Sachin Pilgaonkar: "Amjad Khan And I Directed Most Of Ramesh Sippy's Sholay"

It is tough to find a Bollywood movie that surpasses Sholay in terms of impact, legacy and sheer cinematic brilliance. Released in 1975, this Ramesh Sippy-directed cult classic features Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Hema Malini and Jaya Bachchan in pivotal roles. From its gripping storyline to iconic characters like Gabbar Singh (portrayed by Amjad Khan), Sholay set benchmarks for generations. Interestingly, Sachin Pilgaonkar, who portrayed Ahmed in the movie, recently shared insights into the filmmaking process. He revealed that while Ramesh Sippy directed the critical scenes, he and Amjad Khan were entrusted with handling the remaining portions.

“Rameshji decided to have a second unit to do some action sequences which don't feature the main stars. These were just passing shots. For this, he had a director of stunt films, Mohammed Ali bhai. He was a renowned stunt filmmaker, and with him was an action director called Azim bhai. And the latter got two guys from Hollywood, Jim and Jerry. He (Ramesh) wanted two persons to represent him because these people came from other countries. How would they know about the film and what's happening? At that time, there were only two bekaar (useless) people in the unit: one was Amjad Khan and the other one was me,” Sachin Pilgaonkar told Kunal Vijaykar for his YouTube channel Khane Mein Kya Hai.

Sachin Pilgaonkar added, “He was supposed to come only when Dharamji (Dharmendra, Amitji (Amitabh Bachchan), and Hari bhai (Sanjeev Kumar) had work. Rameshji shot those portions, and we handled the remaining scenes.”

Sachin Pilgaonkar also recalled the shooting of one of Sholay's prominent sequences – the one where the train arrives and logs explode. He shared how Jim and Jerry wanted to capture the shot from the side, while he suggested filming it from the front for a more impactful visual. After a discussion, Amjad Khan considered his point, and they decided to place two cameras – one for the side and another for the front shot. In the end, the front shot was retained in the final cut. Sachin Pilgaonkar applauded Amjad Khan for being considerate. 

Sholay revolves around the village of Ramgarh, where retired police officer Thakur Baldev Singh (Sanjeev Kumar) devises a plan to bring down the dacoit Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan). To accomplish this, he takes the help of two criminals, Jai (Amitabh Bachchan) and Veeru (Dharmendra).