When Amitabh Bachchan's Dance Skills Got Him Jai's Role In Sholay

Amitabh Bachchan is one of those stalwarts in Bollywood who has been entertaining the audience for a long time with his films and charming aura. Some of his much-loved films include Zanjeer, Sholay, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Naseeb, Amar Akbar Anthony, etc. Amongst these films, Amitabh Bachchan bagged Jai’s role based on his dancing prowess in a bus in the film Bombay To Goa. Director Ramesh Sippy revealed this in one of the earlier episodes of the TV quiz show, Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC). When Big B (Amitabh Bachchan is known by this name) asked Ramesh Sippy about the decision to cast him for the role of Jai, he said that Salim Khan-Javed Akhtar (Sholay writers) recommended him to do so. The popular writer duo said that Big B has done an excellent job in Zanjeer. They said despite being tall, he did an amazing dance performance on the bus in Bombay to Goa. Amitabh Bachchan was cast in Sholay on these parameters.

Sholay is counted as one of the cult-classic films of Bollywood. It starred actors Sanjeev Kumar, Dharmendra, Amjad Khan, Hema Malini and others in important roles. Released in the cinema halls on August 15, 1975, Sholay was such a stellar success that its record remained unbroken for 20 years. According to the reports, this film earned Rs 35 crores at the box office. Initially, when Sholay was released in the halls, it didn’t start decently, failing to attract any footfall in the theatres. This film is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.

For this film, Ramesh Sippy won the Filmfare Award under the Best film in the last 50 years of Indian cinema category. MS Shinde won the Best Editor award.

More about Amitabh Bachchan

Amitabh Bachchan was born on October 11, 1942, in Allahabad (now Prayagraj). His parents were the prominent Hindi poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan and social activist Teji Bachchan. After finishing his schooling at Sherwood College in Nainital, he pursued a degree in Science at Delhi University. Amitabh Bachchan’s early career saw him working at Shaw Wallace in Kolkata. He later worked as a freight broker at Bird and Company, all while nurturing his passion for theatre.