On 15 August 1975, Ramesh Sippy’s directorial film Sholay changed Indian cinema forever. As it marks 50 years of milestone and on this occasion the actor-director Sachin Pilgaonkar looks back at his experience working in the film at just 16 who played the role of Ahmed, the young villager whose brief role still left a deep mark.
“Being part of Sholay in itself was a big thing… it’s an epic,” Sachin says, remembering how his very first shot involved lying motionless in the village square as Ahmed’s lifeless body. “Everybody was involved in that scene… I had no dialogues, but that gave me a chance to observe.”
For a teenager, the Sholay set was a masterclass. Sachin recalls Dharmendra’s water tank sequence “It was too high, and Dharamji was playing drunk, threatening suicide. Such a picturesque scene, beautifully written and directed.” He also noticed quirks in the film’s logic like Thakur’s haveli being lit with lamps despite a huge water tank nearby. “If there’s no electricity, why have a huge water tank? But that’s the beauty of cinema.”
Sachin also revealed to IANS that there were no vanity vans during filming instead the huts seen on screen doubled as well-furnished, air-conditioned makeup rooms. “Washroom, all facilities, everything that is available in a 5-star hotel was there in those huts… and one of those huts was given to me.”
To Sachin, the magic lies in its characters and storytelling. “Length never matters; the strength of the character does.” Even Ahmed’s short-lived presence remains unforgettable.
As Sholay turns 50, voices like Sachin’s remind us why it remains more than a film, it’s a memory shared across generations.
