Ramesh Sippy at the Sholay masterclass at Purple Movie Town on Saturday

Question: In the train sequence that introduces Jai and Veeru, Dharmendra can be seen with a bottle in hand. Was he drinking for real?

Ramesh Sippy (with a grin): Not in that sequence!

Many such Sholay snippets, the 1975 classic that has now become a watershed in Indian cinema, came to the fore, courtesy a masterclass presided over by its maker Ramesh Sippy at Purple Movie Town on Saturday.

Highlights from the four-hour session attended by film students and Sholay fans and moderated by Amaresh Chakraburtty, professor and head of the department, direction & screenplay writing, Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute.

All dacoit films till Sholay used to be set somewhere around the Chambal area. Why did you choose Ramanagaram in Karnataka to shoot the film?

Sippy: We felt that Chambal as a setting had been exploited too much and we wanted to set the film in a different landscape without taking anything away from the ruggedness in terms of terrain that the script demanded. The art direction team zeroed in on Ramanagaram. They went there and got hundreds of stills of the terrain, came back and laid them out at different angles and showed it to me. I immediately felt that we were on to something good. The film is actually supposed to be a milieu of northern India, somewhere in Uttar Pradesh, but Ramanagaram is such a setting that it could have been anywhere in India.

Also, Sholay was the first film to be shot in the 70mm format. About 75 to 80 per cent of the film was shot twice, in 35mm and 70mm. The camera was so heavy that it actually took time and effort to move it around and that actually contributed to the film’s languid look.

Sholay begins and ends with a train sequence. Was this a device to show the journey of the characters and the film as a whole?

Sippy: It is. The sequence at the beginning when the policeman alights from the train and we see him crossing the landscape on a horse is actually very timeless. It could have been any time. The train sequence at the end actually signifies that the journey has come full circle.

Most of the dialogues — especially between Veeru (Dharmendra) and Jai (Amitabh Bachchan) — were anti-establishment. Was it deliberate, considering the film released during the Emergency?

Sippy: It wasn’t deliberate in that sense, but yes, the dialogues were a little derisive in tone in some places. It’s a norm where there is power, there is always misuse of it and the establishment at that time couldn’t be questioned in the way it used its power. The film, in some way, rebelled against that. Having said that, the dialogues of Sholay are remembered even today and my salutations to (writers) Salim-Javed for that.

The train sequence that introduces Jai and Veeru, though very iconic, is extremely long and almost like the climax of the film. What was the thought behind it?

Sippy: Well, we did want a very powerful introduction scene for Jai and Veeru and honestly, we couldn’t have gone shorter than this. I remember Dilip Kumar watching the sequence at the premiere of the film and then telling me: ‘If this is the opening of the film, how will you carry the rest of it? This is as good as the climax!’ That remark made me very nervous as well as very happy.

What was the story behind the characterisation of Gabbar and why did you cast Amjad Khan in that role?

Sippy: The character of Gabbar was written in a way that it would invariably turn out to be the most colourful. Danny Denzongpa was signed for the role, but his dates clashed with those he had allotted for Feroz Khan’s Dharmatma that was being shot in Afghanistan. We couldn’t do anything because all other stars had allotted their dates and so Danny had to opt out. It was then that Salim and Javed suggested Amjad Khan’s name. The rest, as you know, is history. A lot of Amjad went into Gabbar as also a lot of Gabbar into Amjad! Today, we can’t imagine anyone else but him in the role.

Was it true that Dharmendra suggested Amitabh Bachchan’s name for the film?

Sippy: It was actually Salim-Javed who suggested his name strongly since they had just worked with him in Zanjeer. Thereafter, Dharamji also suggested that Mr Bachchan would be perfect for the role. I had watched his films Bombay to Goa and Anand and was impressed with his range as an actor.

Didn’t you ever think of making a sequel?

Sippy: If I had thought of it, I would have made it by now! I don’t think Sholay really needed a sequel. I didn’t have anything more to say.

Finally, why the title Sholay?

Sippy: Sholay means ‘ember’ and signifies the simmering fire of revenge and anger in the Thakur’s heart. The title also finds symbolism in Jai’s funeral pyre at the end.