50 years of Sholay: Actors who rejected the classic directed by Ramesh Sippy

Updated On: 12 August, 2025 04:06 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent

Several top stars, including Danny Denzongpa, Shatrughan Sinha, Dilip Kumar, and Pran, turned down pivotal roles in Sholay before it became a historic hit. The film, shot over two and a half years in Karnataka, remains one of Indian cinema’s most iconic blockbusters

Danny Denzongpa and Shatrughan Sinha

The iconic Hindi-language film Sholay will complete 50 years of release on August 15, 2025. Written by the celebrated writer duo Javed Akhtar and Salim Khan, the 1975 blockbuster featured legends like Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra in the lead, alongside Amjad Khan, Hema Malini, Jaya Bachchan, and Sanjeev Kumar. Directed by Ramesh Sippy, the making of the film has an interesting backstory, with several actors rejecting roles- unaware of how iconic the movie would become.

Actors who rejected Sholay

Danny Denzongpa

The actor was considered for the role of the iconic villain Gabbar Singh by the producers, but he could not take it up as he was already working on Feroz Khan’s Dharmatma (1975). Even Sanjeev Kumar had expressed interest in playing Gabbar, but Salim-Javed felt his on-screen image of sympathy, due to his past roles, didn’t fit the part.

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