Interesting facts about Old Sholay

[Ramu]

• A remake starring Amitabh Bachchan, Mohanlal, and Ajay Devgan is expected to be released on July 13 2007.
• Sanjeev Kumar wanted to play Gabbar Singh, but the producers insisted that he play the police officer.
• Dharmendra was interested in playing Gabbar Singh, but changed his mind when Ramesh Sippy told him Basanti was to be played by Hema Malini.
• The director’s original choice for Jaidev too was different. Shatrughan Sinha was almost signed, when Dharmendra convinced the producers that Amitabh would be the right choice.
• The producers wanted Danny Denzongpa to play the bandit chief, but he was committed to Feroz Khan’s “Dharmatma”. Amjad Khan was a second choice.
• The scene in which Thakur’s family is killed was cut by the censor board; the murder of a small child was deemed too horrific to show.
• The film showcased two real life romances. Amitabh married Jaya Bhaduri, who played the widowed daughter-in-law, in 1973, during the filming. Dharmendra married Hema Malini in 1980, five years after the release of the film.
• Amjad Khan prepared to play a bandit chief by reading a book titled Abhishapth Chambal, which told of the exploits of Chambal dacoits. The book was written by Taroon Bhaduri, who happened to be the father of Jaya Bhaduri.
• The screenwriters, Salim-Javed, named Veeru and Jai after a couple of Salim’s college friends.
• According to some sources Sholay has always been the number one grossing film of all time, in the Indian film industry.
• From September 1 through September 5, 2006, the Walter Reade Theater of New York City’s Lincoln Center, held screenings of “Sholay.” The film is said to be one of the favorite’s of the Theater’s program director, Richard Peña.
• MacMohan is most remembered for his role as the dacoit Sambha, though the character had only one dialogue in the edited version of the whole film! The Unedited version saw him had one more dialogue with his collegues while playing cards and just before kidnapping Sachin.
• In a 2007 regional remake of the film, Shalindra Sen’s Malwa Ke Sholay, ‘Gabbar’ the dacoit falls in love with the female protagonist Basanti, who is forced to submit to his advances. She is not accepted back into her family. Gabbar feels guilty for “victimising” and decides to reform himself. The movie, Sen claims, addresses the social evil of the traditional ostracisation of women.

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