By: Entertainment DeskNew Delhi | January 2, 2026 02:17 PM IST 3 min readFeroz Khan apparently talked Danny Denzongpa out of Sholay. (Photo: Express Archive)When discussing Bollywood villains, the name Ranjeet is hard to let go. The actor has cemented himself as one of the leading antagonists during his multi-decade career, and has made a lot of memories during that time. In a recent interview, Ranjeet discussed his career and his contemporaries, namely Raaj Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Feroz Khan and Danny Denzongpa. He told stories from his time working with them, and how these stalwarts dealt with their careers.Recalling an incident involving Raaj Kumar and Raj Kapoor, Ranjeet told AlphaNeon about the time Raaj refused to do a film for a very surprising reason. He said, “Raj Kapoor was telling the story of a film to Raaj Kumar. He listened to the story and said that he liked the film and asked Raj sahab the name of the film. He replied, ‘Jogan’. Raaj sahab said, ‘I need to use the bathroom now,’ so Raj Kapoor sahab pointed him towards the bathroom. But Raaj sahab said, ‘If I use your bathroom, I will have to do your film as well. You take an actor like Raaj Kumar and then you name the film after a woman.'”ALSO READ: ‘Outsider’ Danny Denzongpa ‘was teased like a puppy’ till Jaya Bachchan suggested a solution, eventually found his place in movies as a ‘generic Indian’He added that everyone had these quirks and ways they would decide if they wanted to do a film or not. “When producers from the South used to visit Dilip Kumar, he used to scale his house’s wall and run away. He never wanted to do those films, and his people would tell the producers that he isn’t home. Similarly Danny Denzongpa got stuck with Feroz Khan’s Dharmatma. The poster of Sholay with Danny as Gabbar was already out and we all knew about it.”Ranjeet continued, “Feroz sat Danny down and convinced him by saying, ‘Waha 3 hero hai, kya karega waha par. Mai tujhe Hema Malini ke saath gaana de raha hoon (They already have 3 heroes there. What will you do? I am giving you a song with Hema Malini.)’ So Danny couldn’t come back, and the makers of Sholay had a schedule, so they called me. But I refused because Danny was a friend, and Amjad was already with the unit, so he became Gabbar.”Click here to follow Screen Digital on YouTube and stay updated with the latest from the world of cinema.© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd