Filmmaker Ramesh Sippy has talked about when he first cast Amjad Khan as Gabbar in the blockbuster Sholay, many people doubted his choice and felt the late actor was like a "mouse" compared to the other major stars such as Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra.

However, Amjad's incredible performance proved everyone wrong and turned out to be an iconic superstar because of the villainous role he played.

Talking about casting controversy over Gabbar, Sippy told IANS: “For those who did not like them they will say this only that many big stars are there and there is a mouse standing in front of them (itne saare badhe actor log hai aur unke saamne ek chuha khada kardiya).”

“And they did not know and got a slap on their face that he only became such a big star (aur unko kya pata tha ki aisi thappad wapas milegi wohi sabse badha star ban gaya),” he added.

Sholay, which also stars Dharmendra and Amitabh Bachchan, is about two criminals, Veeru and Jai, hired by a retired police officer played by Sanjeev Kumar to capture the ruthless dacoit Gabbar Singh.

The film was shot in the rocky terrain of Ramanagara, in the southern state of Karnataka, over a span of two and a half years, beginning in October 1973.

In 1990, the original director's cut of 204 minutes became available on home media. When first released, Sholay received negative critical reviews and a tepid commercial response, but favourable word-of-mouth publicity helped it to become a box office success. Sholay is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential Indian films of all time.

Sholay was the highest-grossing Indian film ever at the time, and was the highest-grossing film in India up until Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!. By numerous accounts, Sholay remains one of the highest-grossing Indian films of all time, adjusted for inflation.