The iconic ‘Sholay’ is set to complete 50 years on August 15. The film is one of the most memorable movies of Hindi cinema and not just the film, but all the characters have also become a part of the popular culture – be it Jai, Veeru, Gabbar, Thakur or Basanti. While the film remains special for the cinegoers for many reasons, it’s also special for Hema Malini and Dharmendra because jus like their on-screen characters, love bloomed for them even off-screen. This furter made ‘Sholay’ more exciting to watch even for the audience. In a recent conversation, Hema Malini opened up about how their off-screen love story subtly intertwined with their on-screen magic. The actress said during a chat with NDTV, “He was very fond of me as I was of him. We had a lovely relationship because we had worked on so many movies together. We shared so much with each other — sometimes they were problems, sometimes it was happiness. Eventually, friendship led to love, maybe that’s what was reflected on the big screen too, in the film. It’s natural, isn’t it? A lovely friendship ultimately leads to love and care for each other.”In ‘Sholay’, Hema’s ‘Basanti’ became a cultural icon — the bubbly tangewali whose wit, innocence, and spirit still have audiences smiling. She recalled with affection the very first scene she shot for the film, the now-famous ‘Mandir’ sequence with Dharmendra. The Dream Girl Of Bollywood, recalled, “The Mandir scene was the first scene I shot. It was a lot of fun. So innocently, Basanti was accepting everything and answering back to Lord Shiva. Everything was very different. Shooting happened outdoors in hot summers; I don’t think we shot anything indoors. Even Ramanagara in Karnataka, where the climax scene happens, is as it was. They have not built anything there.”Dharmendra and Hema Malini have worked together in many movies like ‘Tum Haseen Main Jawan’, ‘Seeta Aur Geeta’, ‘Alibaba Aur 40 Chor’ apart from ‘Sholay’. The film directed by Ramesh Sippy was a casting coup of sort with actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Sanjeev Kumar, Amjad Khan, apart from Dharmendra and Hema.