Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Dharmendra and Hema Malini came up with mega multi starrer film ‘Sholay’ in 1975. The craze that it created is still intact and you can recheck it by just uttering ‘Sholay’ in front of your parents! Good or bad, everyone from that era has an opinion on the cult Ramesh Sippy film. From its magnanimity to its star cast to its dialogues to its music, every aspect had its own fanbase. But there are a few facts hidden behind this blockbuster film that will again tell you that every film has its own fate.

Fact #1

Next time before you mouth the dialogue ‘Kitne aadmi the’, always remember that the scene was given an ‘OK’ only after 40 retakes originally.

Fact #2

Did you know that Jai and Veeru actually did exist in real life? Well, sort of. Salim Khan, the screenwriter of the film (yes, bhai’s dad) had these two friends in college named Veerandar Singh Bias and Jai Singh Rao Kalevar. So, now you know where that name suggestion came up from.

Fact #3

Original Gabbar was Danny Denzongpa and not Amjad Khan. However, Feroz Khan's Dharmatma kept Danny busy in Afghanistan and here we got the best villain of the millennium.

Fact #4

So, this Gabbar who scared away little kids in Ramgad has only 9 scenes in the actual film. Now, you know the power of his performance in such a short span of screen space.

Fact #5

We all still sing the song ‘Ye Dostiiiii hum nahiiii todenge’ just as easily as breathing. But it took 21 days for the makers to shoot this song. Maybe, that’s why it is still ruling everyone’s hearts.

Fact #6

So, Dharmendra wanted to play the proud and iconic inspector, ‘Thakur’. However, when he got to know that Veeru gets the girl in the end, he gave away the role which went to Sanjeev Kumar. Btw, Sanjeev Kumar had just proposed to Hema Malini before starting the shoot.

Fact #7

The original climax of Sholay had Jai alive and Thakur killing Gabbar. However, the censor board found it ‘too violent’ and asked to alter it to handing Gabbar to the police according to the law. Also, the mild response to the film made the makers change the climax and Jai was shown dead. That created history!

Well, we are 43 years away from the actual day of release but still remember the film like the back of the hand. Mention of Hindi cinema is incomplete without this film. Let us take our time to appreciate the team before we go back to mouthing dialogues like ‘yeh haath mujhe dede Thakur’ or ‘Basantiii, in kutton ke samne mat naachna!’

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 15, 2018 05:02 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).