Amjad Khan redefined role of villain in Sholay; Gabbar Singh was based on a real dacoit

The epic action adventure film Sholay will complete 50 years on August 15, 2025. After it was released on Independence Day in 1975, it quickly became the top-grossing Hindi film of the year. It went on to be recognized as a watershed in the Hindi film industry that defined Bollywood for decades. Directed by Ramesh Sippy, this masterpiece gave us characters who transcended their roles and became legends.

One of the most striking characters in the movie was that of the arch villain Gabbar Singh. His raspy voice and dialogue have been copied over and over again by many actors, and even today, social media is full of memes based on the character of the famous on-screen dacoit. The impact that he had on the audience was no less than the iconic Clint Eastwood in the cowboy movies of Hollywood.

The character was modelled on a real-life dacoit named Gabbar Singh Gujjar, who had terrorised many villages in the vicinity of Gwalior in the 1950s. Any policeman captured by a Gujjar had his ears and nose cut off, as a warning to other policemen.

New experiment

Director Ramesh Sippy wanted to do something different from the clichéd idea of a man becoming a dacoit due to societal problems, as is usually shown in many films. He made Gabbar an embodiment of evil for evil’s sake. To emphasise that Gabbar was a new type of film dacoit, Sippy did not make Gabbar wear the usual dhoti and shirt or say “Jai Bhavani” even once. Instead, Gabbar wore olive green army fatigues. Years later, Irrfan Khan donned a similar outfit while portraying Pan Singh Tomar.

The first choice to play the role of Gabbar Singh was Danny Denzongpa, but since he was busy with the shooting of Dharmatma, the role went to Amjad Khan. Tasked with the job of bringing Gabbar Singh to life on the screen, Amjad Khan did a lot of homework.

He read about the way dacoits functioned. He researched the history and behaviour of different notorious bandits who once roamed the Chambal river ravines with impunity. He tried to imagine what these murderous killers did, how they behaved with their gang members, and also with their victims.

Book written by Jaya Bachchan’s father

One of the books that gave Amjad Khan a lot of inside information was a book named Abhishapta Chambal, written by Taroon Kumar Bhaduri, a well-known journalist and author (and father of Jaya Bhaduri-Bachchan).

Jaya Bachchan once stated: “The 1960s were a time when dacoits were a big menace in the Chambal river ravines. But as an impartial journalist, Baba’s coverage of the events and his attitude gained him the respect of both policemen and dacoits. He lived with the dacoits and documented their lives.” As a result of his frequent contact with the gangs of the Chambal, Taroon Kumar Bhaduri produced an excellent book based on facts.

After all this background reading and watching Hollywood films and their villains (which included iconic Westerns such as High Noon, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and the spaghetti Westerns of Sergio Leone), Amjad Khan decided that he would project a new kind of bad guy for Hindi film lovers. It would have to be something unique and never before seen on the screens. He would bring out the sadism inherent in the character of the dreaded dacoit.

Good at academics

What helped Amjad Khan in preparing for the role was his intelligence, sensitivity, and learning ability. Born into a Pashtun family where his father (Zakaria Khan alias Jayant) and brother (Imitiaz Khan) were good actors too, Amjad was a studious boy. He was good at academics right from his school days. He had excellent knowledge of literature and art. He studied English poetry in detail and was fond of reading the poems of Keats and Shelley. He had an aptitude for understanding culture. He also loved acting and won awards while acting in school plays.

Besides, he was not new to films. As a child actor, he had acted beside his father in the film Nazneen (1951) and had small roles in Char Paise (1955) and Maya (1961). He had a thorough understanding of the subject and knew what acting was all about. Moreover, he had the talent to project all types of characters on the screen.

Iconic portrayal

So it was but natural that Amjad dug deep to come up with a stellar performance as the feared Gabbar Singh. His portrayal is now widely considered an iconic and definitive performance in the history of Indian cinema. His unique dialogue delivery and mannerisms, which became instantly recognizable, further cemented Gabbar’s place in popular culture.

The success of Gabbar Singh led to Amjad Khan securing more roles as film villains in movies such as Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Satte Pe Satta, Nastik, Mr. Natwarlal, and many more. The gentle and studious Amjad Khan, often described by his fellow actors as a genuine and selfless friend, thereby set a new benchmark in Hindi films where roles of villains were concerned.

Get the latest updates in Hyderabad City News, Technology, Entertainment, Sports, Politics and Top Stories on WhatsApp & Telegram by subscribing to our channels. You can also download our app for Android and iOS.