Kolkata, Nov. 7 -- Revealing an interesting casting twist behind Sholay, director Ramesh Sippy on Friday said Dhamendra had once expressed his desire to play the role of Gabbar Singh, the menacing dacoit who later became a cinematic legend through Amjad Khan's performance.
Delivering the Satyajit Ray Memorial Lecture at the 31st Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF), Sippy recounted the humorous exchange that nearly changed the course of Hindi cinema.
"Dharamji heard the script and was like 'very nice script. But nothing left for me to do, so it's better if I play the role of Gabbar Singh. As the story revolves around Thakur, Sanjeev Kumar will have the highest bid.'"Joking, Sippy quipped, "I added 'Dharamji do you want to play the b...