Sholay is undoubtedly on of the most loved Hindi movies of all time even after five decades of its release. The movie is all set to premiere at the Il Cinema Ritrovato Festival in Bologna, Italy and this showcases Sholay’s impact on global cinema. For the unversed, an original restored and uncut version of Ramesh Sippy’s directorial will be shown at the film festival and Indian audience might not aware of the original ending that was planned by the makers.
Sholay Original Ending Explained:
In the original ending, Thakur was supposed to kill Gabbar Singh with his spiked shoes. However, this was changed to Jai (Amitabh Bachchan) being killed in the end and Thakur only attacking Gabbar with his spiked shoes. Gabbar is arrested by the police but Jai’s death left the fans heartbroken.
While speaking to Subhash K Jha, Amitabh Bachchan revealed that he begged Salim-Javed to let him do the role of Gabbar but he eventually did Jai’s role. He said, “When I heard the script I begged Salim Saab and Javed Saab and later Ramesh Sippyji to let me play Gabbar. That should answer your question. I knew that it would be very popular and liked. Amjad and I met on the sets of Sholay and remained dear friends till his passing.”
Why Sholay’s Ending Was Changed:
According to Financial Express, Sholay’s ending was changed due to censorship issues. Censor Board reportedly felt that the scene where Thakur killed Gabbar did not seem right as he was an honest police officer. They allegedly called the climax violent and Ramesh Sippy had to change it.
Sholay stars Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjeev Kumar, Amjad Khan, Hema Malini and Jaya Bachchan in the lead roles. The movie was a huge success at the time of its release and became the highest grossing film of that year.
