The Untold Story of Sholay: Censorship, Altered Endings, and Amitabh’s Gabbar Dream

The cinematic masterpiece ‘Sholay’ is heading to the Il Cinema Ritrovato Festival in Bologna, Italy, where an original, restored version will be screened. This screening sheds light on the original ending that was planned but never fully realized. In the original version, Thakur was meant to kill Gabbar Singh, but this was changed because of censorship issues. The Censor Board found the scene too violent, and the climax was revised. The film went on to feature Jai’s death instead, leaving Thakur only able to attack Gabbar. Amitabh Bachchan even expressed his keen interest in playing the role of Gabbar Singh. The film, starring Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjeev Kumar, Amjad Khan, Hema Malini, and Jaya Bachchan, was a huge box-office success.