It''s Day 2 of Ram Gopal Varma Ke Sholay and the indefatigable Ram Gopal Varma is shooting with his new-age
Gabbar in a house near Yari Road in suburban Mumbai. "It''s Mr Bachchan''s introductory scene. I had to start with
Gabbar Singh''s scenes first. And what can I say? Thirty years of the impact that Amjad Khan had on me as Gabbar
Singh, has disappeared in one days'' shooting. In the very first shot Amitji just bowled me over. For a guy like me who
has grown up on Gabbar Singh and everything that I know about filmmaking came from watching Sholay….to forget the
earlier Gabbar wasn''t easy. Mr Bachchan has made the impossible happen." Ramu warms up to the topic. "For me
Gabbar Singh is now Amitabh Bachchan. And I''m sure that''s how it''s going to be for audiences when the film releases."
Thirty years of the impact that Amjad
Khan had on me as Gabbar Singh, has disappeared in one days'' shooting.
Dressed in intimidating clothes with a stick in his hand, AB looks every inch the decadent gangster. "He has got quite a
lot of accessories. See the whole point of Gabbar Singh in the city in my Sholay as opposed to Gabbar in the
Chambal Valley is that the latter is cut off from all civilization. Mr Bachchan''s Gabbar is a devious gangster who stays in
Mumbai and challenges the authorities to catch him. So he isn''t on the run nor is he in prison. This isn''t a scruffy
frantically on-the-run gangster like the ones in my Satya or Company. My Sholay is going to be a
very exotic glamorous film. And Mr Bachchan ''s Gabbar will be suave, dapper and elegant. Mr Bachchan''s Gabbar is
like Phantom. He''s in touch with the minds of terrorists from all over the world. I wanted to make him look
menacing and yet magnetic appealing and panther-like." On Wednesday When Mr Bachchan walked in for the
first day''s shooting in his ordinary clothes and the stick, there was a discernible gasp.
Says Ramu, "He hadn''t done that much to his looks - no wigs, not too many accessories except the stick, no stained
teeth at all - but he exuded terror. He has brought in all the elements of the original Gabbar. Then he has brought in
his own element which only he can describe. "
Ramu chuckles, "All these years Mr Bachchan has hidden his evil side so well. I want to bring it out on screen. How
can anyone be so correct? No one can be so morally perfect. Like I always said Sholay to me is synonymous with
Gabbar. And now Gabbar is synonymous with Mr Bachchan. He''s the heart of the film."
One radical change from earlier plans. Himesh Reshammiya will no longer sing Mehbooba o mehbooba. "Male
vocals didn''t fit into the song any longer. Asha Bhosleji will sing the song for Urmila and Amitji will pitch in a few lines.
That''s a change from the original. Because in the earlier Sholay Amjad Khan never danced or sang. I''d have
loved to have Himesh sing Mehbooba. But it just didn''t fit in."
So does Gabbar Singh still remain the guy with no overt sexual desires? Ramu nearly falls off his directorial chair. "Are
you crazy? Did you see Gabbar''s lust when Helen was dancing? Who says Gabbar was disinterested? He was looking
at Helen as though he''d eat her up. Trust me. I''m the lust expert. The same sort of chemistry will exist between Mr
Bachchan and Urmila."
I believe Amjad Khan''s son gave a
statement that Mr Bachchan shouldn''t play Gabbar Singh. He should at least see what I''ve done.
In the meanwhile the voices against Ramu''s Sholay continue to blare. "I believe Amjad Khan''s son gave a
statement that Mr Bachchan shouldn''t play Gabbar Singh. He should at least see what I''ve done. Everyone from Lata
Didi to Hemaji feels making Sholay is like playing with fire. Well I''ve one consolation for them. Since the critics
have already exhausted all their expletives for Shiva, they''d have nothing left to say about Sholay. I think
they''ll pool their money and hire a gangster to get rid of me. If Allah, Jesus Christ and Vaishno Devi come together to
plead against my doing Sholay I''m still making it. Aage jo hoga wohdekha jayega ."
Incidentally Basanti remains un-cast. "Why this brouhaha over Basanti? She isn''t as important in my Sholay as she was
in the earlier version. If you remove the tonga and ghagra-choli from Basanti she''s just another girl in the plot."
Courtesy: IndiaFM.com