Javed Akhtar on 50 Years of 'Sholay': The Film Has Become Part of The Psyche of India
'Sholay' is a part of the psyche of India, says Javed Akhtar, and even a character who has spoken three words in the film is remembered after 50 years.
It’s been half a century since Sholay first hit cinemas in India, and yet the sheer reverence for the film hasn’t waned in the slightest. The dialogues, the characters, the costumes — they’re etched into the psyche of generations.
In conversation with The Hollywood Reporter India, Javed Akhtar, one half of the legendary screenwriting duo Salim-Javed — Salim Khan was his writing partner on Sholay — reflects on the alternate paths the story could have taken, the stubborn choices that shaped its legacy, and his personal detachment from the past — even a past as glorified as Sholay.
What if Jai Had Lived, or Thakur Had His Hands?
If Jai (Amitabh Bachchan) had not [died] he would have married Radha (Jaya Bachchan), because Radha’s father-in-law had agreed that they should get married; there was no one to stop them. Both of them were attracted to each other, they would’ve lived happily ever after. [While Veeru (Dharmendra) and Basanti (Hema Malini) would have lived] as happy as an average married couple would; no more, no less.
Also, if Thakur (Sanjeev Kumar) hadn’t arrested them in Jamalpur and taken them on that train, he’d never have met them; he’d never have invited them. [Thakur’s hands being cut off] happened — that is how the [climax was able to happen]. If this had not happened, the story would have been different; maybe better, maybe worse. But it wouldn’t have been the story you’ve loved for 50 years.
On Letting Go of the Past Without Romanticising It
[Salim and I were against the idea that] the film didn’t work because Jai’s dead. We said it was wrong; and we proved that we were right, and they [the critics and audience] were wrong. I don’t go back; I don’t like to go back. Very rarely does it becomes a dinner-table [conversation]. It’s done, it’s gone — what’s the point of sitting on your past laurels? There are certain characters that have stayed with me, and one of them is Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan). And even if some films didn’t do very well, I’m very happy with its characters; like the character Anil [Kapoor] played in Mashaal (1984), or [the titular character in] Arjun (1985), or Mogambo [from Mr. India (1987). [Those were all] very good characters. But should I keep thinking about [those characters]? There’s no point. That is done; it’s like having successful children. I have a daughter doing well, I have a son doing well. Should I constantly drop pride that they’re doing well and not do anything else? The same way, your product — whether it’s a painting, an article, or a film — once it’s in the public domain, it develops its own personality, and has a direct relationship with the audience. A successful song or a successful film are not only successful because someone has made them; but many people have appreciated them and found connections with themselves and their experiences. So, to own the success of a film totally is not a fair thing to do. That is gone, it is the past. You can’t live with that.
The Enduring Magic of Sholay, and What Made it Work
I do appreciate one thing — people who have said in their interviews that ‘Sholay is not a great film’; nahi hogi — I don’t know what the criteria is for a mainstream film to be great, [it doesn’t matter to me]. What is interesting is that there have been popular films like Gone with the Wind (1939), Star Wars (1977) and The Godfather (1972), all of which have a number of characters that are remembered by people after so many years. But that list of memorable characters is the longest in Sholay. There is no other film where even a character delivering one line is remembered after 50 years. Leaving aside [the main characters], people remember Mausi; people remember Kaalia; people remember Sambha. They remember characters who have spoken just three words in the film. I don’t think there is any [film] like that in the world. [The minor characters] are today used in standup comedy, in the dialogues of other films, in political speeches, in articles. It has become a part of the psyche of India. You can’t name any other picture that has achieved this.
The only thing is that when you create [something] with your whole heart, total joy and excitement, and discovering your own vocabulary and understanding — that is a [high] that comes in a creative person’s life very rarely. And if you achieve that high, it ultimately touches the audience too. But it cannot happen every day, it just happens sometimes. You find charisma when you confront it; you can’t define it.
I’m thankful, but at the same time it doesn’t make me [feel] very excited. This picture has not [become] a superhit because of the people that have made it; it’s because of] the audience who loved it, kept watching it, and remembered it. Without them, Sholay would not be where it is.
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