Amjad Khan's Birth Anniversary Special: A Look Back At His Iconic Role, 'Gabbar Singh' From Sholay!
On Amjad Khan's 78th birth anniversary today, we take a walk down the memory lane and revisit Gabbar Singh, one of the most ultimate baddies of all times from Indian cinema.
Gabbar
Singh.
This
iconic
reel
character
needs
no
introduction!
A
large
credit
goes
to
this
iconic
dreaded
dacoit
for
making
'Sholay'
a
blockbuster
watch.
And
of
course,
to
Amjad
Khan
who
breath
life
into
this
role
with
his
memorable
dialogues
and
cool
ruthlessness.
Be
it,
'So
jaa
beta
nahin
toh
Gabbar
aa
jaayega'
or
'Jo
darr
gaya
so
mar
gaaya',
his
lines
are
immortal
and
continue
to
be
a
huge
hit.
But
do
you
folks
know
that
he
wasn't
the
first
choice
to
play
Gabbar
Singh?
On
Amjad
Khan's
78th
birth
anniversary
today,
we
take
a
walk
down
the
memory
lane
and
revisit
one
of
the
most
ultimate
baddies
of
all
times
from
Indian
cinema-
Amjad
Khan
Was
Destined
To
Play
Gabbar
Singh
The
role
was
earlier
offered
to
Danny
Danzongpa
who
chose
to
do
Feroz
Khan's
Dharmatma.
Amjad
Khan
was
spotted
by
Ramesh
Sippy
during
a
play
and
later
Salim-Javed
referred
him
to
the
director.
Interestingly,
he
was
offered
the
role the
day
his
son
Shadaab
was
born,
on
20th
September
1973!
Breathing
Life
Into
Gabbar
Singh
During
the
shooting
of
Sholay,
some
cast
members
thought
his
voice
should
be
dubbed,
but
Ramesh
Sippy
refused.
Amjad
had
visited
a
tarot
card
reader
during
the
making
of
the
film
and
she
told
him
that
the
film
will
flop,
but
because
of
him
the
film
will
pick
up
in
aftermath.
Amjad started
preparing
for
the
role
by
reading
Abhishapth
Chambal,
a
book
on
Chambal
dacoits
by
Jaya
Bhaduri's
father,
Taroon
Coomar
Bhaduri.
To
flesh
out
his
character,
he
brought
his
own
interpretation
to
Gabbar.
"He
remembered
a
dhobi
from
his
childhood
who
used
to
call
out
to
his
wife:
‘Arre
o
Shanti.' The
lilt
in
Gabbar's
‘'Arre
o
Sambha'
came
from
this
dhobi,"
writes
Anupama
Chopra
in
her
book,
'Sholay:
The
Making
of
a
classic'.
'Gabbar
Aa
Gaya'
"Amjad
had
grown
a
beard
and
blackened
his
teeth.
His
diction
was
right,
his
language
was
perfect.
He
was
confirmed
for
the
role," she
further
writes.
The
Fan
Frenzy
"It
was
the
Sunday
just
after
it
released.
We
had
taken
Shadaab
to
Juhu
beach,
when
I
saw
a
crowd
of
people
coming
towards
us.
Amjad
picked
up
Shadaab,
grabbed
my
hand
and
said,
‘Run!
Just
run!' We
barely
managed
to
get
into
the
car
before
people
started
banging
on
it."
Such
hysteria
was
oft-repeated.
"Another
time
we
were
in
Hyderabad.
A
police
jeep
took
us
from
the
airport
to
the
hotel.
There
were
people
standing
on
both
sides
of
the
road.
I
asked
Amjad,
‘Are
these
people
waiting
for
you?'
He
replied
with
a
straight
face,
‘Ya!
Even
Kalidas'
wife
thought
he
was
a
fool',"
recollected
his
wife
Shehla
in
a
Filmfare
interview.