Movie bug bit when I was seven: Ramesh Sippy looks back at 'Sholay' and how it all started

New Delhi: He was only seven when he visited a film set, saw his father direct and fell in love with the movies. Seventy-two years later and Ramesh Sippy is ready to weave more magic with another "Buniyaad", taking forward the epic Partition story that aired on Doordarshan in 1986 and still tugs at the heartstrings.

The son of producer-director G P Sippy and the blockbuster director of "Sholay", "Seeta Aur Geeta" and "Shaan" said the bug bit early. He knew right then that he didn't want to do anything else.

“Since the age of seven, when I first went on the sets of a film called ‘Saza’, (which was) my father’s first film, I was lost in that world… It wasn't like a fever at that time but it built up over the years,” Sippy told PTI in an interview.

“That young boy wanted only one thing... to make films," he added, recalling that he left college in London midway to work on his father's sets.

"I learned everything on the sets of all the films that my father backed and produced. And ultimately, I took the first step towards directing. Launched ‘Andaz’ and he backed me completely.” "Andaz" released in 1971. Starring Shammi Kapoor and Hema Malini, it was a hit.

The story was written by Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, the screenwriter duo who went on to form a great collaboration with Sippy in later years.

It was the beginning of many more hits to come.

Any conversation with the filmmaker invariably turns to "Sholay", just four years after "Andaz". Starring Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Sanjeev Kumar, Amjad Khan and Jaya Bachchan, the film written by Salim-Javed turned 50 last year and is one of the most celebrated and recalled Hindi films of all time.

“Since it's there in everybody's blood, I'm also a part of it as a whole. All cinema loving people, they're with me, that's the way I feel and I'm very happy about it… To make ‘Sholay’, I had to be happy with the script which we developed together... We did it and had a wonderful cast that made a lot of difference. So I guess it worked out fine,” said Sippy, who was in Delhi to receive the lifetime achievement award at International Film Festival Delhi.

Everyone, he noted, has their own take on "Sholay". And this, Sippy said, makes it particularly difficult for him to describe it.

“They all like it, love the film and continue to enjoy it. But everyone has their little own take on it. I think it's everyone's film and everyone has a right to do that. I've made the film for the people. So if it's really up to them to enjoy it the way they want." There are as many stories about “Sholay” as there are characters in the movie. Some are true and some popular but nothing to do with reality, he said.

How did he manage to convince his father to finance the film, which was made in Rs 3 crore at the time and was an expensive venture.

“I'll tell you something about my father. He didn't bat an eyelid. To him, the budget wasn't important.” A restored "Sholay" was re-released in theatres last year but the big celebration the team was planning could not happen due to veteran star Dharmendra's death in November.

“We didn't have any celebrations because he passed away. But yes, it would have been very nice. I guess time takes its toll and health did not permit him,” Sippy said.

“Sholay” and its mammoth success is often evoked when a film does better than expected, the most recent example being Aditya Dhar’s two-part saga “Dhurandhar”.

What does he make of it? “I have seen ‘Dhurandhar’ and ‘The Revenge’ as well and they're both fabulous. I've loved it. I think the action was fabulous. The concept, the staging of sequences.. Aditya Dhar and his team have done a fabulous job,” he said.

Sippy is remembered almost as much for his Doordarshan hit "Buniyaad" as he is for his films.

“‘Buniyaad was the first big event on DD. The DD team wanted to do something and they approached my father who conveyed it to me. There was already ‘Hum Log’ on DD. So we met writer Manohar Sharma Joshi. There was an immediate rapport and we were able to sit and come up with something which became 'Buniyaad',” said Sippy.

Discussing a possible sequel to the epic saga, which starred Alok Nath, Sippy's now wife Kiran Juneja, Anita Kanwar and Kanwaljeet among a host of others, the director said, "... I'm sure it will happen. The right thing will happen at the right time. So, anytime they give the nod, we'll come up with something.” The 79-year-old was born in Karachi and the family moved to Mumbai when he was just three.

Sippy is now writing his memoir. A lot of work on the book is already complete. Besides, his wife, actor Kiran Juneja, is also working on a documentary on his life and work.

“The documentary is on me and my career. So I'm sure it will capture a lot of my professional life and maybe a little bit of my private life, but not too much. I don't like to talk about personal things. So, I'll keep that to the minimum. But yes, about my career and about my life. The incidents will be there. Moments will be captured,” he said.

Carrying on the family legacy is his son, director Rohan Sippy, and grandson Zahan Kapoor who is also the grandson of Shashi Kapoor and combines the Sippy-Kapoor legacy.

"I think Zahan is a lovely boy... I think he's going to go places. He's got a bright future. His heart is in it. And he's a fine actor. And he has the lineage, the Kapoor legacy comes with him... So, I think the legacy is all there."