One of Bollywood's most iconic films, Sholay, is completing 50 years on August 15. This classic film of Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra is still alive in the hearts of the audience. Its dialogues, characters and scenes still garner as much applause as they did in that era. But do you know that Amitabh Bachchan was not the first choice for the role of Jai?

In fact, superstar Dharmendra, who played Veeru in Sholay, recently revealed that he had suggested Amitabh Bachchan's name for the role of Jai. Dharmendra said that initially this role was given to Shatrughan Sinha, but later he recommended Amitabh to director Ramesh Sippy. In an interview, Dharmendra said, “Yes, I recommended Amitabh. I don’t say that I got him the role, but he used to come to meet me, sit with me. I told Ramesh Sippy ji that this boy is new, his voice is different, he will do very well. I really liked the confidence and self-love that Amitabh had. I said, "Take him in the film.”

‘Sholay’ not only became a blockbuster film, but also became one of the highest grossing films of that era. Made on a budget of just 3 crores, this film earned around 35 crores. It has also got a rating of 8.1/10 on IMDb. Talking about the work front, Dharmendra was last seen in Shahid Kapoor and Kriti Sanon’s film ‘Teri Baato Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya’. Now he will soon be seen in ‘21’, in which Amitabh Bachchan’s grandson Agastya Nanda will be in the lead role.