As we all know that Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra starrer is undoubtedly considered as one of the cult classic films of Indian Cinema. There have been a lot of trivia and facts about the film, but you would get surprised after knowing the fact that 1975’s Emergency in India, played a vital role before the release of Sholay.
Yes, reportedly, Sholay’s climax was changed before the release of the film. Interestingly, in the original climax, the makers had shot Thakur killing Gabbar as it gives poetic justice but the censor board didn’t allow it and Ramesh Sippy had to shoot the new climax. As per the Indian Express report, “Sippy’s original shows Thakur killing Gabbar by kicking him into a nail stuck on the same pillars that Gabbar had tied him to when he chopped his hands off. After he kills Gabbar, he falls down with a vacant look and Veeru slowly walks up to him and drapes his shawl on him. The music reaches a melodramatic crescendo as Veeru and Thakur hug each other and cry.”
The report further added, “The release of Sholay coincided with the declaration of Emergency, a period marked by extreme censorship. The censor board was worried that depicting a former police officer as a vigilante would be dangerous in the context of the Emergency and demanded a change in the climax in the interests of the rule of law.”
Interestingly, on August 15, 1975, Sholay was released and it clashed with the film Jai Santoshi Maa and, surprisingly, both the films did extremely well at the box office.
