 The film is often credited with making Amitabh Bachchan a " superstar " , two years after he became a star with <unk> ( 1973 ) . Some of the supporting actors remained etched in public memory as the characters they played in Sholay ; for example , Mac Mohan continued to be referred to as " Sambha " , even though his character had just one line . Major and minor characters continue to be used in commercials , promos , films and sitcoms . Amjad Khan acted in many villainous roles later in his career . He also played Gabbar Singh again in the 1991 spoof Ramgarh Ke Sholay , and reprised the role in commercials . The British Film Institute in 2002 wrote that fear of Gabbar Singh " is still invoked by mothers to put their children to sleep " . The 2012 film Gabbar Singh , named after the character , became the highest grossing Telugu film up to that point . <unk> Jagdeep , who played Soorma Bhopali in the film , attempted to use his Sholay success to create a spinoff . He directed and played the lead role in the 1988 film Soorma Bhopali , in which Dharmendra and Bachchan had cameos . 
