MUMBAI– As Sholay marks its 50th anniversary, veteran actress Hema Malini revealed she did not rehearse for the beloved “Jab Tak Hai Jaan” sequence, which she described as more of an acting performance than a dance number.
Speaking to IANS ahead of the milestone, Hema said, “No rehearsal at all. It is more of an act — a scene and dance combined. Whatever was needed, we did on the spot, as per the situation and what the director planned. It wasn’t difficult to do, but it still took at least 15 days to shoot the song.”
Recalling how she was offered the role, the actress noted that in those days, Bollywood films rarely had bound scripts, with scenes often written and shot in real time. “When Sholay was offered to me after Seeta Aur Geeta, director Ramesh Sippy told me, ‘There are many other characters, and you are also one of them.’ I was a little disappointed, thinking, ‘Why only a small role for me? Why not a bigger one?’”
Sippy assured her that the part, though limited in screen time, would have a major impact on the film. “I had faith in him, so I said, ‘Okay, I will do it,’” she said. “On the first day of shooting, he told me the role was different from anything I’d done before. I asked, ‘Is it like Geeta in Seeta Aur Geeta?’ He said, ‘That was different; this is different, but similar.’”
She was then given her lengthy, fast-paced dialogue, which she had to deliver continuously without a break. “That was the beauty of the whole character,” Hema said. “It was very witty, and I was the only one giving comic relief in the film.”
Sholay, one of Indian cinema’s most iconic films, was released on August 15, 1975, and will celebrate its golden jubilee this Friday. (Source: IANS)
