A feature documentary on veteran Indian actor Mac Mohan, best known for playing Sambha in the 1975 classic ‘Sholay’, was unveiled at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday, with filmmaker Manjari Makijany set to direct the project alongside producer Vinati Makijany.
Titled ‘Discovering Sambha’, the documentary has been structured as an official India-Australia co-production. Production is expected to begin later this year, with a release planned for 2027.
Mac Mohan built a career spanning more than five decades and appeared in over 280 films, including ‘Don’, ‘Shaan’, ‘Karz’, ‘Zanjeer’, ‘Satte Pe Satta’, ‘Trishul’, ‘Khoon Pasina’, ‘Rafoo Chakkar’ and ‘Khuddar’.
However, he remained most closely associated with the role of Sambha in Ramesh Sippy’s blockbuster ‘Sholay’, a performance that became deeply embedded in Indian popular culture.
According to the filmmakers, the documentary will combine archival material, family memories and interviews with colleagues to explore Mohan’s life, career and legacy. The project will also examine themes of identity, cinema and personal memory.
Film Heritage Foundation founder Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, who recently oversaw the restoration of ‘Sholay’, has joined the documentary as an adviser.
“Mac Mohan has a fan following of his own as much as the heroes of his day,” Dungarpur said. “No matter how big or small the role, he left an indelible mark on the hearts and minds of the people who continue to watch these films even today.”
Director Manjari Makijany described the project as deeply personal. “For much of the world, my father was Sambha,” she said. “There’s so much to him that I’m still discovering through people that knew him before me.”
She added that the film would explore “memories, absences, and emotions” that shaped both her family life and her own filmmaking journey.
Producer Vinati Makijany said the documentary aims to connect with audiences beyond fans of ‘Sholay’. “Our father belonged to audiences long before he belonged to us,” she said. “Through this documentary we hope to create something emotionally honest and universally relatable.”
Actor Raveena Tandon, Mohan’s niece, also reflected on his personal character, saying he brought “grace and humility” into every room. “Though he played the quintessential baddie on screen, he was a golden-hearted señor and one of the warmest people you could know in real life,” she said.
Emmanuel Pappas, who works alongside Manjari Makijany at Asia Pacific Pictures, said the documentary carries emotional weight because it follows daughters rediscovering their father “as a cultural memory shared by millions”.
Shehzad Sippy of Sippy Films, whose family produced ‘Sholay’, said Sambha remained “one of the most recognizable characters in Indian cinema” and praised the film’s intimate approach to revisiting Mohan’s legacy.
