Sholay‘ is perhaps the biggest hit and the most loved film of Hindi cinema. The characters have now become iconic and everything about the movie is rememebered till date. The film which starred Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Jaya Bachchan, Hema Malini was directed by Ramesh Sippy and written the Salim Khan, Javed Akhtar (Salim-Javed). However, did you know that when it initially released, it was declared a huge flop? A documentary series on legendary writer duo Salim-Javed has now been unveiled and in this, Salim, Javed revealed some indepth details about this film and the post-release phenomenon.
Salim Khan said in this series, ‘Angry Young Men‘, “Sippy saab wanted to make a big film after the success of Seeta aur Geeta.We narrated the story of Majboor to him, but he insisted he wanted to make a big film.”
Akhtar recalled, “Sholay’s location had turned into a township. A factory that made various gadgets was set up already. Say, a scene was to be shot where Dharam ji is singing on a cycle, they would make the equipment so that it could move on one wheel. So, the scale of this picture was unprecedented. We were worried that why are the trade papers totally slashing the film?”
The writer recalled being told that the characterisation was not right, the scenes were bad, the film was gruesome for women. Hence, with these reviews coming in, there was an emergency meeting between Sippy, Salim-Javed and Bachchan. “Ramesh ji said that we should think of changing the ending so that you don’t die, but you should live.” Javed added, “We told him not to worry. Let them say what they want to. This is going to be a super hit. It’s all nonsense.” Amitabh said that Ramesh Sippy suggested that they wait till Monday. He said, “After Monday, it became history. Didn’t it?”
Salim Javed are a huge factor behind Amitabh Bachchan’s ‘Angry young man’ image as they wrote many roles for him – right from ‘Deewar’ to ‘Don’ to ‘Sholay’ and ‘Zanjeer’. The documentary which began streaming on August 20, takes us through the life and experiences of Salim Javed and the reason why they split amidst more.
Salim Khan said in this series, ‘Angry Young Men‘, “Sippy saab wanted to make a big film after the success of Seeta aur Geeta.We narrated the story of Majboor to him, but he insisted he wanted to make a big film.”
Akhtar recalled, “Sholay’s location had turned into a township. A factory that made various gadgets was set up already. Say, a scene was to be shot where Dharam ji is singing on a cycle, they would make the equipment so that it could move on one wheel. So, the scale of this picture was unprecedented. We were worried that why are the trade papers totally slashing the film?”
The writer recalled being told that the characterisation was not right, the scenes were bad, the film was gruesome for women. Hence, with these reviews coming in, there was an emergency meeting between Sippy, Salim-Javed and Bachchan. “Ramesh ji said that we should think of changing the ending so that you don’t die, but you should live.” Javed added, “We told him not to worry. Let them say what they want to. This is going to be a super hit. It’s all nonsense.” Amitabh said that Ramesh Sippy suggested that they wait till Monday. He said, “After Monday, it became history. Didn’t it?”
Salim Javed are a huge factor behind Amitabh Bachchan’s ‘Angry young man’ image as they wrote many roles for him – right from ‘Deewar’ to ‘Don’ to ‘Sholay’ and ‘Zanjeer’. The documentary which began streaming on August 20, takes us through the life and experiences of Salim Javed and the reason why they split amidst more.