When Amitabh Bachchan Revealed That Dharmendra Shot Real Bullet On Sets Of Sholay

Interesting trivia from the sets of the movie still keep coming even after decades of its release and when we listen to them, it is with utmost intrigue and fascination. Did you know that Dharmendra was having trouble getting a particular scene right during the filming of Sholay and had demonstrated his frustration in an unusual way?Two years ago, Amitabh Bachchan made this revelation on the sets of Kaun Banega Crorepati where he was hosting his Sholay co-star Dharmendra. While the pair of Jai and Veeru reminisced about their Sholay days and talked a lot about the film, Amitabh shared a small anecdote.

He was conversing with CRPF DIG Preet Mohan Singh, a contender who had informed the actor that he was a big admirer of the film. When the action reached its climax, Singh had advised that Dharmendra should have grabbed extra ammo, which might have just rescued Vijay, the role played by Amitabh, from certain death. Dharmendra nearly fired a real bullet at Amitabh during the sequence, according to Big B.

“Dharam ji was down below when we were filming that scene, and I was up on the hill. Dharam ji removes the ammunition from a chest after opening it. He attempted it once and was unable to pick up the bullets; he then tried it a second time but failed. Dharam ji became really irate.

“I’m not sure what he did, but when he loaded the cartridge into the weapon, real bullets were inside! He discharged the gun because he was so irate about not obtaining the right shot. I was standing on the slope when the bullet passed by my ear, making a “whoosh” sound. He had actually shot a bullet. I escaped unhurt. So, absolutely, there were numerous instances like this during the film and Sholay was indeed a special film,” he said during the show.