Sholay: The Making Of A Classic
Winner of the National Award for Best Book on Film in 2000, this account traces the wild journey behind one of Hindi cinema's most iconic creations. Journalist Anupama Chopra unravels how a simple premise transformed into the industry's biggest draw, navigating the challenging casting decisions, the gruelling two-year shoot across barren terrain, and those bewildering early weeks when audiences simply didn't show up and studios wrote it off as a commercial failure. Chopin's narrative gifts shine throughout. She captures Amitabh Bachchan's determined push to persuade the Sippys to gamble on him despite his string of box-office disappointments, betting against the more established Shatrughan Sinha. There's the last-minute scheduling tangle that forced Danny Dengzongpa out, ultimately clearing the way for Amjad Khan's unforgettable turn as the villain. Behind the scenes, an unexpected romance blossomed between Hema Malini and Dharmendra during filming, a development so distracting it allegedly enriched the production assistants' pockets and nearly derailed the film's star. The drama rivalling the finished film itself, this is essential reading for anyone curious about how cinema magic actually happens, complications and all.
- Author: Anupama Chopra
- Publisher: Penguin
- Genre: Film & Cinema
- ISBN: 978-0140299700
- Pages: 212 pages