Govardhan Asrani is a popular name in the Hindi film industry. With his excellent performances, he has left his own mark in the hearts of the audience. The actor came to India as a refugee from Pakistan where his life was full of difficulties but with hard work and struggle he created his own identity. Govardhan Asrani was born on 1 January 1941 in a Sindhi family. He said goodbye to this world on 20 October 2025.

After the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, Asrani came to India with his family and spent his early life in Jaipur city of Rajasthan. His father Thakurdas Jethanand Asrani used to do many jobs to feed his family, after which he started a small saree and carpet business near Punch Batti. But even under these circumstances, Asrani’s morale remained high.

Love for acting started from college
Despite all the difficulties, Asrani completed his schooling, after which he entered the world of acting. The late actor completed his early education from St. Xavier’s School and after that he obtained his degree from Rajasthan Arts College. Since his college days, he was interested in theater and acting. According to The Indian Express, the actor also worked as a voice over artist in All India Radio, Jaipur to make ends meet.

This story of Asrani is famous in the folklore of Jaipur.
During his youthful days, Asrani was cycling on MI Road with his friend. At that time both the friends stopped near the cinema hall where the late actor’s eyes fell on the poster of Meharbaan. Seeing this he said to his friend, ‘You are watching. One day my poster will also be displayed here. After a few months, Asrani’s wish was fulfilled. The poster of his debut film Hare Kanch Ki Chudiyan was put up outside the same theatre. Even though there was a small glimpse of her in the poster, it was a matter of pride for Asrani to share the screen with stalwarts like Vishwajeet, Helen, Naina Sahu and Rajendra Nath.

The actor was always connected to his culture
Govardhan Asrani belongs to a Sindhi family and this was clearly visible in his personality. In the month of November in 2024, the actor participated in an event in Ajmer and in his speech he presented Sindhi heritage very well in front of the audience. In his speech, the actor said- ‘Have you ever seen a Sindhi begging? No, this is because Sindhis never beg, we sell marbles, trade clothes, sell pakodas but never beg and this is our real identity.

The actor had said- ‘You will not see a Sindhi terrorist anywhere in the world, but you can definitely see a Sindhi businessman. My parents also did the same. He stitched clothes, worked hard but never begged. These are the values ​​with which I grew up.

How was Asrani’s film career?
Govardhan Asrani is known for his comic roles. The actor worked in more than 350 films in his film career and even today the audience remembers him as the British jailer of Sholay. From 1970 to 1979, he was seen in supporting roles in films like ‘Mere Apne’, ‘Koshish’, ‘Bavarchi’, ‘Abhimaan’, ‘Mehbooba’, ‘Palkon Ki Chhaon Mein’ and ‘Bandish’.

There have been many actors in Hindi cinema whose roles were small, but their impact was huge. Viju Khote was one of them. On screen, he sometimes became a dangerous dacoit and sometimes a comedian whose dialogues would make one burst out laughing.

He may have been identified with Kalia of ‘Sholay’ and Robert of ‘Andaz Apna Apna’, but there were hard work, struggle and many interesting stories in his life and career. One such incident is from the shooting of ‘Sholay’, where a horse repeatedly threw him on the ground.

Viju Khote was born in a film family

Viju Khote was born on 17 December 1941 in Mumbai. His real name was Vitthal Bapurao Khote. He came from a film family. His father, Nandu Khote, was a well-known stage and silent film actor. His sister, Shubha Khote, was also a famous actress of Hindi cinema. Viju Khote was also very good in studies. There was a time when people felt that they would make a career in some other field instead of acting. He also opened a printing press and ran it for some time.

Viju Khote started the film world as a child artist. Gradually he started getting small roles. He was seen in films like ‘Anokhi Raat’, ‘Jeene Ki Raah’, ‘Aapka Swagat Hai’, ‘Khilauna’, ‘Sachcha Jhoota’, ‘Shreshtha’, ‘Bhai Ho To Aisa’, ‘Raaste Ka Patthar’, ‘Rampur Ka Laxman’, Benam’, ‘Jurm Aur Saja’ and ‘Insaniyat’. The audience liked his timing, facial expressions and style of speaking dialogues very much.

‘Sholay’ changed Viju Khote’s fate

The film ‘Sholay’ released in 1975 changed the fate of Viju Khote. In this film, he played the role of Gabbar Singh’s companion Kalia. His dialogue in the film ‘Sardar, I have eaten your salt’ became so famous that even today people remember him with this line. There is an interesting story behind this role also.

Amjad Khan who became Gabbar Singh was his theater friend and on his recommendation, Viju Khote got the role of Kalia.

A funny incident is also related during the shooting of ‘Sholay’. In one scene, Viju Khote was made to sit on a horse. As soon as the spotboy on the set opened the umbrella, the horse suddenly got angry and threw Viju Khote on the ground. This happened several times. This scene was fun for the entire unit, but it was not easy for Viju Khote. Despite this, he shot the scene with complete honesty.

Worked in more than 440 films

After ‘Sholay’, Viju Khote did not look back. He worked in more than 440 Hindi and Marathi films. Robert’s character and dialogue ‘Galti Se Mistake Ho Gaya’ in ‘Andaz Apna Apna’ took him to the new generation. He also played important roles in the TV serials ‘Zabaan Sambhal Ke’, ‘Shriman Shrimati’, ‘Ghar Jamai’, ‘Family Number One’, and ‘CID’ and remained active for a long time through Marathi films like ‘Devta’, ‘Changu-Mangu’, ‘Ayatya Gharat Gharoba’, and ‘Uttarayan’.

He died on 30 September 2019 in Mumbai at the age of 77. After his departure, the film industry lost an artiste who had made a big mark even with small roles.

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Sholay is one of the best films made under the direction of Ramesh Sippy. This film was released in 1975 and it has completed 50 years. Even after 50 years, this film is still alive in the hearts of people. Fans keep watching it on OTT platform. On completion of 50 years of the film, it has been re-released on 12th December. At that time the film had earned huge money at the box office. But its budget was also very high for that time, after hearing which many people said that it was going to flop.

Ramesh Sippy has revealed in an interview that at that time the newspapers had declared Sholay a flop. Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra’s film was made with a budget of Rs 3 crore and proved to be an all-time blockbuster. The filmmaker told that industry trackers initially thought that the makers of the 1975 action comedy would never be able to recover their investment. Immediately after the film was released in theatres, it did not generate much revenue.

was declared a flop
Ramesh Sippy said in an interview to Siddharth Kannan- ‘He wrote that the investment was so much that the makers would never be able to recover it. He even claimed that such expensive films will ruin the industry. If filmmakers keep spending like this, the industry will sink. But after five weeks he took back his statement and admitted that he was wrong. The initial budget of the film was Rs 1 crore but in the end it was made for Rs 3 crore. Rs 1 crore at that time is equivalent to approximately Rs 100 crore today.

Ramesh Sippy further said – But right after the first quiet weekend, the whole atmosphere changed. After that the industry started celebrating the film. The industry was happy. He said- It is good that the big film did not work. The same discussion was taking place among distributors, exhibitors and producers. He felt that this film would ruin him. People thought that we had gone crazy by making such an expensive film.

Also read: 10 pictures of Chitrangada Singh, even at the age of 49 there is no match for her beauty

The film ‘Sholay’, made under the direction of Ramesh Sippy, has been re-released in theaters on Friday with a 4K version. In this film, as much as the pairing of Jai and Veeru was liked, the romance of Dharmendra and Basanti was also liked. The pairing of Dharmendra and Hema Malini won everyone’s hearts in the film Sholay, but do you know that hero Dharmendra had fallen in love with someone even before his youth? On the occasion of the re-release of Sholay, we will tell you about Dharmendra’s poem and story, which he had written before the partition of India-Pakistan.

Dharmendra told the story of his first love
It is common to fall in love or feel attracted to someone at a young age. This moment comes in everyone’s life. Some people talk about this, some don’t, but Dharmendra Deol had narrated the story of his first and raw love and had also written a poem to express the condition of his heart. Dharmendra came to Salman Khan’s show ‘Dus Ka Dum’ with his son Bobby Deol.

In the show, Bobby teased his father and said, “Send the poem to the girl for whom you had written it.” On the matter of love (romance), Dharmendra told that in earlier times people were a little shy. The person in front did not even know that someone was secretly sighing coldly for them. Then Bobby talked about that poem and the girl.

Dharmendra had written the poem
Dharmendra told that he had named this poem ‘Anokhi Kashish, Anjaana Ahsaas’. He said that this was the time when the country was not divided and he was also very young. Humming his poem, the actor said, “I was young, innocent at my age, I don’t know what it was like, someone to go near, to sit with whomever I wanted. She was Taliba of eighth grade, and I was studying in sixth, she was the daughter of our school teacher, her name was Hamida. She would smile, I would go near her. If she was silent, I would bow my head. She would ask something else and I would say something else. What is this question, this unique one.” What is attraction and unknown feeling?

Let us tell you that when Dharmendra was 14-15 years old, he started liking his own school teacher’s daughter. The actor kept this romance alive on screen and played romantic roles in superhit films like ‘Tum Haseen Main Jawaan’ in 1970, ‘Mera Gaon, Mera Desh’ in 1971, ‘Sita-Geeta’ in 1972, and ‘Pratigya’ in 1975.

The classic cult film ‘Sholay’ was re-released in theaters on Friday. This was such a historical film in which every character had its own existence. Every character of the film was greatly appreciated by the audience. Actor Amjad Khan, who played ‘Gabbar’ in the film, immortalized this character. He worked very hard for this role.

Amjad Khan was not the first choice for ‘Gabbar’
‘Gabbar’, who used to scare people as a villain on screen, was a very calm and composed person in real life. Amjad was not the first choice for the role of ‘Gabbar’ in the film. Before Amjad Khan, Ramesh Sippy had chosen Danny Denzongpa for the role of ‘Gabbar’, but he had already said ‘yes’ to the film ‘Dharmatma’ and wanted to play a positive role at that time. He had also said at the time of the film’s release that he had no regrets in rejecting ‘Sholay’. After this, the makers thought of signing Premnath for the role of ‘Gabbar’, but due to the rumors spread during the shooting about Premnath, the makers started looking for a new Gabbar.

This is how Amjad Khan got the role of ‘Gabbar’
Amjad Khan and Ramesh Sippy first met in the theatre. Ramesh Sippy had come to watch Amjad Khan’s show on the request of his sister. Seeing Amjad Khan’s height and facial expressions on stage, he was selected for the role of ‘Gabbar’. For Amjad Khan, getting such a big film was a joy as well as a challenge. He prepared a lot to understand the character of ‘Gabbar’. Amjad Khan took advice from his father to bring alive the character of ‘Gabbar’. He talked to his father Jayant about the character and he advised him to read books based on dacoits.

Take a lot of papad for your role
Amjad read Tarun Kumar Bhaduri’s book ‘Abhishapt Chambal’ and understood the attire of the dacoits and their movements and to make the dialogue delivery perfect, he took the help of the voice of the washerman who used to come to his house. He took the tone of ‘Hey O Sambha’ after being inspired by the voice of the washerman. To make his look better, he used to blacken his teeth, so that the look of his character could be enhanced well.

Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra starrer superhit film ‘Sholay’ was released in theaters 50 years ago. In the film, the pair of both the actors left their mark in the hearts of the audience with their jugalbandhi and tremendous action scenes. Today, on 12th December, on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of ‘Sholay’, it has been released again in theaters.

Audience got special gift on the golden jubilee of ‘Sholay’
Today after 50 years, once again crowds of spectators have gathered in cinema halls to watch ‘Sholay’. To give a special gift to the fans on the occasion of Golden Jubilee, this iconic film of Dharmendra and Amitabh Bachchan was released in theatres.

It has been re-released on screen with the original climax of the film. But when ‘Sholay’ was released in theaters in 1975, it printed huge notes and for 19 years no other film could break this record.

Budget and box office collection of ‘Sholay’
‘Sholay’ was made at a cost of Rs 3 crore under the direction of Ramesh Sippy. After this, when this action packed film was released in 1975, it set records with its earnings at the box office. Made on a budget of just Rs 3 crore, this film earned Rs 15 crore and became the highest grossing Indian film. Even for 19 years, no Indian film could compete with the box office of ‘Sholay’.

Box office record of ‘Sholay’ broken after 19 years
‘Sholay’ has been doing well at the box office for a long time. The story of the film, the strong acting of the star cast and the cinematography were highly appreciated. For 19 years, a film could not be made which could beat the box office collection of ‘Sholay’. But in 1991, Sooraj Barjatya released his own film ‘Hum Aapke Hain Koun’.

In this, the pairing of Salman Khan and Madhuri Dixit was much talked about and it deposited Rs 72 crore in its account, leaving behind the box office collection of ‘Sholay’. Here too, along with the story and characters of the film, its album was also very much liked. This multi-starrer film was one of the hit films of that time.

According to the report of India.com, the actor who got the highest fee for ‘Sholay’ was not Amitabh Bachchan but Dharmendra. He got Rs 1.5 lakh for the role of Veeru.

It has been 50 years since the film ‘Sholay’ was released. This classic film of Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Hema Malini, Jaya Bhaduri and Amjad Khan can now be seen in theaters again. Recently, the makers also released the trailer of ‘Sholay: The Final Cut’, after watching which the excitement about the film has increased among the fans. Abhishek Bachchan has also shared a post regarding the film on his social media handle. He has made an interesting revelation in the post.
Abhishek Bachchan posted on his Instagram and told about ‘Sholay: The Final Cut’. Along with this, he also told that he is very excited to watch the film. The actor told that till date he has seen this film only on TV and watching it in theaters has been the dream of his life.

‘I have never seen Sholay on the big screen…’
While sharing the poster of ‘Sholay’, Abhishek Bachchan wrote in the caption – ‘The biggest untold story! Eagerly waiting to see Sholay in all its glory on the big screen. I have never seen Sholay on the big screen, only on TV and VHS/DVD. This has been my lifelong dream.

‘Sholay’ will be re-released on December 12
‘Sholay’ was directed by Ramesh Sippy. The story, dialogues and songs of this film are still liked by the audience. This film is still included in the list of cult classics. ‘Sholay: The Final Cut’ will be released in theaters in 4K version on December 12. The film will be presented with its original ending. This means that the scenes which were deleted at that time will also be added to this film and the film will be shown afresh.

Veteran Bollywood actor Dharmendra said goodbye to the world on 24 November. He breathed his last at the age of 89. Dharmendra was not only a film actor, but also ruled the hearts of people with his special style and looks. His physique and fitness gave him a different position in Bollywood. This is the reason why he was called the ‘Heiman’ of Bollywood.

This was how my early life was
Dharmendra was born on 8 December 1935 in Nasrali village of Ludhiana district of Punjab. His real name was Dharmendra Kewal Krishna Deol. His father was Kewal Krishna and mother Satwant Kaur. Dharmendra’s childhood was spent in Sahnewal village. His father was the headmaster of a government school. He completed his studies from Punjab University. Even in his childhood, he had a desire to do something different.

Talent competition changed my whole life
Dharmendra participated in the New Talent Competition of Filmfare Magazine and became the winner. After this his steps turned towards Bollywood. Dharmendra entered Bollywood in 1960 with the film ‘Dil Bhi Mera Hum Bhi Tere’. Although this film was not successful at the box office, but after this he did films like ‘Shola Aur Shabnam’, which gave him recognition. Gradually he strengthened the foundation of his career. He gave many hit films like ‘Anpadh’, ‘Bandini’, ‘Aayi Milan Ki Bela’, ‘Haqeeqat’, ‘Phool Aur Patthar’, ‘Mamta’, ‘Anupama’, ‘Izzat’, ‘Aankhen’, ‘Shikhar’ and ‘Manjhali Didi’.

Peak stardom achieved in the 70s
Dharmendra got real stardom in the 70s. At this time, he left a deep impression on the hearts of the audience due to his looks and fitness. His tremendous stunts and strong body in action films earned him the title of ‘Heiman’. Along with him, Hema Malini’s pairing was also very much liked. Dharmendra and Hema gave hit films like ‘Sita Aur Geeta’, ‘Sholay’, ‘Raja Jani’, ‘Tum Haseen Main Jawan’ and ‘Patthar Ke Phool’. Dharmendra’s character of ‘Veeru’ is still alive in the hearts of people.

Be successful in every role
Dharmendra played many types of characters in his films. Action, romance, comedy and drama, he left his mark in every role. He always did his own stunts. Many times he also did action scenes with real animals. Dharmendra’s comedy films were also praised. Films like ‘Chupke Chupke’ and ‘Yamla Pagla Deewana’ proved to be a treasure trove of laughter for the audience.

Honored with many awards
He received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in the year 1997. In the year 2012, the Government of India honored him with ‘Padma Bhushan’. The film ‘Ghayal’ produced by him also received National Award and Filmfare Award. Dharmendra always did not consider films just as a means of earning money, he used to do it for his passion and love.

Dharmendra’s personal life
Dharmendra’s personal life was also like a film story. He married twice. His first marriage was with Prakash Kaur, with whom he has two sons Sunny and Bobby Deol and two daughters Ajita and Vijayta. In the year 1980, he married Hema Malini and has two daughters, Esha and Ahana. Dharmendra loved his family very much.