Ramesh Sippy remembers Jagdeep: He imbibed character beautifully

Ramesh Sippy

Jagdeep's character as Soorma Bhopali remains unforgettable. Bhopal has a culture of its own. In the early '70s, you'd see these charming characters, especially in the hinterlands of India. Jagdeep witnessed that, imbibed the character, and blended it beautifully into our script. Jagdeep's sense of timing was immaculate. A film like Sholay is made by many people, including writers Salim-Javed. One discusses many possibilities, and finally arrives at characters befitting sequences. Who other than Jagdeep could have played this part [better]?

Used character previously too: Salim Khan

We come across characters like Soorma Bhopali in real life, and remember them when writing stories. Javed [Akhtar, co-writer] had studied in Bhopal. I have lived there too. We had used the character of Bhopali in Adhikar (1971) too, where Pran saab (Shikari Banne Khan Bhopali) played it successfully. [In Sholay] though, it was crafted differently.

As told to Upala KBR

Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here. Also, download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news