Dharmendra almost shot Amitabh Bachchan with a real bullet on Sholay sets

Sholay is one of the most iconic Indian films of all time. Ramesh Sippy, the director of the iconic film, shared an interesting anecdote from the sets of the film where Bollywood veteran Amitabh Bachchan narrowly escaped a fatal injury when his co-star Dharmendra accidentally fired a gun. This happened during the shooting of the climax scene in Sholay.

Dharmendra almost shot Amitabh Bachchan

While talking to News18, the filmmaker shared, “It happened while filming the climax. That was the one in which he picked up the bullets, stuffed them in… and in this shot, he was not supposed to fire… He was just expected to load the gun. But what he did was put the gun up and fired, Amitabh Bachchan was standing up there as it was his position–at the edge of the cliff, and the bullet whizzed past him."

Sippy further added how the action cameraman Jim Allen refused to continue shooting following the incident, and that the filming was resumed only after Dharmendra apologised to Bachchan and Allen.

He shared, “Jim Allen, the action cameraman, said, `I will not shoot. He said if actors behave like this. It can`t happen on my set. I don`t want any accident to take place.` That day, the shooting was cancelled, and we obviously looked after him, cooled him off. We made Dharmendra also understand that it`s okay to get into the mood, but you cannot shoot when there`s a possibility of accidents. He understood. He apologised to Jim and Amit ji. They worked it out. Obviously, it was not intentional; it just happened."

About Sholay

Often hailed as the greatest Bollywood film of all time, Sholay brings together action, drama and comedy. The story circles around two criminals, Veeru, played by Dharmendra and Jai, played by Amitabh Bachchan. The two are hired by a retired police officer, Thakur Baldev Singh (Sanjeev Kumar), to catch a ruthless bandit, Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan).

A restored version of Sholay was screened at the International Film Festival of Sydney earlier this year, with an alternate climax to mark the 50th anniversary of the film`s release. Similarly, a restored, uncut version was also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in September as part of the film’s 50th anniversary celebrations.

Interestingly, Dharmendra once revealed that he played a decisive role in casting Amitabh Bachchan in the film. During an interaction with ANI, he shared, "Bachchan would often visit during shoots. I noticed something unique about him, his voice, his presence, and his inner drive," urging Ramesh Sippy to cast the then-rising actor as Jai.