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Nuggets of Sholay: Nine - Khota Sikka To Dono Hi Taraf Se Khota Hota Hai

Nuggets of Sholay #9 — Khota Sikka To Dono Hi Taraf Se Khota Hota Hai

And ladies and gentlemen, I soldier on in my quest to write about my observations and thoughts on the 1975 cult classic Sholay. If you've landed on this page directly, do check out the eight nuggets that I've unearthed so far:

And so here I am, on the ninth nugget, talking about a phrase used in the film that has some fascinating perspectives:

Phrase: Khota Sikka To Dono Hi Taraf Se Khota Hota Hai (खोटा सिक्का तो दोनो ही तरफ से खोटा होता है)

During Jai’s death scene, Veeru exclaims:

"Jai, tune meri jaan bachane ke liye, itna bada dhoka diya hai?"

He realizes that Jai had been fooling him all along by flipping a coin with heads on both sides—a coin that was always a khota sikka (fake coin) throughout the movie. But the audience is given a subtle hint right at the beginning:

At 5m 30s, during the initial interaction between the Jailor and Thakur sahab:

  • Jailor: "Thakur sahab, main yeh to nahi jaanta ki aapko kya kaam hai, lekin itna zaroor jaanta hoon ki yeh dono kisi kaam ke nahin."
  • Thakur: "Nahin Jailor sahab, agar ek taraf in mein yeh sab kharabiyaan hain to doosri taraf kuchh khubiyaan bhi hain."
  • Jailor: "Khota sikka to dono hi taraf se khota hota hai."
  • Thakur: "Sikke aur insaan mein shayad yehi faraq hai."

The underlined sentence is the giveaway—but I wonder how many in the audience, even after watching Sholay a hundred times, noticed it? A fake coin is fake on both sides, just like the coin in the movie.

The double-sided fake coin used in Sholay

This coin was specially handcrafted by the production team. Six double-headed coins were made for retakes. For long shots, normal twenty-five-paise coins were used, while close-ups featured the handcrafted double-headed coin. By the time the final scene was shot, only one fake coin remained—the one in Jai’s hand when he dies.

Eventually, enterprising collectors recreated these coins and sold them at auctions. One instance in 2016 saw the coins flooding the rare coin market. While some claimed they originated from a mint error, the Kolkata mint denied producing them. Only a few coins from souvenir manufacturers remain verifiable. One reliable source is Rajgor's auction house, which listed a coin for Rs. 26,000. See the listing here.

Interestingly, the concept of using a coin to decide fate was inspired by the 1954 Western Garden of Evil, where Gary Cooper and Richard Windmark drew cards to see who would stay back and fight. Salim–Javed adapted it to a coin, weaving it cleverly throughout Sholay, helping Jai make the right decisions at crucial moments.

That was the nugget. Samjhe ke nahin? Agar achha laga to comment kijiye. Agar achha nahin laga to lament kijiye.

Goodbye, aadab and namaste.

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