Ramesh Sippy

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Ramesh Sippy
Ramesh Sippy in 2012
Born
Ramesh Sipahimalani

(1947-01-23) 23 January 1947 (age 78)
Karachi, Sind, British India
(present-day Sindh, Pakistan)
NationalityIndian
Occupations
OrganizationRamesh Sippy Academy of Cinema & Entertainment
Spouse(s)
Geeta Sippy
​
(divorced)​
[1]
​
(m. 1991)​
ChildrenSheena Sippy, Rohan Sippy, Sonya Sippy Sondhi
Parents
RelativesKapoor family
FamilySippy family
HonorsPadma Shri (2013)

Ramesh Sippy (born 23 January 1947) is an Indian film director, actor and producer in Hindi cinema. He is particularly known for being the director of Sholay (1975), regarded as one of the most influential films ever made in India.[2] The Government of India honoured him with Padma Shri in 2013.[3] In 2017, he has founded the Ramesh Sippy Academy of Cinema & Entertainment in Mumbai.

Personal life

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Ramesh Sippy was born on 23 January 1947 in Karachi, British India. He is the son of producer G. P. Sippy. Ramesh Sippy married Kiran Juneja in 1991.

He was previously married to Geeta with whom he has three children. His son Rohan Sippy is a film director. His daughter Sheena was married to Shashi Kapoor's son, Kunal Kapoor, until they divorced in 2004.[citation needed] Their son, Zahan Kapoor, is an Indian actor working in Hindi films and theater plays.[4]

Career

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Ramesh Sippy visited the sets of the film Sazaa, his father's first film, when he was 6 years old. His first film job came at age nine, when he played Achala Sachdev's son in the 1953 film Shahenshah. He worked in both the production and direction departments in Johar-Mehmood in Goa and Mere Sanam produced by his father. He worked as an assistant for seven years before becoming the director of Andaz (1971) starring Shammi Kapoor, Hema Malini and Rajesh Khanna which was a huge box office success. His second film Seeta Aur Geeta (1972) featuring Hema Malini in dual roles was also hugely successful and propelled her to superstardom[5][6]

In 1975 Ramesh Sippy directed the multistarrer Sholay featuring Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjeev Kumar, Hema Malini, Jaya Bhaduri and Amjad Khan in his most iconic role as the dacoit Gabbar Singh. After a lukewarm start the box office, the film went on to become the biggest blockbuster in Bollywood history. Sholay still remains one of the most iconic films in Hindi film history and a favourite for film audiences globally.[7]

None of his later films were able to match the stupendous success of Sholay[8] which was a tribute to the Westerns. His next film Shaan (1980) which was inspired by the James Bond genre of films remained a moderate success.[9] Shakti (1982) brought together veteran actor Dilip Kumar and the reigning superstar Amitabh Bachchan in Shakti. The moderately successful film did win the Filmfare Best Movie Award. In 1985, he directed Saagar, starring Rishi Kapoor, Kamal Haasan and marked Dimple Kapadia's comeback to films after 12 years since her debut in Bobby.

Ramesh Sippy directed the successful television serial Buniyaad which focused on the Partition of India and was aired on Indian television channel Doordarshan from 1986 to 1987. The next three films he directed, Bhrashtachar (1989), Akayla (1991), and Zamana Deewana (1995) were box office flops. He did not direct any film for 20 years after that. In 2015, he returned to directing with Shimla Mirchi, a comedy film starring Rajkummar Rao, Rakul Preet Singh and Hema Malini.[10] The film had difficulty attracting buyers and remained unreleased until January 2020[11] when it was finally released on Netflix.[12]

His string of hits with Amitabh Bachchan made him one of the golden directors who had a special working relationship with the actor along with Yash Chopra, Prakash Mehra, Manmohan Desai, and Hrishikesh Mukherjee. In 2005 he received the Filmfare Best Film of 50 Years award for Sholay.

Ramesh Sippy has produced several films directed by his son Rohan Sippy, such as Kuch Naa Kaho (2003), Bluffmaster (2005) and Dum Maro Dum (2011). In 2006 he also produced Taxi No. 9211 which was directed by Milan Luthria. In 2008-09 he produced Kunaal Roy Kapur's The President is Coming and the Akshay Kumar-Deepika Padukone film, Chandni Chowk to China, directed by Nikhil Advani.

Awards and honours

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Filmography

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Year Film Role Notes
1968 Brahmachari Producer
1971 Andaz Director
1972 Seeta Aur Geeta Director
1975 Sholay Director
1978 Trishna Director
1980 Shaan Director
1982 Shakti Director
1985 Saagar Director
1987 Zameen Director Incomplete/ Unreleased
1989 Bhrashtachar Director
1991 Akayla Director
1995 Zamana Deewana Director
2003 Kuch Naa Kaho Producer
2005 Bluffmaster! Producer
2006 Taxi No. 9211 Producer
2007 Fear Producer
2008 The President is Coming Producer
2009 Chandni Chowk to China Producer
2011 Dum Maaro Dum Producer
2013 Nautanki Saala Producer
2014 Sonali Cable Producer
2020 Shimla Mirchi Director

Television

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Awards

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Year Award Category Film Result
1976 Filmfare Awards Best Director Sholay Nominated
1983 Filmfare Awards Best Director Shakti Nominated
1986 Filmfare Awards Best Director Saagar Nominated
2005 Filmfare Awards Best Film of 50 Years Sholay Won

References

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  1. ^ Aakanksha Naval-Shetye; Ram Kohli; Subhash K Jha (5 May 2013). "The other woman". DNA India.
  2. ^ Verma, Rahul (14 August 2015). "Sholay: The Star Wars of Bollywood?". www.bbc.com.
  3. ^ "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  4. ^ "Bollywood: Kapoor family's new kid Zahan all set to debut in thriller 'Faraaz'". gulfnews.com. 5 August 2021.
  5. ^ Raheja, Dinesh (28 May 2003). "Seeta Aur Geeta: A rollicking entertainer". Rediff.
  6. ^ (Chopra 2000)
  7. ^ Verma, Rahul (14 August 2015). "Sholay: The Star Wars of Bollywood?". www.bbc.com.
  8. ^ "Remembering Sholay".
  9. ^ Seta, Keyur. "Was Shaan a mistake after Sholay? Here's what Ramesh Sippy has to say". Cinestaan. Archived from the original on 29 June 2019.
  10. ^ "Rajkummar Rao Wraps up Shoot For Shimla Mirchi – NDTV Movies". NDTVMovies.com. 12 May 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  11. ^ "Ramesh Sippy's comeback film Shimla Mirchi starring Hema Malini has no buyers". Deccan Chronicle. 28 March 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
  12. ^ "Rajkummar Rao's film 'Shimla Mirch' goes straight to OTT".
  13. ^ Joshi, Namrata; Bhandare, Namita (6 April 1998). "Same old formula". India Today. Living Media. Retrieved 6 February 2025.

Sources

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