Hema Malini To NDTV On Sholay Costumes: "I Had Only Three Dresses, Dharmendra Ji Had Just One"
The excitement continues to soar around Sholay as it is set to clock 50 years on August 15, 2025. Every character in the film, from the boisterous Basanti played by Hema Malini to the vicious Bandit Gabbar (Amjad Khan), and the everlasting friendship of Jai and Veeru (Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra), Ramesh Sippy's cult classic has garnered love from the audience over the years.
In an exclusive conversation with Hema Malini on the fast-approaching special occasion, the actress exclaimed how no one focused on the costumes of the film.
What's Happening
While several aspects of Ramesh Sippy's Sholay can be analysed and discussed, Hema Malini veers our attention towards the costumes of the film.
She exclaims, "No one is talking about the costumes in the film! Dharam ji had only one costume. There was no need for any costume designers or anything. I had only three dresses to wear."
Hema Malini elaborates, "One of my costumes was in white and the other one in black. The third was yellow, which you see in the Holi sequence."
She laughs and adds, "I jokingly even said that, at least for Holi, give me a new dress. But it got dirty immediately. I used to tell the dressman to clean my costumes and keep them. But the next day it would come back even dirtier. Ramesh Sippy had said no ironing or anything. The costumes should look dirty; it has to be like this, and you have to wear this."
"The audience will never focus on the costumes of the film. That's the beauty of it. Everybody looked the part, set against the backdrop of a village," concludes Hema Malini.
About Sholay
Crafted by Salim-Javed, the plot revolves around two notorious criminals, Jai and Veeru (Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra), who are hired by a former jailer, Thakur Baldev Singh (Sanjeev Kumar), as he seeks vengeance to bring down the vile bandit Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan).
In A Nutshell
Hema Malini spoke of simpler times while shooting for Sholay, where there was no costume designer on set. She spoke about having just three dresses throughout the film, and Dharmendra ji having just one.
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