It is the movie which has represented Indian Film Industry all over the world in the last few decades. Millions have their memories associated with the classic and have seen it uncountable times in theaters, on cable, television and dvds. It is a must for every Indian Movie Collector’s home video library and it is the first choice for broadcasters when they can find nothing else to telecast.
For all who love the unforgettable epic, here are some amazing facts associated with “Sholay” its making and its cast and crew. Many of you may be aware of few facts listed here, but you surely will find some very fresh and new findings too in the info below. So just explore the world of “Sholay” once again…..
Inspirational Sources :
It was noticed that the film had heavy western influence of cowboy movies. It was highly inspired by the spaghetti westerns of Sergio Leone. It was also called as a curry western by many critics at that time.
Among its major western influences were:
1. Once Upon A Time In The West
2. Seven Samurai
3. Magnificent Seven
4. Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid
Tossing a coin before making a decision came fromGary Cooper’s “Garden Of Evil”
Similar to the double sided coin used by Jai, Marlon Brando also has a double sided coin in One Eyed Jacks (1960) which he uses to his own advantage.
Famous song “Mehbooba Mehbooba” is based on “Say You Love Me” by Demi Roussas and is equally enjoyable.
The Dharmendra Hema song “Jab Tak Hai Jaan” has a very similar start to the prelude of “Jomeh” a song by an Iranian Singer Googoosh.
The background music, with mouth organ piece and other sounds had a very acute similarity with the music in “Once Upon A Time In The West”.
Among it’s said Indian influences were:
1. Mera Gaon Mera Desh
2. Khottey Sikkey
3. It was claimed that the basic plot of the movie was taken from a 1972 movie “Bindiya Aur Bandook” produced by Joginder.
Gabbar Singh’s character was based on a real-life dacoit of the same name who was famous in the villages around Gwalior in the 1950s. He has his terror in the area and any policeman captured by the real Gabbar Singh had his ears and nose cut off, and was then released as an example for others.
Gabbar’s mannerisms and dreadful laughter was reworked around the character of Mexican bandito played by Gian Maria Volonte in “For A Few Dollars More“.
The get up of Asrani as the Jailor was inspired by the Hitler like get up of Charlie Chaplin in “The Great Dictator”.
Salim-Javed, named Veeru and Jai after a couple of their college friends.
The famous overhead Tank Scene where Veeru threatens Mausi with suicide was inspired from a real life incident.
The scene where Jai attempts a proposal of marriage for Veeru in front of Mausi was also said to be drawn from a real life incident related to the writers.
But one more similar kind of scene was also there in “Half Ticket” where Kishore Kumar too ruins a marriage proposal in the same manner. May be it was also there somewhere as an inspiration.
Before the Making
Director Manmohan Desaiwas first approached by the writing duo of Javed Akhtar and Salim Khan with the story for this movie. He was busy shooting Chacha Bhatija (1977) and could not accept the project.
Prakash Mehra was also approached with the idea but he too was busy in making “Zanzeer”.
About Casting
Dharmendra was interested in playing Thakur Baldev Singh, but changed his mind when Ramesh Sippy told him Basanti was to be played by Hema Malini.
He was also informed that Sanjeev Kumar would play Veeru and then he would get the heroine, Hema Malini. Sanjeev Kumar had just then proposed marriage to Hema Malini. Dharmendra was in love with her and quickly went back to the role of Veeru.
Amjad Khan prepared to play the dacoit by reading a book titled Abhishapth Chambal, which was about the Chambal dacoits. The book was written by Taroon Bhaduri, father of Jaya Bhaduri.
It is also believed that Amitabh was more interested in Gabbar's role.
The director's original choice for Jai was Shatrughan Sinha at first, but as it couldn’t work out Amitabh then convinced the producers that he would be the right choice and got that role.
Dannywas the first choice of Gabbar but had to miss out because he was shooting for Dharmatma in Afghanistan.
Amjad Khan was almost dropped from the project because 'Javed Akhtar' found his voice too weak for Gabbar Singh's role but then he was definitely in.
Music by the Maestro RDB
“Koi Haseena Jab Rooth Jaati Hai” was the first song to be composed.
Music of the film was sold at a very high price (according to that time) to Polydor. The deal was on an
Advance Royalty contract for the first time ever.
The song “Mehbooba Mehbooba” was to be recorded in the voice of Asha Bhosle, but then R. D. Burman himself did the vocals.
Shooting The Classic
The first scene to be shot was the one in which “Amitabh returns the safe keys to Jaya”.
Amitabh Bachchan was almost killed at the end of the movie when a stray bullet from 'Dharmendra' missed him by inches.
It was during the making of Sholay that Amitabh discovered he was going to be a father of his first born, Shweta.
The train robbery sequence took about 20 days to film on the Mumbai-Pune line, near Panvel.
The major outdoor scenes were shot at Ramnagaram near Bangalore, India. There are huge rocks of granite in the town which became the backdrop of Gabbar Singh's den. As a memento to remember, the people of Ramnagaram renamed a part of the town as Sippynagar after the name of the director, Ramesh Sippy.
The filmmakers had to build a road from the Bangalore highway to Ramanagaram for an easy access to the sets. Even to this day, a visit to the "Sholay rocks" (where the movie was shot) is a key feature for tourists travelling through Ramanagaram (on the road between Bangalore and Mysore).
Mac Mohan who played “Samba” had to come many times from Bombay again and again to shoot for his part. Sadly only one scene of his was there in the movie, but he was destined to be famous with that scene only.
The film showcased two real life romances. Amitabh married Jaya Bhaduri, who played the widowed daughter-in-law, in 1973, during the filming. And Dharmendra married Hema Malini in 1980, five years after the release of the film.
