
Poore Pachaas saal, Sardar!
The Jai-Veeru dosti was a super hit. For the role of Jai,
Amitabh Bachchan
was the clear preference of writers Salim-Javed. 'The writers were totally sure about him as Jai. In fact, another major contender for this role was Shatrughan Sinha, but he was already a massive star then, and apparently the role was considered too small for him,' says film historian Gautam Chintamani.
Both directors and distributors were keen on Shatrughan, but Amitabh Bachchan was finalised as Jai because the writers were insistent on him. Interestingly, when Amitabh was first approached for the role, he was actually keen on playing Gabbar.
Dharmendra
shares that he was offered both Thakur's and Gabbar's roles, but he chose Veeru because he felt Veeru was so much like him . Talking about his favourite scene from the film, Dharmendra says, 'Amitabh Bachchan (character) jahan marte hain, wahan Veeru ki zindagi puri palat jaati hai.
That was the best scene. Do doston ke jo emotion thay, woh aate hain .'
Whenever Jai and Veeru have to make a decision in Sholay , they flip a coin – and it always seems to fall in Jai's favour. It's only in the climax that Veeru realises Jai had been using a trick coin with heads on both sides. As Dharmendra says, 'Every character is a hero in the film. But the real hero is the coin.'
Radha – Lady with the lamp
Radha – Lady with the lamp
Jaya Bachchan
was initially hesitant to take on such a small role in Sholay , but eventually agreed.
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Director Ramesh Sippy recalled in an interview, 'A lot of people asked me – why did you take an actress of the calibre of Jaya Bhaduri and give her such a small role? This was also a question raised after the film's release. And I said – tell me, which other actress could have given me that expression? So much silence in the film, in her role – which she expresses only with her eyes.
So much emotion in just her gaze – whether she's exchanging looks with Jai when he is playing mouth organ or when she's rushing down when Jai is injured – you can feel all her feelings .
All of that comes through her eyes.' During the shoot, the crew fondly called her the 'Lady with the Lamp.'
Tumhara naam kya hai, Basanti
Tumhara naam kya hai, Basanti?
After Sholay ,
Hema Malini
became synonymous with Basanti. But when the role came her way, she wasn't keen on playing a tongawali. 'It was a very tiny role for an actress of her stature. But Ramesh ji convinced her, and the two had just worked together in Seeta Aur Geeta , which was a huge hit. That film likely inspired him to pair Dharmendra and Hema again,' says film historian Gautam Chintamani. Hema recently told us, 'At the time of Sholay 's casting, we were already doing many films together.
I must say, Dharamji's role was definitely designed by the writers and director, but he added so much to it.'
"Get the latest news updates on Times of India, including reviews of the movie
Coolie
and
War 2
."
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