When Dharmendra insisted on playing Gabbar or Thakur, Sholay director Ramesh Sippy responded, "Hema Malini nahi milegi."

Ramesh Sippy is working on a documentary about his landmark film Sholay (1975), which was released fifty years ago. Following his insistence that he had discussed the film enough over the previous fifty years, he consented to an exclusive interview with SCREEN regarding the casting choice, the film's enduring legacy, contentious ending, impending restoration, and his directing ambitions. The film starred Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan, Dharmendra and Hema Malini, and Sanjeev Kumar.Seeta Aur Geeta was delivered in accordance with the requirements. It provided the returns in line with that. For me, the experience was just as amazing as Sholay's. When I'm making a film, I give it my all. Sholay, of course, had a larger canvas. Given that it was an action movie with an outdoor setting, it was a massive 70 mm experience. Why would Salim-Javed be unable to deliver in Sholay if they could in Seeta Aur Geeta? Characters, settings, and circumstances are all part of writing. Who could have done a better job creating Gabbar?As the Angry Young Man, Salim-Javed's name is synonymous with Amitabh Bachchan.

A few years before to Sholay, Prakash Mehra's Zanjeer (1973), their debut collaboration, had been released. Sholay came out the same year as Yash Chopra's Deewaar (1975). Did Bachchan not play the Angry Young Man in your movie worry you?He kept to himself. He differed from the flamboyant Dharmendra ji in that regard. Bachchan was more reserved, but his facial expressions spoke it all. With the exception of the song "Yeh Dosti Hum Nahin," he didn't have to be as loud. Otherwise, only Jaya Bachchan and Amit ji could portray that kind of relationship with the lamp's lighting. While feeling the emotions they did, they kept their distance because it was the appropriate thing to do. This was silent love and admiration. They did a wonderful job of communicating what I desired.