The film completed silver jubilee and we got nothing: Jagdeep

Jagdeep, who has acted in more than 300 films and portrayed various characters, is still identified as Soorma Bhopali by everyone when he goes for a walk on the streets of Yari Road, Versova. The actor reveals how his character was created by Salim-Javed and some other revealing facts about his role in a conversation with IBNMOVIES.

How did the birth of Soorma Bhopali take place?

I was shooting for a film where Salim was the hero and Javed was the writer. It was a two page long scene. So I told the director to give it to Javed to reduce the length. Within a short time the script was edited to half a page. And I was really impressed and that’s how we got friendly. Javed was fond of mimicking people. He once did a mimicry of a forest officer he had met in Bhopal. He taught me the language, the accent and mannerisms. And years later the same character was offered to me.

So what’s your initial reaction when the role was offered to you?

One thing that no one knows is that when this role was offered to me, the film was already complete. So when they (GP Sippy productions) came to me, I refused to do it. They were still delaying payments for my role in Brahmachari and I felt bad when they cast Asrani for the Jailer. We had a another meeting and I gave in. Actually, Salim-Javed were adamant to add the character of Soorma Bhopali in the film. Initially they were thinking to cast Pran Sahab but they had doubts because of his Punjabi accent.

You have a long association with GP Sippy productions?

I had worked in GP Sippy’s first film Sazaa. He also cast me in his next Shahenshah where Dev Anand and Kamini Kaushal were the main lead. I was playing a small role of a 'Pankha Chalak' in that film and my photo was on the cover page of the Illustrated weekly. So that was a big thing for me. Before Sholay, I acted in Brahamchari, and that’s when I became a hit as a comedian.

Did the forest officer ever come back looking for you?

Once outside a studio, a tall, dark guy caught hold of me and asked me, are you Soorma Bhopali, I said yes. Then I remembered he is the same forest officer Soorma Bhopali whom Javed had met. He started complaining about how everyone were teasing him, calling him names like lakdahaar. He even threatened to sue Salim-Javed. But then Johnny Walker intervened and sorted everything.

Tell us something about shooting the scenes with Amitabh and Dharmendra?

They built a set in Bangalore. My scene was only with Amitabh and Dharmendra. My part was to tell how i caught Jai and Veeru which i successfully gave it in one take. Then in the scene Amitabh asks me Phir Kya Hua, so I look around and say Bhai. He immediately started laughing, since the director liked my first take the rest of the shot was taken from another angle. If you watch the scene carefully Amitabh is laughing for a second and then it cuts to a different scene.

And how many days did it take to shoot your part?

My role was a one track role. So it required 10-12 days so they took extra dates from Amitabh and Dharmendra to complete the sequence.

When the film released it was a flop and people didn’t love it at all. Is there a particular reason?

Even I did nto like it the first time I saw it. The premiere was in Minerwa theatre. Nobody in the industry liked it cause everyone was waiting for the 70mm prints which were delayed and people were waiting till 10:30. Shammi Kapoor who was a co-owner of that theatre asked them to run the 35mm instead but unfortunately the sound quality was poor and the visual quality was bad. The much hyped about film didn't meet the expectations. After sometime when Sholay had become popular i had an Arab visitor who claimed to be a big fan and wanted to see the film. I went to the same theatre and this time I was spellbound. Dwarka Divecha was a taskmaster and brilliant at his work. He has contributed immensely to the film. He always giving suggestions to put the frame like this, change the angle and Ramesh Sippy would immediately agree.

The film took lot of years to complete? A simple scene of Jaya Bhaduri lighting the lamp took so many months.

It was because of Dwarka Divecha. He was a perfectionist. L.V Prasad and Dwarka worked together like a team. It was a sight to watch them go for it. No egos, and no complex with each other.

In Sholay, not only the lead actors but the character actors have also achieved iconic status.

It is because of Salim-Javed. They created all the characters so beautifully and everyone had brilliant dialogues. It was a well planned script.

What about the number of attempts made to remake Sholay?

I made a film by my character’s name, everybody watched it and appreciated it. Many years back I had gone to Patna for the premiere of a Bhojpuri film which was a remake of Sholay. And someone asked me to say something about it. I just said ‘Taj Mahal sirf Ek Hee Baar Banta Hai'. I have seen Sholay 25 times. And I always see it when it comes on television. The Indian audience is very smart they know the difference between a good and bad movie.

What about celebrating success party of Sholay at 35.

I believe this the perfect reason to celebrate the success of Sholay. At least now we deserve a trophy for being successful for so long. The film completed silver jubilee and we got nothing. Will it come after 35 years? More than a trophy a small gesture like 'I appreciate your work and you were good' really counts. All I am saying is that it is important share the success and happiness. After the film released, I never met them. They had become too big.