Ab tera kya hoga, Kaaliya? - Famous Sholay (Hindi) film dialogue exchange

Last updated on 8th Nov. 2019

Remembering Viju Khote: his iconic roles in ‘Sholay’, ‘Andaz Apna Apna’ and more..., https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/remembering-viju-khote-his-iconic-roles-in-sholay-andaz-apna-apna-and-more/article29555769.ece, 30th Sept. 2019

The article, an obituary on actor Viju Khote who passed away recently, mentions the Kaalia role played by Viju Khote in the 1975 cult classic and superhit Hindi film Sholay, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sholay. Kaalia is a member of the gang of dreaded dacoit Gabbar Singh (played by Amjad Khan).

For my generation of Hindi speaking Indians, Viju Khote is unforgettable for his Kaalia role. It is a bit part. But still he is unforgettable for the position he is put in by Gabbar Singh and the short dialogue exchange they have.

The scene where Gabbar Singh shows his fury at Kaalia and two other gang members who had been sent to a village for extortion but ended up getting beaten by two good guys (Dharmendra playing Viru and Amitabh playing Jai) and having to return as empty-handed losers to the gang's base, is arguably the most famous scene of Sholay. And in that scene, this famous dialogue exchange starts with Gabbar Singh asking Kaalia just before he pulls the trigger of a pistol (revolver) aimed at his head, which has 3 bullets out of 6 but with two blanks being fired just earlier and so the possibility of this gunshot being a blank being very low, "Ab tera kya hoga, Kaaliya"? That can be translated to "Now what will happen to you, Kaalia"? BTW Kaala is black in Hindi, and so Kaalia is something like a nickname, blackie.

Kaalia pleads for mercy in terror saying to Gabbar, "Sardar, maina aapka namak khaya, Sardar". This literally translates to "Lord, I have eaten your salt, Lord" but which is an idiomatic usage meaning, "Lord, I have eaten food given by you" implying that he is therefore a loyal soldier of Gabbar Singh.

Gabbar, the dreaded dacoit, is not so easily taken in. He says, "Ab goli kha." which translates to "Now eat (this) bullet".

Here's the video clip capturing this scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JaPZNGmJXk, around 6 mins.

Kaalia too escapes death initially as when Gabbar fires the pistol he draws a blank. Then there is maniacal laughter by Gabbar which is later joined in by the whole gang. Suddenly, Gabbar turns and shoots all the three dead with the remaining 3 bullets in the pistol.

And then Gabbar says to the gang members: "Jo dar gaya samjho mar gaya" which translates literally to: "He who gets scared, understand him as dead", with a more proper translation as "He who gets scared will die".

May God shower His Grace on soul of Viju Khote!
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In Facebook post, https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2609818412568053, associated with this blog post, in response to a comment I wrote:
Oh was it a Karnataka village! I had kind-of presumed that it must have been some place in central or North India!