbar with his own feet," said Farhan.
Describing the frustration of his father Javed Akhtar and writing partner Salim Khan, Farhan added, "They were wondering about everyone showing up - the villagers, the police, the protagonists - and joked that the only person missing now is a postman. The ending didn't make sense to them, but they had no choice."
Sholay At 50
The restored version will have its North American premiere at the 50th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on September 6. The gala screening will take place at the 1,800-seater Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto.
The uncut version of newly-restored Sholay and featuring the original ending - which shows Gabbar Singh being killed by Thakur instead of arrested by police, and previously deleted scenes that were not part of the widely distributed theatrical cut - had its world premiere on June 27 on the large open-air screen at Piazza Maggiore in Italy's Bologna to commemorate the film's 50th anniversary.
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