Meet the characters of Sholay

Celebrating 35 years in Indian Cinema, re-introducing the characters of Sholay.

Such was the power of Sholay that every role in the movie was memorable. Here is a look at some of them...

Jai
Jai is the strong silent and stoic kinds. But don't be fooled, the sarcastic humour is always at his lips. Amitabh Bachchan's character would be completely amiss without his trademark 'coin'. At the time, the crew was apprehensive of bringing Bachchan to play Jai because he was a relative newcomer in the industry.

Veeru
Sholay's Veeru, played by Dharmendra, is nothing but trouble. His love for Basanti, foolish antics and quirky fun-loving behaviour had the masses cheering him on. Of course, the scene with him at the top of the water tank, threatening to commit suicide, is legendary.

Thakur Baldev Singh
Sanjeev Kumar had a very tough role to play. The challenge was to emote without the advantage of body language, given that he had no arms. With his brilliant performance, he had attained whole-hearted empathy of the audience.

Basanti
Hema Malini's Basanti can be compared to a non-stop automatic verbal gun. This infamous buggy driver talks so much that it warrants the viewer to gasp for breath on behalf of her. The legendary character definition is with Jai's simple question, "Tumhara naam kya hai Basanti?"

Radha
Radha, played by Jaya Bhaduri-Bachchan, is the quiet widow, who keeps to herself. Her role didn't need the little dialogue written up for her because she used her big soulful eyes to communicate. It also didn't stop her from conveying her love for Jai.

Gabbar
Gabbar is perhaps the most feared villains in Bollywood history. Even in real life, mothers used to tell their children, "So jao, nahin to Gabbar aa jayega!" Though Amjad Khan has done a number of other roles, this was his most revered character. Lucky for him, Danny Donezgappa refused the role initially.

Mausi
Mausiji is the quintessential Indian woman who fears for the well-being of her niece. The fears and her concerns for the young ones is heartwarming and easy to relate with. Then again, Leela Mishra could probably have got a PhD in playing the mother in Indian cinema.

Jailor
Jailor Saab, played by Asrani, imbibed a Hitler-like appearance,'gora' behaviour and a comical demeanor. Asrani's unforgettable dialogue in the movie was, "Aadhe idhar jao, aadhe idhar jao, baaki mere saath aao."

Soorma Bhopali
Jagdeep made a guest appearance with his character of Soorma Bhopali. With his regular flair of comical relief and dialogue delivery, Soorma Bhopali's character is etched in the minds of the audience. In one of the scenes, one can even see Amitabh almost burst into laughter for a split second during the shot and was not properly edited.

Sambha
When Gabbar says, "Arre oh Sambha!" All eyes turn towards the man who must answer to the most terrifying dacoit in the history of Indian cinema. Mac Mohan is so fondly remembered for his little role in the movie that he was even brought in for a scene as 'the actor who played Sambha' in Luck by chance.

Kaalia
Brought down to his knees by the leader of the pack, Gabbar Singh, Kaalia has little to say. The answer to the scripted "Ab tera kya hoga Kaalia?" is that Viju Khote is eternally linked to his Sholay character.

Ahmed
Sachin's supporting role of a village boy called Ahmed, though very small, was crucial in the storyline turn of events. Only with his death do the two heroes declare avenge the village of Ramgarh.

Imaam Saheb
A. K. Hangal played the character of the blind Imaam Saheb who loses his son, Ahmed (Sachin), in an incident with Gabbar.

Hariram Naai
Keshto Mukherjee played the role of Hariram, the prison barber. He also doubled up as the prison tattle-tale and the Jailor's pet.

Gypsy Dancer
Helen's brief appearance as a gypsy dancer in the song Mehbooba O Mehbooba, had the audience whistling.

Gypsy Singer
Jalal Agha played the brief role of the gypsy singer in the item number, Mehbooba O Mehbooba with Helen as Gabbar looked on.

Dhanno
Basanti's buggy-pulling-mare, Dhanno, also deserves a special mention, being the most well-known mare in Indian cinema.