The original ending of Sholay has surfaced more than 45 years after the movie first hit theatres, and the reason for its alteration was based on censorship policies at the time. Farhan Akhtar, the son of co-writer Javed Akhtar, revealed that the iconic conclusion of Sholay was much more vicious than what was shown on screen: Thakur, portrayed by Sanjeev Kumar, was meant to kill the antagonist, Gabbar Singh, by stomping on him with his feet. Years later, during the Emergency period in 1975, the censors then decided that the original version of the ending was "too violent," which is why they changed it to a more passive ending where Gabbar was arrested.
Farhan Akhtar elaborated that the writers, Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, were forced to give in to the demands of the censors and powers that be. The revenge arc - the crippled Thakur, mourning, smashing Gabbar's heart with his spikes on his shoes - was the emotional centre of the film, they argued.
He added that although the writers felt the revised ending didn’t make complete narrative sense, especially with villagers and the police present in the final scenes, they “had no choice.” Later, the director, Ramesh Sippy, also stated in interviews that he had filmed the more tragic ending, but he was forced to follow the censor board's instructions, however.
The unedited version of Sholay, with the deliberate ending, has gained marketing support for its 4K restored series. The world debut took place at the Il Cinema Ritrovato Festival in Bologna. With the Film Heritage Foundation and Sippy Films both working on the remake production in Italy, the new version fully incorporates offshoots with the violent ending that Sippy held back on during the original release.
The comeback of the original ending is part of a deep remembrance of 50 years of Sholay, inviting untouched audiences and past viewers to recognize Ramesh Sippy's true likeness, as well as the political turbulence of that part of India's historical past, which saw the emergence of one of Indian cinema's bright moments in all its glory.
For more updates, join/follow our WhatsApp, Telegram and YouTube channels.