It’s been 35 years and there is no doubt that anyone and everyone associated with the film will always have Sholay in their hearts. Right from day one to 35 years later, every cast and crew still remembers every detail about the movie and all the effort that went into making it.
Here is Amitabh Bachchan reliving his most cherished memories of Sholay.
What Sholay is: Because of Sholay and its magnificence and longevity today, everything about it feels so much larger than life. It gave a feeling that an almost endless film was being made through endless time and the beautiful way it was made in. Jaya and I decided to get married after we said yes to Sholay and during the film she carried our first child. We often tease Shweta saying that she worked in Sholay as there were several shots of Jaya in the film where she was carrying her.
The scenes Jaya was pregnant: The initial part of the film when I meet Jaya to give her some keys. Then in another scene when Jaya catches me trying to open the safe and steal money. Both these times she was heavily pregnant.
The crew and action: Ramesh Sippy had gone to lengths no one had. He introduced foreign technology, stunt coordinators came all the way from England. He introduced us to gadgets and gimmicks which were contemporary to the time we used them in. Very often we would almost get ourselves killed jumping off rooftops in reality breaking legs, arms and having heads injuries. They taught us a safe way of doing all this and it was absolutely exciting to watch it.
A bright day after disaster: I remember we all flew down to Bangalore to do a schedule but unfortunately when we landed there, it started raining and it wasn’t clearing up. So we sat in our hotel rooms for a day and then two but even on the third day it wouldn't stop raining. We were all sitting in the dining area and I just told Rameshji that this weather isn’t going to clear up anytime soon. The weather we want is ideally in London right now and he said fine, lets go to London. Immediately the next day, the entire crew and cast were going off to London. It was just a marvelous atmosphere made better with marvelous colleagues and a fantastic cast.
The Sippys: It was fantastic working with our great producer who always wanted to do something different, something big. He has a great eye for detail and until he gets it right, he would spend hours, days, and months to perfect it. The shot of Jaya lighting the candle was done over 3 years, would you believe it? Every time the shot was attempted Mr. Divecha, the cinematographer would say, that he wants the sun to be at a particular angle for the correct light to come in when she's putting off the lights. But every time we'd go there, something would go wrong the sun would set or the lighting would go wrong. So, that shot went on for almost 3 years to attain perfection.
The first hearing: It only feels like yesterday when Salim Javed narrated the film to us. I had just finished 'Zanjeer' with them. The only new comer was Amjad bhai.
The best of everything: I have so many great memories of Sholay that’s difficult to choose from. The camaraderie between Dharamji and me was great. We didn't realise it was going to be so historical.
The verdict and a risk: Sholay released on Friday and on Saturday we realised it wasn't doing well in the beginning. A lot of people said that me dying in the film should be re-shot, and be released again on Monday. Units were called in from Chennai to reach Bangalore immediately and we were all set to leave and re-shoot. But later Ramesh Sippy said let's just wait for a day before we re-shoot the climax and the rest is history!
35 Years later: Sholay has become a classic on its own and not just revered in the country but outside the country as well. Any reference to Indian cinema outside India Sholay is always mentioned. The biggest film ever in many respects, I am just happy to be a part of it.
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