The Gabbar of ‘Sholay’, who is afraid of women, her love story will sweat heart, say- Shahrukh Khan is not so romantic
Gabbar in Sholay’s scene.
Talking about the famous villains of Bollywood, the name of ‘Gabbar Singh’ first comes on the tongue. 50 years after the 1975 film ‘Sholay’, Gabbar, who played by Amjad Khan, remains one of the most memorable and favorite villain characters of Hindi cinema. His famous dialogue ‘How many men were there?’ Even today, it is as effective as it was in that period. This character not only made Amjad Khan an immortal actor, but also gave a new definition to the villain. After ‘Sholay’, Amjad Khan played various roles in films like ‘Satte Pe Power’, ‘Chess Khiladi’, ‘Mukaddar Ka Sikandar’ and established himself as a versatile artist. His death in 1992 has now passed nearly three decades. He is survived by his wife Shehla Khan and three children. In this article we present a glimpse of Amjad and Shehla’s unique love story and their life.
When Amjad fell in love with Shehla
Amjad Khan and Shehla were neighbors in Bandra area of Mumbai in the same locality. When Amjad fell in love with Shehla for the first time, at that time he was in college. He was studying and Shehla was only 14 years old. In an interview to Filmfare, Shehla had recalled that time, saying, ‘We lived in the same colony. I was 14 years old and studied in school. Amjad B.A. Was doing. I knew him as the son of ‘Jayant Uncle’. We sometimes played badminton. Once he told me, ‘Don’t call me brother!’
Pyaar expresses and teenage romance
One day when Shehla was returning home from school, Amjad came to him and said, ‘Do you know the meaning of Shehla? This means black eyes. Grow quickly because I am going to marry you. ‘ A few days later, Amjad sent a proposal for marriage to Shehla’s house, but Shehla’s father, famous writer-song Akhtar-ul-Aman, rejected the proposal saying that the girl is still very young. Amjad was very hurt by this refusal. Annoyed, he jokingly said to Shehla, ‘You turned down my proposal? If this was my village, we would have erased the three generations of your family! ‘
Distance, love through letters and then return
After the proposal was rejected, Shehla’s father sent him to Aligarh for further studies, so that he would stay away from Amjad. But the distance did not stop this love story. The only contact between the two was love letter. Shehla said, ‘Every day I used to get a letter from Amjad. I also used to send letters to them in response. After some time, Shehla’s health deteriorated and was called back to Mumbai. From there, his studies also started again. During this time, Amjad helped him a lot in his studies, especially in Persian language in which he did a masters and also had a second language of Shehla.
From tuition to love
During his studies, their relationship got deeper. Shehla remembered how Amjad used to woo her with her favorite things, ‘I was the addict of Waers. He used to woo me by feeding them chips. I saw my first adult film, ‘Moment to Moment’ with Amjad. I grew up meeting him. After knowing and understanding each other for many years, finally Amjad’s parents themselves reached Shehla’s house with a proposal of marriage. This time Shehla’s parents happily accepted this relationship. Both of them got married in 1972 and a year later in 1973 their son Shadab was born. Shadab’s birth was very special for Amjad, as he received a proposal to play Gabbar Singh in ‘Sholay’ on the same day, a role that made him immortal in the history of Hindi cinema.
A strong relationship, an incomplete story
Amjad and Shehla’s married life lasted for about 20 years. Amjad Khan died of myocardial infarction (heart attack) in 1992. Recalling the time, Shehla said that Amjad was the confidence that gave him the strength to stand on his feet in difficult times. His love story contains innocence, struggle, distance, then union and finally a untimely farewell, everything that makes a classic Bollywood romance memorable. Amjad Khan was not just a great actor, but also a true lover, dedicated husband and a person responsible for the family. The story of his and Shehla still touches the hearts.
