Director of ‘Sholay’ Compares Rajesh Hamal to Nepal’s Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra

Bollywood director Ramesh Sippy has described actor Rajesh Hamal as Nepal’s Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra. The conversation took place during the ‘Cinema Dialogue’ session at the Nepal International Film Festival, where Sippy and Hamal discussed the film ‘Sholay’. Sippy shared that the shooting of ‘Sholay’ began on October 2, 1973, with a budget that eventually reached three crore rupees.

Speaking at the event in Kathmandu, Sippy said, “Nepal is a fortunate country because you (Rajesh Hamal) embody both Amitabh and Dharmendra.” He openly discussed the film’s development and revealed that the writer duo Salim-Javed entrusted him to direct ‘Sholay’. He remarked, “They did not say this was a film in my style.”

Sippy provided details about the production timeline, noting that filming started six months after the script was completed, commencing on October 2, 1973. He added, “Initially the budget was set at one crore, but it finally escalated to three crore.”

Actor Hamal expressed admiration for Sippy’s direction of ‘Sholay’, highlighting how all the film’s characters and even the horse’s name have become iconic among audiences. Sippy shared, “Due to weather conditions, one particular scene took 21 days to shoot.” Their dialogue lasted for nearly an hour.