Sanjeev Kumar forgot Thakur had no arms while shooting the final scene of Sholay

Ramesh Sippys film Sholay is widely considered the most popular Indian film of all time While all the characters in this classic SalimJaved film have left a mark in Indian cinematic history the true hero of Sholay is not Veeru played by Dharmendra who has the most entertaining role or Jai played by Amitabh Bachchan who meets a tragic end It is Sanjeev Kumars portrayal of Thakur Baldev Singh that stands out as the films central characterSholay weaves together various subplots including the one featuring Asrani as the strict jailer and the memorable scene where Veeru professes his love for Basanti on top of a water tank However it is Thakurs mission to avenge the death of his family that is the main driving force of the film and which engaged viewers till the very endInterestingly despite being the technical hero of the film Thakurs role was not actively pursued by actors During that time these roles were classified as character roles which were typically reserved for actors who didnt prioritize their appearance on screen and were not concerned with the number of action sequences or songs they would have Sanjeev Kumar also known as Hari bhai was Ramesh Sippys choice for Thakur even though Pran was considered for a brief period Sippy had previously worked with Sanjeev Kumar in his previous hit film Seeta Aur Geeta and had complete faith in the actors abilities to do justice to the fierce and hardhitting character of Thakur While Seeta Aur Geeta didnt fully showcase Sanjeev Kumars potential due to his role not being as substantial as the titular characters played by Hema Malini Thakur felt like it was tailormade for him Interestingly even Dilip Kumar had declined the role initially only to express regret laterDuring the filming of Sholay Sanjeev Kumar became deeply immersed in his role as Thakur and this is evident in his performance An anecdote from the last days of the films shoot reveals Sanjeevs dedication While shooting the scene following Jais death when Radha played by Jaya Bachchan breaks down Sanjeev was so emotionally invested in the scene that he momentarily forgot Thakur had no arms In Anupama Choprarsquos book Sholay The Making of a Classic the comical behindthescenes were spelled out Sanjeevs Thakur expressed his concern for Radha stating that he felt bad for her as she was initially married to his son and then had to experience this tragedy Sanjeev even asked if he could take her in his arms and comfort her to which Ramesh Sippy reminded him What armsIt was only Dharmendra who later ended up becoming Veeru who had expressed great interest in taking on the character of Thakur However Sippy knew how to convince him otherwise by hinting at the increased chances of him getting together with Hema Malini Sanjeev Kumar had already proposed to the actress the director just had to tell him that if they swapped the roles she would end up with Sanjeev No wonder Dharmendra readily slipped into Veerursquos character againWhen Sanjeev Kumar was offered the role of Thakur he initially had another character in mindmdashGabbar Singh SalimJaved the films writers narrated the fully finished script with dialogues to the actors and upon hearing it Sanjeev was captivated by Gabbar Singhs role However he later changed his mind due to the films violent content which didnt align with his preferences Javed Akhtar in Chopras book recalled Sanjeevs reaction to the violence When we reached the interval point his face was crushed It was like somebody punches you on the nose Sanjeev was totally taken abackrdquoSanjeev Kumars training in theatre including his time with the Indian Peoples Theatre Association IPTA played a significant role in shaping his acting skills Even during his late teens he often portrayed old man characters in IPTA productions Veteran actor AK Hangal his senior at IPTA once advised Sanjeev that if he focused on playing a hero he would never become a true actor This theatre background allowed Sanjeev Kumar to seamlessly blend his unconventional heroic performance in Sholay with the rest of the films characters each becoming catalysts to the others journey in their own unique ways