All of us have seen
this movie 'n' number of times but still no one misses it
watching it once more. A perfect blend of comedy, action drama
and emotion.
HERE ARE SOME FACTS THAT YOU GUYS WOULD HAVE NOT BEEN AWARE
OF:
The scene in which Jai brings Veeru’s marriage proposal
to Basanti’s mausi was inspired by a real-life incident.
Scriptwriter Javed Akhtar, who was in love with actress Honey
Irani, requested his partner Salim Khan to meet her mother
Perin Irani on his behalf. The conversation that took place
between Salim and Perin was incorporated, almost verbatim,
into the film’s script. (Javed, however, didn’t
resort to climbing a tanki to clinch the issue!).
A stroke of luck — Danny’s refusal — got
Amjad Khan Gabbar’s part. Realising the importance of
this big break, he prepared for the role thus: "Amjad
devoured ‘Abhishapth Chambal’, a book on Chambal
dacoits. . . He marked out the pages on the real-life Gabbar.
. . He remembered a dhobi from his childhood days who used
to call out to his wife : ‘Arre O Shanti.’ The
lilt in Gabbar’s ‘Arre O Sambha’ came from
this dhobi."
While on-camera it was Gabbar who spread terror among the
people of Ramgarh, off-camera it was Nefertiti, an Egyptian
mare, who proved a nightmare for crew members. Renamed Nafrati
for her ferocity, she threw almost everyone who tried to mount
her, including Amjad Khan and Dharmendra. (The poor fellow
who bore the brunt of her tantrums was Viju "Kaalia"
Khote.)
"Sholay" was Sippys’ greatest gamble, which,
against heavy odds, paid off handsomely. Made at a staggering
budget of around Rs 3 crore, the film grossed approximately
Rs 35 crore during its first run. It ran for about five years
at Mumbai’s Minerva theatre (a record only recently
broken by "Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge" at Maratha
Mandir in the city). Among the actors, the biggest beneficiary
was Amjad Khan. By playing, rather living, the role of Gabbar,
he rocketed to stardom overnight. Even actors who had minuscule
roles became quite popular. Macmohan (Sambha) uttered just
three words in the film, "Poore pachaas hajaar"
— but they were enough to bring him instant fame. |
