Filmmaker Ramesh Sippy is dedicating the 4K version of Sholay – The Final Cut to the late actor Dharmendra, who passed away on November 24. The team had “some big plans” to rerelease the iconic film in Indian cinemas after it completes 50 years on August 15, but the passing of its leading hero Veeru has led to a more subdued theatrical release this Friday.
The filmmaker says, “We will miss him (Dharmendra) dearly. Unfortunately, he passed away as did Amjad Khan, Sanjeev Kumar in earlier times, then Asrani recently and others have also passed away. But, all their work will be there forever. So, they live through the film now.”
Sippy adds, “There were plans; we wanted to make a splash, but it wasn’t appropriate. The film is a celebration for everyone, so why not look at it that way? His contribution—now that people will see the film—will come to the forefront. It will revive those memories, and we will say, ‘Oh God, he just passed away, and he has done wonders. The kind of enthusiasm like lines and character he brought in his way was amazing!”
He recalls meeting the legendary actor sometime back. “I did meet him once, but he was unwell but didn’t want to disturb him,” says Sippy.
The film was showcased at the 50th annual Toronto International Film Festival (Canada) and now it hit screens in India. The premier at the 56th International Film Festival of India, Goa, was cancelled in November due to some “technical reasons”.
On what makes Sholay class apart even Sippy does not have an answer. “Nobody can decode Sholay! There is something that connects the audience across generations and had I found the secret then would have made several Sholays by now!” he says and adds, “Music, dance, friendship, romance, drama, action – everything was in abundance and the packaging was good. Salim-Javed’s writing, actors were marvellous in each role, RB Burman’s music – all put together brought out the best and my job was made easier because of that. Captaining the ship like that was a delight”.
The filmmaker adds, “Back in ’70s it was tough to bring technology to create stereophonic sound, 70mm print but today due to advanced technology we were able to restore it in Italy and make it modern.”
