As ‘Sholay’, one of the biggest milestones in Indian cinema, turns 50 this year, Hema Malini is feeling nostalgic, and ready to share it with the next generation in her family.
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Hema Malini on ‘Sholay’: As ‘Sholay’, one of the biggest milestones in Indian cinema, turns 50 this year, Hema Malini is feeling nostalgic, and ready to share it with the next generation in her family. The veteran actress, who immortalised the role of Basanti, says her grandchildren have not yet watched the cult classic.
Speaking to IANS, she shared, “I don’t think my grandchildren have seen ‘Sholay’. But now that it has completed fifty years, I will definitely make them watch it. I’ll arrange a special screening in the mini theatre at my home one day.”
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The actress also recalled how she initially had mixed feelings about her role in the film. After delivering a blockbuster performance in ‘Seeta Aur Geeta’, Hema was surprised when director Ramesh Sippy offered her the part of Basanti.
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“When ‘Sholay’ was offered to me, Ramesh Sippy said, ‘There are many characters in this film, and you are one of them.’ I felt a little disappointed, wondering why my role wasn’t bigger,” she admitted. However, Sippy convinced her that Basanti’s character would leave a lasting impact.
Hema decided to trust his vision. “I had faith in him, so I agreed. On the first day of shooting, he told me the role was unlike anything I had done before. It wasn’t exactly like Geeta in ‘Seeta Aur Geeta’, but it had its own charm. Then they explained my long, continuous dialogues, which I had to deliver without a break. That’s when I realised the beauty of the role, it was witty and added a sense of relief in the otherwise intense film.”
Released on August 15, 1975, ‘Sholay’ didn’t get an explosive start at the box office. But soon, word-of-mouth turned it into a record-breaking phenomenon.
From its gripping action sequences to its timeless music, ‘Sholay’ became the gold standard of Hindi cinema. The shooting took place over two years in Ramanagara, a town near Bengaluru, where an entire fictional village, Ramgarh, was built for the film.
Today, half a century later, ‘Sholay’ is still a part of India’s cultural fabric, with fans across generations.
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