Nearly five decades after ‘Sholay’ (1975) became one of Indian cinema’s most iconic films, a familiar casting controversy has resurfaced — and this time, the director has set the record straight.

Veteran actor Shatrughan Sinha has, on multiple occasions, claimed that he was initially approached to play Jai, the stoic hero eventually portrayed by Amitabh Bachchan. Sinha has said that he could not commit to the film due to an overload of scripts and shooting shifts, later calling it a major miscalculation in hindsight.

However, Ramesh Sippy, who directed the 1975 blockbuster, has now categorically denied the claim.

Speaking on Siddharth Kannan’s podcast, Sippy stated that Shatrughan Sinha was never formally approached for Jai’s role. While acknowledging that Sinha was among the prominent

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