‘First movie memory is watching Amitabh Bachchan laughing with blood on his back': Rohan Sippy says being the son of Sholay director ‘isn't a dark cloud, but a rainbow'

Indian Express

2 days ago

Rohan Sippy has directed memorable films like Bluffmaster! (2005) and helmed successful shows like Aranyak and Criminal Justice. But he has a tall order to live up to, given his father Ramesh Sippy's rich filmography, particularly the 1975 historic blockbuster Sholay. As the watershed film completes 50 years since its release this week, SCREEN caught up with Rohan for a chat about his first memory of the movie, it legacy, its lessons on filmmaking, and whether the controversial ending should be changed using Artificial Intelligence today.
Has the dark cloud of being the son of the director of Sholay ever chased you?
That's a rainbow, not a dark cloud. The expectation lifts you up. It's very clearly been a privilege for me at multiple levels. Whenever I make my connection with Sholay known to a stranger, there's a smile on their face. That's priceless. Starting from there to the fact that in the industry, I've carried the goodwill forward, it's only benefitted me. I don't think any audience would've judged me negatively for being his son. I think that's more of a media perception. That framing doesn't come to an audience. If they like it, they like it; if they don't, they don't. You can still imagine it being a problem or a hangover for an actor, in terms of resemblance. But a director is relatively more abstract from the audience's point of view. I don't think an audience member thinks, 'Oh, this director is good, but not as great as his father,' which is true, but it doesn't put any kind of pressure or negative influence on me.
Is that also because you've made very different kinds of films from your father?
My father has also been very versatile. From making a film about a single mother in 1971 (Andaz) to an out-and-out comedy with a woman like Seeta Aur Geeta (1972) to Sholay to Shaan (1980) to Shakti (1982) to Saagar (1984), each one as different from the other. So he's definitely a wonderful inspiration to try different kinds of genres and master different kinds of stories. I've been able to attempt that in series at least, which has been fun.
What's your first memory of Sholay?
My memory is going to the set in Bengaluru, where they were shooting the climax. I must've been three years old. I'm wandering around, and then I see this giant of a man looming in front of me — Mr. (Amitabh) Bachchan. He's got blood on his back. I look at that vivid, gory thing. Next thing you know, he turns around and is laughing and joking. I was wondering, what is this world! That was my first impression of this magical movie world. Then obviously, I watched the movie in Minerva (now-defunct theatre in Mumbai) and other places.
When did it sink in that it was history in the making?
That came probably much later. As a child, the first thing you get to know is that your school friends liked the film. That's the ultimate validation or feel-good moment for you. Later on, you realize that it still holds its place. Talking about doing something consciously, me and my sister realized that there are so many stories about the film. That's when we approached Anupama (Chopra, author) for writing a book (Sholay: The Making of a Classic, 2000). We wanted to preserve them as much as we could because they were such great stories that we didn't want to lose them. She came on board and put together the accounts so that helped us preserve those stories.
What can a budding filmmaker learn from Sholay today?
When you watch the film, the craft is incredible so there's a lot to learn from that. But if you go one step back, just learn the kind of lazer focus, determination, the absolute sense of not wanting to compromise, and pursuing something you believe in can pay rewards. You can never guarantee success, but it's only for that kind of a marathon effort that you can get rewarded. So, there are innumerable good lessons. Even the dialogue writing and one liners will keep you through the dark afternoon of the soul, when you're wondering if you can finish writing or shooting. The most important lesson is like Thakur (Sanjeev Kumar), to have the desire to get what we want, and to have the belief that the audience will then come in if you pursue it with that conviction.
Also Read — 'Like Pankaj Tripathi, I instinctively look for humour in every material I work on': Rohan Sippy on injecting laughs into a legal thriller like Criminal Justice
When I interviewed Aanand L Rai, he claimed that like the studio Eros has changed the ending of his 2013 directorial Raanjhanaa using Artificial Intelligence recently. The day isn't far when Jai's character (Amitabh Bachchan) would also rise from his death in the climax of Sholay. What's your take on that?
The trouble is the increase in Artificial Intelligence would pale in comparison to the increase in natural stupidity. The problem isn't AI. The problem is our stupidity. Each generation of tools is more powerful than the previous one. Like what computer VFX have done has been more impactful than what happened 20 years before that. Similarly, AI would be very impactful in our business. I don't think anyone really knows yet where it's going. I guess saying no to tools is also a dangerous way to go. But the tools shouldn't be in the hands of those who don't know what they want. For example, there's no point putting computer graphics in the hands of an engineer. You want to put them in the hands of a painter or an artist. Then they'll use it to give you something artistic that has some thoughtfulness behind it.
Similarly, if you give AI in the hands of someone who knows how and why to use it, then I'm sure it can be used to achieve something breathtaking. But that agency has to come from us, not from the fact that we have this tool to play with. There'll obviously be a bit of novelty in that, but I don't think that's going to define the medium ever. It's going to be more the right person finding the way to use the tool, like my father used 70MM (in Sholay). You want to come up with things that can take the breath away. But if the story doesn't hold then the best cameras and techniques won't matter. There have been films, which are technically up there, but have failed. So, I think AI is the 800-pound gorilla version of that, but it's still a tool. I still haven't seen AI conceive and generate stories. Maybe that's also around the corner.