It's hard to find a Bollywood film that surpasses Sholay in terms of impact, legacy, and cinematic brilliance. Released in 1975 and directed by Ramesh Sippy, this iconic film remains a cult classic, featuring a star-studded cast including Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Hema Malini, and Jaya Bachchan. The movie's gripping storyline, unforgettable dialogues, and memorable characters, such as the villain Gabbar Singh (played by Amjad Khan), set benchmarks for generations of filmmakers and actors.
Recently, actor Sachin Pilgaonkar, who portrayed the character Ahmed in the movie, shared fascinating insights about the behind-the-scenes process. He revealed that while director Ramesh Sippy helmed the critical scenes involving the main stars, he and Amjad Khan were given the responsibility of overseeing some action sequences. These sequences didn’t feature the lead actors but were important filler shots.
According to Pilgaonkar, "Rameshji decided to have a second unit to film action scenes that didn’t involve the main cast. For this, he brought in Mohammed Ali Bhai, a renowned stunt director, and action director Azim Bhai, along with two Hollywood experts, Jim and Jerry." Pilgaonkar humorously shared how he and Amjad Khan, who were not engaged in major scenes at the time, were asked to assist.
“We were the two bekaar (useless) people in the unit, so Rameshji asked us to take charge of those shots,” he recalled in a conversation with Kunal Vijaykar on the YouTube channel Khane .