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- Entertainment
- Indian Express
How Malegaon Ke Sholay's crew of locals changed the way the iconic Dharmendra-Amitabh-starrer is seen
The climax of Sholay, the tense standoff between Gabbar Singh's gang and Jai and Veeru on a precarious wooden bridge, remains one of the most emotionally charged scenes in Indian cinema. Suspended high on a rickety bridge, the moment distilled the grit and heart of the film masterfully captured by cinematographer Dwarka Divecha.
Nearly 25 years after Sholay was released, 28-year-old Nasir Shaikh from Malegaon paid homage to that very scene in a way only Malegaon could. Using 12 bamboo sticks and a handcart, Nasir recreated a miniature version of the bridge for his low-budget spoof film Malegaon Ke Sholay, a parody that would go on to spark a cottage industry of spoof films in the town. While the rest of the two-hour film leaned into slapstick humour, the bridge scene remained untouched: it was the only moment in the film treated with solemnity.
Nasir, now 53, says the choice to keep the scene serious was deliberate. 'That captured the heart of Sholay. Tampering with it would have felt like erasing a sacred moment. It was my favourite scene in the original and it became my favourite in our version too. I think it was our tribute to Sholay, with whatever little we had,' says Nasir.
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A series of two bomb blasts one in 2006 and another in 2008 cast a long shadow over Malegaon, fueling perceptions of Muslim alienation and leading to the arrest of several young men unfairly branding the town as a cradle of radicalism. It was, however, men like Nasir who changed that.
Malegaon ki Sholay was his fifth and most expensive film made in 2000 on a budget of Rs 50000. Written by Akram Khan and Hamid Subhani, it was shot with local actors in two months. 'There were so many doubts. Where do we get so many horses? How could we recreate Gabbar's rocky lair or the train sequence,' says Nasir. The film made over Rs two lakh in ticket sales. He later sold the rights to a music company for Rs 20,000.
Unfortunately, because of copyright restrictions, Malegaon Ke Sholay cannot be uploaded or screened widely today. But it's a film that warms his heart. 'I'm proud that people would watch Sholay in a local theatre one day and still return to watch Malegaon Ke Sholay the next,' says Nasir.
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His work inspired numerous documentaries, including Superboys of Malegaon (2024), produced by Zoya Akhtar. 'Sholay is a perfect film. It speaks to every Indian. Even our humble version connected because everyone knew the original so well,' says Nasir.
