Ramesh Sippy on Sholay: ‘I would never make a sequel. People will always compare it with the original’

You made an unusual debut with Andaz, which captures the romance between two single parents. Did you think it was a risk?

If such a story is presented well, there is no reason why it should not appeal to people. So, I took a chance. When I first approached Shammi Kapoor to play its lead, he asked me: ‘Are you sure? I am known as a dancing star.’ I told him, ‘You are a fine actor too. This is the kind of film I want to do with you.’ The film did well in cities and semi-urban areas.

Ramesh Sippy with Shammi Kapoor on the sets of his directorial debut, Andaz

You next was a delightful Seeta Aur Geeta.

When I asked Hema Malini to play the lead roles, she could not believe I was asking her. Everyone thought Mumtaz would be cast since she was the ruling star. Made on a budget of Rs 50 lakh, Seeta and Geeta, became a major hit.

How did the idea of Sholay come up and take shape?

The success of my first two films gave me the confidence to do something different. I was lucky. My father GP Sippy, who was a largehearted person, always advised me to follow my heart. It started as a two-line idea about an army officer. Later, we made him a police officer since cops used to be involved with dacoits more than army men. We had a great script written by Salim-Javed (Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar) and all the actors were excited about it. The shooting was supposed to start on October 2, 1973. We decided against it since it was Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary. We did not want to start the shoot of a ‘violent’ film on that day. When we started shooting the following day, we did not know that we would still be talking about it 50 years later.

Ramesh Sippy

What made you scale up Sholay?

Since it was an action movie, it needed a big budget. Its budget was initially Rs 1 crore, the double of my last movie. As its production progressed, the budget increased to Rs 3 crore. Once we were in it, we were in it. Some sequences were shot over several days – the Yeh Dosti song was shot over 23 days and the massacre scene (when Thakur’s family members are killed) over 21 days.

What kind of censor issues Sholay faced?

At that time, India was under Emergency. When we were talking to the censor board head, he said that the film was too violent. I told him that we had not shown any blood and gore in the film and instead captured the impact. He said the problem was exactly that: ‘The impact was too much’. So, we knocked off some action scenes.

Finally, the restored version will show the original ending of Thakur killing Gabbar.

The censor board officials said since Thakur is a cop, he should not take law into his hands. I even joked that he was not using his hands but feet. They also wanted us to remove the visuals of nails being hammered into his shoes. These will be now back in the film.

A generation of film lovers enjoyed Sholay aurally.

Shashi Patel (the owner of Polydor India) came up with the idea of releasing the cassettes of dialogues and songs. The film had only five songs. They had the music rights. It was a novel idea. The cassette sale caught on like wildfire. That created a desire to watch the film. People were listening to the dialogues and then watching the film, and vice-versa.

Ramesh Sippy with Hema Malini for Seeta Aur Geeta.

Have you ever thought of making its sequel?

I would not touch it. People will always compare it with the original.

Was Shaan overshadowed by the success of Sholay?

Shaan was an urban film. It was twice as expensive and made with Rs 6 crore. Its antagonist Shakal got the audience appreciation though not as much as Gabbar did. Each film is an experience by itself.

You later directed much-talked about movies like Shakti and Saagar.

Shakti was a drama and Saagar, a romantic story set in a coastal area. We got the Bobby (1973) pair back for Saagar. Kamal Haasan is so good in Ek Duuje Ke Liye (1981) and I wanted to cast him. He had an absolutely infectious vibe. Though received well by critics, Saagar did not do well commercially. That was also the time when video piracy was eating into the box-office collection.

Ramesh Sippy with Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia while shooting Saagar.

In the 80s, you directed the landmark television series Buniyaad. What prodded you to do so?

It was my first television show. I was perplexed about the episode format. That challenge is also what drew me to it. It was written by Manohar Shyam Joshi. The scale of its success, however, was a big surprise.

How important is the collaboration between directors and writers?

The collaboration between a writer and a director is crucial. When you work together as a team, it sets the tone. If you find a writer who thinks like you, then the partnership is easy. Where the writer’s work ends and the director’s work begins should be seamless.

What do you expect the new audience of Sholay to take away from it?

I want the young audience to feel the same way about the movie as the previous generation did and enjoy the experience.