It’s been over 46 years since Amjad Khan created a menace in Sholay (1975) with his character of dacoit Gabbar Singh and left his imprint on Indian cinema. The legendary actor and director need no introduction today. Best remembered for his villainous roles, Amjad Khan worked in over 130 films in his cinematic career spanning almost 20 years.
July 27 marks the 30th death anniversary of the actor, who set the highest benchmark and is an inspiration for cinema villains. On the occasion, here’s an interesting lesser-known titbit on the character of Gabbar Singh which is still remembered by the audience.
Initially, film director Ramesh Sippy cast actor Danny Denzogappa for the role of dacoit Gabbar Singh in his film Sholay. The picture was also published in a film magazine with the star cast of Sholay, but Danny had to go to Afghanistan for the shooting of Feroz Khan’s film Dharmatma, so he had to leave Sholay.
As Danny left and Ramesh Sippy started his search again for an actor to play the iconic character, he saw Amjad Khan performing on stage, and immediately cast him for the role of Gabbar Singh.
Ramesh Sippy, back in 2020, in an interview said, “I saw one of his stage performances. His voice, personality, look, everything was very much liked. We asked him to grow a beard for the role of Gabbar, and then took his photo. Then in this way, his selection was made for the dacoit Gabbar Singh. When ‘Sholay’ was released in the cinema hall, Gabbar Singh was engrossed.”
Be it the dreaded dacoit or a comedy role, Amjad Khan, with his performance, overshadowed the heroes of the film. The success of Sholay can be gauged from the fact that Gabbar Singh was such a huge hit that Amjad Khan was signed as a brand embedder in a biscuit-making company. Perhaps this was the first time a villain was cast in an ad film.
