Hema Malini said that people thought of her as arrogant because of her silence on the Sholay set.
Dialogue and silence
Behind the unmatched talkative image of Basanti in the film ‘Sholay’, Hema Malini was very quiet in real life.
Her chatter on camera would give goosebumps, but she would mostly remain silent on the set.
It was not arrogance, but shyness that made her a silent lady.
Basanti’s chatter and Hema’s silence
Hema herself believes that Basanti was probably the most playful and talkative heroine of cinema.
When her speaking habits were discussed after returning from the set, she was afraid that the character might seem irritating.
Still, the audience loved her talkative style a lot.
The hero thought it was arrogance on the set
In an interview, Hema said that many heroes mistook her silent nature for arrogance.
They could not understand that the one who shows so much energy on screen actually saves words.
“Why should you speak without any reason?” This was her formula for keeping quiet.
Philosophy of ‘Why speak without any reason’
This ease of speaking of Hema shows that she gave value to words.
Wherever saying something would take the story forward, she would speak openly; otherwise, she would leave her mark by remaining silent.
This style gave her a trademark style and confidence.
Open colors with Dharmendra
The atmosphere on the set was different with Dharmendra.
Outside the shoot, both of them would sit and talk a lot because they hardly met in real life.
Their friendship somewhat reduced Hema’s shyness and there was an exchange of open smiles.
Confidence hidden in silence
Even by speaking very little, Hema proved that confidence does not have to be noisy.
Silence gave her her style and every director knew that her golden style would speak during work.
This peace gave her a different position in Bollywood.
Heroine myth and reality
It is an old myth of Bollywood to call silent heroines arrogant. Hema, Rekha or Sridevi—all proved that silence is also an art.
When eyes meet and words fall short to express the feelings of the heart, then one understands that the real power can also be in silence.
On screen and behind the screen
This confluence of the intensity of Basanti’s unanswered questions and Hema’s relaxed silence became a memorable track.
Even after 50 years, every time Basanti speaks in the world of Sholay, we will remember how much simplicity and shy innocence were there behind the screen.
