Throwback: Critic reviewing Sholay in 1975 called Amitabh Bachchan, 'Dharmendra's friend'

Sholay is considered one of the greatest movies made in Bollywood. But you will be surprised to learn what an early reviewer wrote about it in 1975

News Desk
Nov 23, 2017

When Ramesh Sippy’s Sholay released in 1975, it was mostly panned by critics. The makers had little to no hope that their fruit of labour would go on to redefine Indian cinema. Of all the poor reviews the movie received, probably the most brutal one was recently shared by Anupam Kher on Twitter. The veteran actor shared a newspaper clipping of one of the early reviews of Sholay, and it’s more than surprising.

In the review, Sholay was awarded an average rating. The critic made arguments to support his claim, and it is clearly not something all the cult classic lovers would agree with. For instance, the critic did not even mention Amitabh Bachchan in the long review, instead, he stuck to addressing him as Dharam’s (Dharmendra) co-killer. The critic called Sholay a movie which lacked purpose and art. The article pointed out that the movie revolved around the same triangle of writers Salim-Javed, i.e., murder-revenge murder.

A still from Sholay

The critic was harsh on most of the actors of Sholay. The article pointed out that Nazir Hussain would have done a better job than Sanjeev Kumar in playing the armless Thakur, called Amjad Khan’s iconic Gabbar a far cry from a feared dacoit and blamed his short-fat body for it. According to the critic, Gabbar was just capable of ordering or grimacing and could never win a duel.

On the bright side, the actresses were praised. Hema Malini was appreciated for getting into the skin of the character, for a change, and Jaya Bachchan was admired for exuding many emotions through her expressions.

Also read: Sholay to Umrao Jaan: 9 Bollywood movies that should never have been remade

Hema Malini in Sholay

Here is the review shared by Anupam Kher:

A critic’s Review of SHOLAY in a newspaper in 1975 :
An average film. @SrBachchan name not mentioned even once.Is referred to as Dharam’s buddy.Nazir Hussain could have done better than Sanjeev Kumar.
Amjad Khan banished & mauled completely by the critic.Jai Ho.:) pic.twitter.com/g6w8vAFcBm

— Anupam Kher (@AnupamPkher) November 22, 2017