Gabbar Singh is the reason why Amjad Khan never worked with Salim-Javed again after Sholay - The Indian Express

Nothing can beat the popularity of Gabbar Singh in Indian pop culture, a character that turned one-film-old Amjad Khan into a legend in 1975 with the release of Ramesh Sippy's iconic film Solay. His dialogues such as "Arrey oo Sambha, kitne aadmi the?", "Bahut yaarana hai", and "Jo darr gaya samjho marr gaya" became a part of the country's colloquial lingo. But this dreaded dacoit, whose name was once used as a threat to put children to sleep, was a kind, soft-hearted man in real life. He wooed his wife with wafers, cried when his son was hurt while playing and urged a doctor to let him be in the operation theatre when his daughter had to be operated for appendicitis.

In a 2011 interview, Khan's wife and daughter of writer and lyricist Akhtar-ul-Iman, Shehla shared how the actor pursued her for her marriage from the time when she was just 14 years old. She told Filmfare that she knew Khan from an early age as they were neighbours and would often play badminton together.

From an early age, Khan was enamoured by Shehla and told her not to call her 'bhai'. "One day I was returning from school when he came to me and said, 'Do you know the meaning of Shehla? It means the one with dark eyes'. Then he said, 'Hurry up and grow up because I'm going to marry you'," shared Shehla.

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Soon enough, Khan sent a marriage proposal to Shehla's father, but he refused, leaving the actor furious. "You've rejected my proposal? If this was my village we'd have wiped out three generations of your family," Khan told Shehla. However, to keep her away from Khan, Shehla's father sent her to Aligarh for further studies, where she would get a letter from Khan every day. But as fate had it, she soon returned to Bombay (now Mumbai) as she fell ill.

Shehla shared, "Amjad had done his Masters in Persian, which was my second language too. So he'd teach me Persian." Besides studies, the two spent time together while watching movies. "I was crazy about wafers. So he'd woo me with chips. I grew up only after I met him. I saw my first adult film, Moment To Moment, with him.," she added.

Amjad Khan's family portrait (L to R): Son Seemaab Khan, daughter Ahlam Khan, wife Sheila Khan and son Shahdaab Khan. (Express archive photo by Mahendra Parikh)

Amjad Khan once again approached Shehla's parents to ask if he could marry their daughter and this time he got their approval. The couple got married in 1972 and their first child, son Shadaab was born in 1973, on the same day when Khan signed Sholay.

Shehla described Khan as a "good husband and a loving father" during the interview. She shared, "He was an extremely loving father. Once the younger one Seemab hurt himself and had to have stitches on his face. He sat waiting on the porch for his father to return. The minute Amjad saw him, he too started crying." She adds, "He used to address Ahlam as 'princess'. Once she was supposed to be operated for appendicitis. He coaxed his doctor friend to let him remain in the operation theatre while the surgery was being done."

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When Amjad was finalised by Ramesh Sippy as Gabbar Singh, on the advice of Salim-Javed, he had a lot on line. His son was only a few months old and his father, actor Jayant, was undergoing treatment for cancer. This film was supposed to solve all his life's problems. However, among so many established actors, Amjad found himself struggling and his nervousness showed in his performance.

Anupama Chopra writes in her book Making of a Classic that after he and the director struggled for two days, Ramesh gave him a break and decided to try him in the next schedule. The actor didn't give a single shot in the first schedule. While Amjad was prepared the next time round, many in the team were unsure that he will be able to do justice to the role. Whispers started in the crew and Salim-Javed, worried that the blame for Amjad will be pinned on them, approached Ramesh.

'If you aren't satisfied with Amjad, change him,' they told him. The director, however, decided to stick with the actor and the rest is history. Amjad found out about the rumours and Salim-Javed's conversation much later. He was deeply hurt that the people who got him the film also tried to get him removed. They never worked together again.

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Amjad Khan passed away due to a cardiac arrest in 1992. He was 48.