Gabbar Singh is a fictional character

Fictional character

A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...

 and the antagonist in the 1975 Indian movie

Cinema of India

The cinema of India consists of films produced across India, which includes the cinematic culture of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. Indian films came to be followed throughout South Asia and...

 Sholay

Sholay

Sholay is a 1975 Indian action-adventure film produced by G.P. Sippy and directed by his son Ramesh Sippy. It is considered among the greatest films in the history of Indian cinema. Released on 15 August 1975, it stars Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Sanjeev Kumar, Jaya Bhaduri and...

  written by Salim-

Salim Khan

Salim Khan is an Indian Scriptwriter and Actor. He wrote numerous screenplays for Bollywood films. He frequently collaborated with writer Javed Akhtar; the duo is credited as Salim-Javed.-Personal life:...

Javed

Javed Akhtar

Javed Akhtar is a poet, lyricist and scriptwriter from India. Some of his most successful work was done in the late 1970s and 1980s with Salim Khan as half of the script-writing duo credited as Salim-Javed...

 and also later featured in the spoof Ramgarh Ke Sholay

Ramgarh Ke Sholay

Ramgarh Ke Sholay is a 1991 spoof film that parodies the 1975 classic Bollywood blockbuster Sholay. It was directed by Ajit Diwani.Amjad Khan who played the iconic villain Gabbar Singh in the original film returns to the role of Gabbar in this film...

.
He is shown in the movie (Sholay)as a dacoit who leads a group in looting and plundering the villages in the region of Ramgarh. He has a sadistic personality and insists on killing whenever required to continue his status and to take revenge on his enemies. The character of Gabbar is one of the most popular in Indian films.

Development

Danny Denzongpa

Danny Denzongpa

Tshering Phintso Denzongpa , widely known by his acting name "Danny" Denzongpa, is an Indian actor of Sikkimese ancestry working in Bollywood films....

  was the first choice of Gabbar but had to miss out because he was shooting for Dharmatma

Dharmatma

Dharmatama is a 1975 Hindi movie and the first ever Bollywood film to be shot in Afghanistan. It was produced and directed by Feroz Khan. The movie is the first attempt in India to localise The Godfather. This film's protagonist Premnath was based on the character of Matka king Ratan Khatri...

 in Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

. Amjad Khan

Amjad Khan

Amjad Khan was an acclaimed Indian actor and director. He worked in over 130 films in his film career spanning nearly twenty years. He enjoyed popularity for his villainous roles in Hindi films the most famous being the unforgettable Gabbar Singh in 1975 classic Sholay...

 was almost dropped from the project because Javed Akhtar

Javed Akhtar

Javed Akhtar is a poet, lyricist and scriptwriter from India. Some of his most successful work was done in the late 1970s and 1980s with Salim Khan as half of the script-writing duo credited as Salim-Javed...

 found his voice too weak for Gabbar Singh's role but was later convinced.For his preparation for the role Amjad read Abhishapth Chambal, a book on Chambal dacoits written by Taroon Kumar Bhaduri (actress Jaya Bhaduri's father).

Style of Speech

Gabbar's language was a mixture of North Indian khadi boli and Hindi, which was something new for the audiences so the Dialogs were an instant hit and are still popular in India.
Javed Akhtar

Javed Akhtar

Javed Akhtar is a poet, lyricist and scriptwriter from India. Some of his most successful work was done in the late 1970s and 1980s with Salim Khan as half of the script-writing duo credited as Salim-Javed...

 says that Gabbar seemed to acquire life and vocabulary of his own ashe wrote the film. "His sadism lies in his choice of words like khurach,khurach (scratch) when he talks to Hema Malini

Hema Malini

Hema Malini is an Indian actress, director and producer, as well as a Bharatanatyam dancer-choreographer. Making her acting debut in Sapno Ka Saudagar , she went on to appear in numerous Bollywood films, most notably those with actor and future-husband Dharmendra. She was initially promoted as...

.

In Popular Culture

Amjad shot to stardom with the movie. His portrayal of Gabbar Singh is considered by many to be the first depiction of pure evil on the screen in Indian Cinema; a totally evil character who doesn't make excuses for its evil. His mannerisms and dialogues have become an integral part of Bollywood lexicon. Sholay went on to become a blockbuster, and, as of yet, it is the highest grossing movie in India. Although the movie boasted an ensemble cast of superstars including Dharmendra and Amitabh Bachchan, he stole the thunder with his unorthodox and eerie dialogue delivery that was perfectly apposite to the total lack of empathy his character was supposed to convey. Even after thirty five years people fondly remember his dialogues and mannerisms. He later appeared in advertisements as Gabbar Singh endorsing Britannia Glucose Biscuits (Popularly knowns as "Gabbar Ki Asli Pasand"), and it was the first incidence of a villain being used to sell a popular product.
The role of Gabbar singh was so deep-rooted in people's mind those days that Amjad Khan was known rest of his life by this role alone and wherever he went he had to speak some dialogues from the film to amuse the public. Later in the year 2011, Amitabh Bachchan

Amitabh Bachchan

Amitabh Bachchan is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades...

 in his popular TV Show

Kaun Banega Crorepati

Kaun Banega Crorepati is an Indian reality/game show based on the UK game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? which offers a maximum cash prize of £1 million. The show first aired in 2000 and was hosted by Amitabh Bachchan. This was the first appearance of Bachchan on Indian television...

 told a contestant that when Amjad Khan

Amjad Khan

Amjad Khan was an acclaimed Indian actor and director. He worked in over 130 films in his film career spanning nearly twenty years. He enjoyed popularity for his villainous roles in Hindi films the most famous being the unforgettable Gabbar Singh in 1975 classic Sholay...

,a close friend of bachchan, visited his home his son abhishek

Abhishek Bachchan

Abhishek Bachchan is an Indian actor and producer. He is the son of Indian actors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan and is married to actress and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai....

 ran to him and said papa, Gabbar singh aaya hai [meaning: Gabbar singh is here !!!] and Amitabh convinced his son that Gabbar was just a character played by him

Amjad Khan

Amjad Khan was an acclaimed Indian actor and director. He worked in over 130 films in his film career spanning nearly twenty years. He enjoyed popularity for his villainous roles in Hindi films the most famous being the unforgettable Gabbar Singh in 1975 classic Sholay...

. The dialogues of him are popular among the audiences of indian cinema.

Gabbar singh has been a subject of Parodies, jokes innumerable times in the popular Indian media