Meet Mushtaq Merchant, Whose Dual-Role In Sholay Didn't Make The Final Cut

Actor-comedian Mushtaq Merchant breathed his last at the age of 67 on December 27, 2021. He was suffering from diabetes and passed away in the Holy Family Hospital, in Mumbai. Mushtaq essayed key characters in nearly 80 films over his two-decade-long career. His best-known film remained the 1975 hit Sholay directed by Ramesh Sippy. Mushtaq got the opportunity to play two roles in this film. The first was of a train driver, who engaged in a humorous conversation with Veeru (Dharmendra). All this time, Jai (Amitabh Bachchan) and Sanjeev Kumar (Thakur Baldev Singh) were engaged in a fight with Gabbar (Amjad Khan) and his dacoits.

Mushtaq’s second character was a Parsi man whose bike was stolen by Jai and Veeru during the song Yeh Dosti. However, in a twist, Mushtaq’s sequences were removed from the final cut of Sholay. The reason cited for this decision was the film’s duration.

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After Sholay, he played many characters in films like Dharam Karam, Raeeszada, Bhala Manus and others. However, with the passage of time, he found his calling in spirituality. As stated in several reports, due to this reason, the veteran actor-comedian said his final goodbyes to the glamour industry. He converted to Sufism and devoted himself solely to religious pursuits. He spent his final years living in Bandra, Mumbai.

Not much information is available in the public domain about Mushtaq’s work and his opinions on various topics. Many social media users managed to find an interview of him with the late actor Tom Alter on Adabi Cocktail’s channel. In this interview, the viewers were pleasantly surprised to find a different facet of Mushtaq’s life. Apart from being an actor, Mushtaq was a prolific writer as well.

As described by Tom in one of Mushtaq’s books, the late actor had the capability to express his emotions beautifully in Urdu and English. Not only books, but Mushtaq also penned the screenplay for Pyaar Ka Saaya and Sapne Saajan Ke’s dialogues as well.

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