Exclusive: Iconic Sholay scene a copy of Hollywood film? Actor Adil Hussain reacts as tweet goes viral, divides Internet

In an exclusive conversation with Khaleej Times, the National Award-winning actor spoke up about why it's important to acknowledge the iconic moments in cinema that, in turn, inspire other memorable scenes in movies

Rituraj Borkakoty

Published: Wed 2 Aug 2023, 6:47 PM

Last updated: Wed 2 Aug 2023, 8:34 PM

Adil Hussain was only 12 when he got hooked on Sholay, the Bollywood action movie that became a cult classic.

Hussain, who was drawn to acting from the age of eight, even bunked school in his native Assam to watch the 1975 Bollywood blockbuster featuring Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjeev Kumar, Amjad Khan, Hema Malini and Jaya Bhaduri.

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The riveting storyline that pitted two criminals hired by a retired police officer to fight a group of ruthless bandits in a rugged terrain inspired Hussain so much that he went on to carve a niche of his own as an actor.

Emerging from the backwaters of Assam, Hussain has won a National Award and featured in movies like The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Life of Pi, English Vinglish, Ishqiya, Kabir Singh and Agent Vinod.

In 2020, Hussain also earned widespread praise for his performance in Star Trek: Discovery, the legendary American television series.

But a clip from an old American film shocked the 59-year-old Indian actor on Tuesday.

Hussain couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the clip sent by one of his friends.

It was a scene from the 1968 American classic Once Upon A Time In The West in which a gang of outlaws kills several members of a family at a ranch.

It's a scene that is eerily similar to Sholay's when Thakur's family is gunned down by Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan) and his gang of robbers.

Hussain revealed this in a tweet, which has now gone viral, leaving movie buffs in quandary over the originality of Ramesh Sippy's iconic movie.

"When I got a message from a friend of mine with that clip, I felt a little shocked, I thought this film was original, like really, really original," Hussain told Khaleej Times on Wednesday.

Hussain acknowledged that Sholay was one of the movies that shaped him as an actor.

"It was one film that we saw when we were young, I think I was in the sixth standard when it came. Later, I don't know how many times I saw the film," he said.

"I know all the lines of all the characters. In fact, as a stand-up comedian those days in Assam, I used to do the Gabbar Singh's lines, Bachchan's lines and Dharmendra's lines. It's something which is so close to my heart and I felt shocked and hurt almost."

Hussain admitted that it's easy for people in the creative field to be inspired by works from iconic names. But it's not acceptable to copy someone else's work.

"It's okay we all get inspired by so many filmmakers and writers, but you should always acknowledge that. There is a difference between inspiration and copying. I mean who are you going to fool?" he said.

"Some people mentioned in the tweet that the Sholay scene was better than the original. Well, I have nothing to say about that. It's a personal, subjective choice and what can we say?"

"If you think that the copy is better than the original, that means either you have not seen the original or you have seen it but didn't like it, and you liked the copy better."

"It's very subjective. Sholay was made in the cultural context of India. So it can be that you might like it more even if it's a copy. So I have nothing to say about it."

But for Hussain, who played a key role in the critically-acclaimed Norwegian movie, What Will People Say, Sholay continues to remain one of the finest Indian movies.

"The only film that I remember watching before Sholay was Mera Naam Joker, which had two intervals. It was so long," he said.

"I also remember watching films like Mili , Abhimaan, Dream Girl. As an actor, Ardh Satya was probably the Indian film from those days that made an impression on me. I was totally in awe of Om Puri and Naseeruddin Shah in that film. I thought that they were like real people, not actors.

"All those films I watched much later. But from my childhood days, it was definitely Sholay which was close to my heart."

rituraj@khaleejtimes.com

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