Director Ramesh Sippy, the man behind Sholay (1975), the most influential Indian film of all time, was very particular about his process. In fact, he didn't even have to consult the film's co-writer Javed Akhtar before making any alterations. In a masterclass session at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa, recently, Sippy recalled devising a memorable scene featuring Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan, shot during the magic hour. He explained, "The scene between Amitabh and Jaya, there was a silent love between them, because she is a widow. This sequence suddenly felt right just at that time when day turns into night. When I spoke to the cameraman, he said that we can only shoot at that magic hour, so we had only those two minutes." ALSO READ | Salim-Javed weren’t convinced of Hema Malini’s talent, Mumtaz was first choice for Seeta Aur Geeta: Ramesh Sippy He added, "We used to shoot other scenes from morning till lunch, then after lunch we used to start setting up for this shot. The moment the magic hour was there, we took the shot. My father (GP Sippy), who was the producer, never said a single word about what his son is doing there, shooting one scene in 23 days. He wanted me to make it my own way." When asked if Javed Akhtar, writer of Sholay along with Salim Khan, was present on the sets of the film, Sippy replied, "Yes, sometimes he was there and sometimes he wasn't. He was very much there in that sense. The dialogues were written, they were there, and as much part of the writing. When I went, visually seeing the lamp lighting and arrangements there, if I made changes, I didn't have to consult him." Sholay was released in 1975, and is still considered as one of the most successful Bollywood hits of all time. The film starred Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Amjad Khan, Hema Malini, and Dharmendra.
