New Delhi, Aug. 8 -- Who is the hero of Sholay? This is a valid question. Thakur, played by Sanjeev Kumar, gets the revenge. Veeru, played by Dharmendra, gets the girl. Jai, played by Amitabh Bachchan, gets the heroic sacrifice at the close of the film. Which of them is the hero? You may as well toss a coin to decide.

As detailed in Anupama Chopra's excellent book Sholay: The Making of a Classic (2000), when Dharmendra heard the film's script, he figured out that Ramesh Sippy's film was about Thakur's revenge, with Veeru and Jai merely Thakur's instruments of vengeance: his arms, so to speak. The superstar thus insisted on playing Thakur. Sippy, knowing who he wanted in which role, cunningly said he would then have to cast Sanjeev Kumar ...