Indian filmmaker Ramesh Sippy revealed that veteran star Dharmendra had initially refused the role of Veeru in his cult classic ‘Sholay’.
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One of the most influential Indian films of all time, Ramesh Sippy’s cult classic, written by veteran duo Salim-Javed and produced by G.P. Sippy, ‘Sholay’ was headlined by Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Jaya Bachchan, Hema Malini, Sanjeev Kumar and Amjad Khan.
In a new interview with an Indian entertainment outlet, Sippy detailed how the casting of these actors happened for the iconic roles of their careers.
Speaking of Malini, who played Basanti in the masala flick, the veteran revealed that she was apprehensive about it given the length of the role, especially after her hit outing in ‘Seeta Aur Geeta’. “When the role was narrated to her in detail, with final dialogues, she put in a lot of effort to do justice to the role,” Sippy recalled.
Not just Malini, Sippy revealed that it wasn’t easier to get her now-husband Dharmendra either for Veeru. He recalled the actor saying, “This is the story of Thakur and he is fighting against Gabbar. What will we do?” to which the filmmaker replied, “Fine. Either do Thakur or Gabbar’s role but then you won’t get Hema Malini,” and he agreed.
Sippy further shared that it wasn’t as challenging to sign Bachchan for the other half of Jai-Veeru as he had come after a string of flops.
As for Gabbar Singh, Sippy divulged that Danny Denzongpa was almost in for the iconic role but had to opt out due to date issues, and Khan was signed instead.
