Forty years ago, something amazing happened: a film called Sholay released in theatres across India. Initially, Sholay was a flop. The reviews were scathing and the ticket sales were few. There was even talk of changing the ending of the film. It turned out that all Sholay needed was a little time and some word-of-mouth publicity. The film would go on to become the biggest grosser of 1975 and earn 60 golden jubilees across India. It would also give us a set of fantastic characters who have become iconic. [caption id=“attachment_2392962” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Sholay poster. IBNLive[/caption] There’s a lot to love about Sholay, but one of its triumphs is that it’s not just the leading actors who played memorable roles. From Gabbar’s sidekick Sambha to the comic relief provided by Soorma Bhopali, Sholay has given us minor characters who packed major punches. While the crux of Sholay concerns Jai and Veeru’s friendship as well as Thakur’s rivalry with Gabbar, without this delightful supporting cast of characters, Sholay wouldn’t be as enjoyable a ride. Here’s to the little guys. Rahim Chacha How many times have you heard and even seen memes using the line, “Itna sannata kyun hain bhai”? This often-misquoted dialogue entered popular culture thanks to Rahim Chacha, played by the winsome AK Hangal. Rahim Chacha was the blind imam of Ramgarh. Gabbar kills Rahim Chacha’s son and dumps his body in Ramgarh. When the corpse is discovered, the village is stunned into silence. And then Rahim Chahcha steps out, utters that one line, and steals the limelight from everyone else present in the scene.
Soorma Bhopali ‘Soorma Bhopali naam hain mera,’ said Jagdeep with a distinctive lisp and Bhopali accent. This comic character became so popular that a few years later, Jagdeep directed a film titled Soorma Bhopali, based on the character from Sholay. Despite having Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra and Rekha in the cast, it didn’t do particularly well outside Madhya Pradesh, and no wonder, because Soorma Bhopali’s charm came from the dialogues and scenes Salim-Javed wrote for him. No one can keep from giggling at that famous scene in which he describes how he beat up Jai and Veeru, blissfully unaware of the duo listening to him make up stories about how he beat them up.
Mausi Leela Mishra played the ‘sagi mausi’ to Hema Malini’s Basanti and won our heart with her tough, maternal woman act. She’s one of the few people in Ramgarh who are able to make Jai and Veeru quake in their bellbottoms. There’s a hilarious scene in which Jai chats about Veeru to Mausi, providing explanations for Veeru’s vices. And who can forget Veeru’s famous “sooside” scene, in which Mausi finally relents and says that she’ll accept Veeru, only to have the drunk Veeru totally misunderstand her. “Who’s going to marry Mausi? I want to marry Basanti,” he grumbles.
Kaalia and Samba While Gabbar’s dialogues became the stuff of legends because Amjad Khan’s inimitable style, let’s not forget that without his henchmen Kaalia and Samba, Gabbar is thoroughly incomplete. Sure, they spent most of their screen time sitting on rocks and looking scared, but they are the reason we have some of Sholay’s most famous lines: “Arrey oh Sambha, kitna inaam rakhe hain sarkar hum par?” and “Ab tera kya hoga, Kaalia?” For Mac Mohan and Viju Khote who played those two characters, Sambha and Kaalia would define them for decades to come.
Jailor Asrani as the jailer in Sholay is perhaps the silliest character in the film. He describes himself as “Angrezon ke zamane ke jailor” and that introductory, pun-filled monologue of his is hilarious. Inspired by Charlie Chaplin’s portrayal of Adolf Hitler in T_he Great Dictator_, Asrani walked funny, talked funny and generally made imprisonment seem like a rather enjoyable affair. The jailor is the butt of many juvenile jokes that are nevertheless really funny. He’s also the reason Jai and Veeru are able to escape prison.
Dhanno Possibly the most popular silver screen horse, Dhanno ended up being as famous as Hema Malini’s Basanti. Dhanno was not only Basanti’s buddy, she’s also witness to Veeru and Basanti’s love affair and the life-saver who carries Basanti away from villainous goons. Remember “Chal Dhanno, aaj teri Basanti ki izzat ka sawaal hai”? Well, Basanti, Dhanno did her bit. So much so that every horse-riding location in India invariably has at least one horse named Dhanno.