'Sholay's original climax revealed: Thakur was to kill Gabbar
What's the story
Farhan Akhtar recently revealed that the iconic climax of Sholay was altered due to the instruction of the censor board during the Emergency. The 1975 film, written by Salim-Javed (Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar), had a different ending where Thakur (Sanjeev Kumar) killed Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan). However, this was changed and we saw Gabbar getting arrested instead.
Climax change
Akhtar on how original ending looked
While promoting his upcoming film 120 Bahadur, Akhtar said in an interview, "The emotional core of the film was very strong, the entire narrative of Thakur plotting his revenge after his hands were cut." "In the original ending, he actually kills Gabbar. They had to change it due to the Emergency." "That is actually when he cries after crushing Gabbar with his own feet."
Forced changes
How Salim-Javed felt about the changes
Akhtar also shared how his father and Khan felt about the forced changes. He said, "When Dad and Salim Sahab had to change the ending, they were wondering about everyone showing up, including the villagers, police and protagonists." "They joked that the only person missing now is a postman. The ending and police showing up didn't make sense to them but they had to change it; they had no choice."
Director's perspective
Director Ramesh Sippy spoke about it in 2018
Director Ramesh Sippy also spoke about the changed climax at the Pune International Film Festival in 2018. He revealed that the Censor Board had forced him to change the ending. "I had shot a different ending for Sholay where Gabbar is killed by Thakur. But they (the Censor Board) didn't allow that." "They were not happy about Thakur killing Gabbar with his feet...They were also unhappy about too much violence..." Sholay is celebrating 50 years in 2025.