Director Ramesh Sippy‘s 1975 film Sholay became a cultural phenomenon. With its star-studded cast, including Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Sanjeev Kumar, Jaya Bachchan, and Amjad Khan, the action-adventure blockbuster continues to mesmerise audiences even 49 years after its release.
During an interview with Khaane Mein Kya Hai, actor-director Sachin Pilgaonkar, who played a small role in the film, shared some behind-the-scenes stories from his time as an assistant director on Sholay.He recalled that Ramesh Sippy would only come to direct scenes involving the lead stars like Amitabh, Dharmendra, and Sanjeev.
“Rameshji decided to have a second unit to do some action sequences which 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,” Sachin said.
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He mentioned that Ramesh Sippy was aware of both his and Amjad Khan’s interest in directing, which played a role in Sippy’s decision to have them represent him on set. He humorously remarked that it was like a blind man asking for one eye but receiving two, indicating how fortunate they were to get the opportunity. This role allowed Sachin to remain on set, even when the second unit wasn’t filming.
Sachin also revealed that the famous train robbery scene, shot near Panvel along the Bombay–Poona railway route, was filmed without 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,” he added.