50 years of Sholay: Farhan Akhtar reveals original ending had Gabbar’s death

Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini and Dharmendra starrer Sholay is undoubtedly one of the cult classic films of Indian cinema. The film released in 1975 was directed by Ramesh Sippy. To date, it is celebrated for its gripping narrative and memorable performances. As Sholay clocks 50 years of release this Independence Day, Farhan Akhtar shares an interesting trivia of how Salim-Javed had to change the ending and they were unhappy with it.

Farhan Akhtar on Sholay ending

Promoting his upcoming film 120 Bahadur on Prakhar Gupta’s podcast, the actor spoke about the film and told, “The emotional core of the film was very strong, the entire narrative of Thakur plotting his revenge after his hands were cut. We get lost in the Jai Veeru conversation, but the spine of the film was the honest police officer who goes after a dacoit after he kills his family. He hires these two good-for-nothing people, and in the original ending he actually kills Gabbar. They had to change it due to the Emergency, and the original ending is now available. That is actually when he cries, after crushing Gabbar with his own feet."

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Farhan Akhtar (@faroutakhtar)

The film was written by the popular Salim-Javed duo, who were unhappy with the ending. Akhtar shares, “When Dad and Salim Sahab had to change the ending, they were wondering about everyone showing up, including the villagers, the police, and the protagonists. They joked that the only person missing now is a postman. The ending and the police showing up didn’t make sense to them, but they had to change it; they had no choice."

Even the side characters stood out, he said, speaking of the iconic film. “The film just leaves a huge impact on you. The way it was mounted and all the characters were fun. It wasn’t as if it was just Jai and Veeru who were exciting. The jailer, Surma Bhopali, Gabbar, and Basanti were all great characters. It was a massive hit."

About Sholay

Released in 1975, Sholay redefined action genre in Indian cinema. It is a tale of friendship, romance, drama, revenge and much more. The film featured an ensemble cast including Jaya Bachchan, Amjad Khan, Sanjeev Kumar, Jaya Bachchan and many others. Recently, Hema Malini reacted to the milestone and claimed that making Sholay 2 is difficult.