Sachin Pilgaonkar recently revealed how he and actor Amjad Khan directed sequences in Sholay in the absence of director Ramesh Sippy for the Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra-starrer
Sachin Pilgaonkar and Ramesh Sippy
The film 'Sholay' was released in he year 1975. Even though it has been decades since the film hit the big screen for the first time, its impact on the cinematic landscape of India has not reduced. The film directed by Ramesh Sippy starred Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjeev Kumar, Dharmendra, Amjad Khan, Hema Malini, Jaya Bachchan in pivotal roles. The film, a revenge drama, is till date remembered for its characters, power-packed dialogues, plots, and even songs.
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Recently, Sachin Pilgaonkar who was a part of the film as an actor and assistant director revealed that Ramesh Sippy only directed scenes involving Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjeev Kumar, and Dharmendra.
“Rameshji decided to have a second unit to do some action sequences that don’t feature the main stars. These were just passing shots. For this, he had a director of stunt films, Mohammed Ali bhai. He was a renowned stunt filmmaker, and with him was an action director, Azim bhai. And the latter got two guys from Hollywood, Jim and Jerry. He (Ramesh) wanted two persons to represent him because these people came from other countries. How would they know about the film and what’s happening? At that time, there were only two bekaar (useless) people in the unit: one was Amjad Khan and the other one was me,” he said during a chat with the YouTube channel Khaane Mein Kya Hai. Amjad Khan played Gabbar in the film and Sachin too appeared in the film as Ahmed.
Sachin further revealed that Sippy was aware of his and Amjad's interest in the directorial department. “He asked us if we liked to represent him. Andha maange ek aankh, suddenly usko do mil gaya (the blind man asked for one eye, but suddenly he got two),” he said, adding that this opportunity allowed him to stay on set even when the second unit was not doing the filming work.
Sachin revealed that the train robbery scene which was shot along the Bombay-Poona railway route was filmed in the absence of Ramesh Sippy. “He was supposed to come only when Dharamji, Amitji and Hari bhai (Sanjeev) had work. Rameshji shot those portions, and we handled the remaining scenes,” Sachin added.
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