Nearly five decades after its release, Sholay continues to remain one of Indian cinema’s most iconic films. But according to actor-writer Shadaab Khan, son of legendary actor Amjad Khan, the film was not instantly embraced by audiences when it first hit theatres in 1975.Speaking to Vickey Lalwani, Shadaab recalled a fascinating anecdote once narrated to him by late actor Tom Alter about how dramatically opinions around Sholay changed within just a few months of its release.

Tom Alter’s restaurant anecdote about Sholay

Recalling the story, Shadaab shared that Tom Alter had once gone to the famous Moti Mahal restaurant in Bandra shortly after Sholay released. At the time, the film reportedly wasn’t doing well during its initial weeks.According to Shadaab, the waiter serving Tom Alter recognised him as a foreigner and attempted to converse in English. However, when Tom replied fluently in Hindi, the waiter became impressed and struck up a longer conversation.During the interaction, the waiter reportedly asked him if he had watched the newly released Sholay. When Tom said no, the waiter surprisingly advised him against watching it.“He said, ‘Mat dekho sahab, kya dabba picture banayi hai. Sanjeev Kumar ke haath nahi hai picture mein, Amitabh Bachchan aur Dharmendra coin toss se decision lete hain, aur villain bhi kitna dabba hai — Amjad Khan, Gabbar Singh… kya dialogue hai “Kitne aadmi the?”’” Shadaab recalled.

How opinions changed within months

Shadaab further revealed that a few months later, after Sholay had become a massive blockbuster, Tom Alter deliberately revisited the same restaurant.Coincidentally, the same waiter attended to him again, though he did not recognise Tom immediately. Once again, the conversation turned towards Sholay — but this time, the reaction was completely different.“This time the waiter said, ‘Kya picture banayi hai sahab! Amitabh Bachchan aur Dharmendra ki dosti, woh coin toss ka twist, Jaya Bhaduri ka lantern lekar chalna… aur villain dekha aapne? Amjad Khan as Gabbar Singh — kya acting ki hai!’” Shadaab shared.The actor added that the drastic shift in perception within just three months reflected the immense cultural impact Sholay eventually created across the country.

‘People couldn’t comprehend what they were seeing’

Reflecting on the film’s initial reception, Shadaab explained that audiences at the time were not immediately able to process the scale and cinematic language of Sholay.“First couple of weeks, it didn’t do well. Not because people disliked it, but because they could not comprehend what they were seeing,” he said.Shadaab noted that the film was mounted on such a grand scale that audiences had rarely experienced anything similar before.“When the coin used to fall in the film, audiences would actually look below their chairs thinking someone had dropped a coin there,” he recalled with a laugh.Released in 1975, Sholay went on to become one of the biggest blockbusters in Indian cinema history, while Gabbar Singh, played by Amjad Khan, remains one of the most celebrated villains ever portrayed on screen.