Latest news with #RamGopalVarmaKiAag
Hindustan Times
16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Sholay@50: When a film gave birth to Hindi cinema's most enduring villain in Gabbar Singh
New Delhi, When Salim-Javed envisioned "Sholay", the character to first take shape was that of a dreaded dacoit. Little did they imagine that the role played by a newcomer in an otherwise star-studded film would create cinema history. Sholay@50: When a film gave birth to Hindi cinema's most enduring villain in Gabbar Singh Gabbar Singh was unlike any antagonist audiences had seen before, portrayed to the T by Amjad Khan in his first major role in the industry a sadistic, unpredictable and merciless outlaw who killed without hesitation, mocked fear, and treated cruelty as a form of entertainment. Film historian, author and archivist, S M M Ausaja, said Khan's role was written brilliantly and performed with great panache by Khan. "There is an element of humour in him. It is a well etched out character by Salim-Javed. As a debut performance in a primary role, Amjad Khan was exceptionally good. If a character gets such a memorable impact across generations, then a big chunk goes to the performance of the actor," Ausaja told PTI. When Gabbar first appears on the screen, almost an hour into the movie, viewers see the shot of him walking on boulders, asking his henchmen, "Kitne aadmi the?" They had just returned empty-handed from their raid in Ramgarh, thwarted by the film's heroes Amitabh Bachchan's Jai and Dharmendra's Veeru. "Woh do the aur tum teen... phir bhi waapas aagaye... khaali haath... kya samajh kar aaye the? Sardar bahot khush hoga sabasi dega, kyoon? Dhikkar hai," Gabbar rages against eerie background music. Over the next two hours, he unleashes a reign of brutality on the village of Ramgarh, killing without remorse, breaking the spirit of its people, and emerging as the living embodiment of fear. In an interview with PTI, Akhtar said when they began working on the story, they had only a dacoit in mind. 'We didn't think of Basanti or Radha, we just had a dacoit in mind. But gradually when the story got developed a lot of characters came into the picture and we felt it could be a great multi-starrer." In the 2024 docuseries "Angry Young Men", which charted the legendary screenwriting pair's career in movies, Salim Khan revealed how Gabbar was inspired by a real character. "My father was a high ranking police officer. We heard stories of a dacoit named Gabbar Singh. He used to kill people and chop off their noses too. Anything inspired from real life has a distinct impact," he said in the docuseries. Their first choice for the character was actor Danny Denzongpa and he even signed him for the role. But he had to quit the movie and leave for overseas to shoot for Feroz Khan's "Dharamatma" as "Sholay" kept getting delayed. Both Bachchan and Sanjeev Kumar, who went on to play Thakur, wanted to take on the villainous part, sensing its potential impact. Bachchan fulfilled his wish with Ram Gopal Varma's much-derided "Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag" in 2007. At an event years ago, Bachchan recalled how he wanted to play Gabbar after he heard the script. "I told Salim-Javed that I want to play Gabbar. And whoever listened to the story, they all wanted to play the part because it was great character. But in the end, Ramesh ji said that I will play Jai, not Gabbar. "Amjad Khan walked on the set and he was recommended by Salim and Javed sahab. They had seen him perform on stage and were familiar with his work. I never thought that he won't be able to do justice to the character. Though many people felt in the initial days that his voice was not appropriate but that voice became popular," he said. In her 2000 book "Sholay: The Making of a Classic", film journalist Anupama Chopra wrote that Amjad Khan, the younger son of renowned actor Jayant, was struggling at the time. But he had a strong presence in theatre which is where Akhtar spotted him first. But it was Salim Khan who approached the actor for the role as he knew his father. They had bumped into each other on Bandra bandstand. "Salim had heard about Amjad's skills as an actor, and physically he seemed to fit the role. 'I can't promise you anything,' he told Amjad, 'but there is a role in a big film. I'll take you to the director. Agar aapko yeh role mil jaaye, aapki koshish se ya aapki kismat se , I tell you, it is the finest," she wrote, recalling their conversation. The actor grew a beard and blackened his teeth, taking a deep dive into the character that would bring him immense popularity. He followed it up with more villainous parts in movies such as "Inkaar", "Satte Pe Satta", "Hum Kisise Kum Nahin" and "Naseeb". Trying to decode Gabbar's popularity among children as well as adults, Akhtar said it probably had something to do with how free he was from morality or fear. "Why did children liked Gabbar Singh? Even adults liked him. A ruthless man who had no emotional or moral justification for his cruelty. He's totally free from morality, which is tightly wrapped around us like a rope. On some subconscious level, we admire that this person is free," he said in the docu-series. With his catchy rhetorical questions, crazy laughter and boastfulness, Gabbar is a villain that lives on. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
India.com
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- India.com
Meet Top 10 WORST Bollywood Movies Of All Time As Per IMDb User-Ratings: This Rs 700 Cr Budget Film Is At No 9...
photoDetails english 2945031 Updated:Aug 13, 2025, 08:00 AM IST 10 WORST Bollywood Movies Of All Time 1 / 11 Top WORST Bollywood Movies Of All Time: Are you a movie buff? Well, let's scroll down the compilation of '10 worst films of all time' according to IMDb's user-ratings. From Desh Drohi to Himmatwala - the list has some surprising names. Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag 2 / 11 Director: Ram Gopal Varma Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Mohanlal and Ajay Devgn Ratings: 1.4 Desh Drohi 3 / 11 Director: Jagdish A Sharma Cast: Kamal Rashid Khan, Gracy Singh, Hrishitaa Bhatt Ratings: 1.7 Humshakals 4 / 11 Director: Sajid Khan Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Riteish Deshmukh and Ram Kapoor Ratings: 1.7 Himmatwala 5 / 11 Director: Sajid Khan Cast: Ajay Devgn, Tamannaah Bhatia and Mahesh Manjrekar Ratings: 1.8 Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat 6 / 11 Director: Ashok Gaekwad Cast: Rani Mukerji, Shadaab Khan and Gulshan Grover Ratings: 3.6 Karzzzz 7 / 11 Director: Satish Kaushik Cast: Himesh Reshammiya, Urmila Matondkar and Shweta Kumar Ratings: 2.3 Race 3 8 / 11 Director: Remo D'Souza Cast: Anil Kapoor, Salman Khan and Bobby Deol Ratings: 1.9 The Legend of Drona 9 / 11 Director: Goldie Behl Cast: Jayshree Arora, Veer Arya and Abhishek Bachchan Ratings: 2 Adipurush 10 / 11 Director: Om Raut Cast: Prabhas, Kriti Sanon and Saif Ali Khan Ratings: 2.6 Jaani Dushman: Ek Anokhi Kahani 11 / 11 Director: Rajkumar Kohli Çast: Sunny Deol, Arman Kohli and Manisha Koirala Ratings: 2.8
Indian Express
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
When Amitabh Bachchan opened up about playing Gabbar Singh in Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag: ‘Every creative artiste must have the liberty to…'
As Sholay turns 50 next week, its enduring legacy remains unquestioned. Over the past five decades, countless filmmakers have spoken about how deeply influential the 1975 blockbuster has been on their careers, often calling it a 'true blue classic.' But perhaps no one paid tribute to the film more directly than director Ram Gopal Varma. 'When I was first narrated the story of Sholay, I wanted to play the role of Gabbar Singh, and I had asked Ramesh Sippy (the director of Sholay) to let me play this character. But unfortunately, that didn't happen. But now it's finally happening, and I'm very delighted,' he said. When asked whether it was daunting to take on such an iconic role, he responded: 'Obviously. No matter what character we do as actors, it comes with its own challenges. So whether it's Gabbar or somebody else…' Bachchan also came out in support of Varma amid the criticism the filmmaker was receiving at the time: 'I think every creative artiste must have the liberty to present his work in whichever manner he wants. Then it is the liberty of the audience to criticise it or appreciate it. But I guess that liberty should be given to him.' Also Read | Salim-Javed had to change Sholay's climax because of the Emergency, claims Farhan Akhtar: 'It didn't make sense but they had no choice' Ram Gopal Varma, too, spoke candidly to Wild Films India during the film's announcement, opening up about his motivation behind remaking Sholay. RGV said, 'I was a very big fan of the original film. I watched it 27 times in 4 months. For the first 5–6 times, I watched it just for the story, screenplay, and dialogues. But later on, I watched it to understand its technicality, the way it was shot, the sound design, even though at that time I wasn't even sure whether I would become a filmmaker. But I watched it so closely, and I believe it's principally responsible for making me a filmmaker today. I always believe that ideas never grow old, only the packaging does. Technology changes, the presentation changes. So if you take an idea which worked so well 30 years back, so what if you position it in a newer way with current technology? That's how the idea of making the film started' Despite the passion behind it, Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag was a massive box office failure and faced harsh criticism from both fans and critics. It was even dubbed 'the worst film ever made' by many. In the years following its release, both Amitabh Bachchan and RGV have acknowledged that the film was a mistake in their respective careers.
