 = Sholay = 
 
 Sholay ( pronunciation , meaning " Embers " ) is a 1975 Indian Hindi @-@ language action @-@ adventure film directed by Ramesh Sippy and produced by his father G. P. Sippy . The film follows two criminals , Veeru and Jai ( played by Dharmendra and Amitabh Bachchan ) , hired by a retired police officer ( Sanjeev Kumar ) to capture the ruthless dacoit Gabbar Singh ( Amjad Khan ) . Hema Malini and Jaya Bhaduri also star , as Veeru and Jai 's love interests . Sholay is considered a classic and one of the best Indian films . It was ranked first in the British Film Institute 's 2002 poll of " Top 10 Indian Films " of all time . In 2005 , the judges of the 50th annual Filmfare Awards named it the Best Film of 50 Years . 
 The film was shot in the rocky terrain of Ramanagara , in the southern state of Karnataka , over a span of two and a half years . After the Central Board of Film Certification mandated the removal of several violent scenes , Sholay was released with a length of 198 minutes . In 1990 , the original director 's cut of 204 minutes became available on home media . When first released , Sholay received negative critical reviews and a tepid commercial response , but favourable word @-@ of @-@ mouth publicity helped it to become a box office success . It broke records for continuous showings in many theatres across India , and ran for more than five years at Mumbai 's Minerva theatre . By some accounts , Sholay is the highest grossing Indian film of all time , adjusted for inflation . 
 The film drew heavily from the conventions of Westerns , and is a defining example of the masala film , which mixes several genres in one work . Scholars have noted several themes in the film , such as glorification of violence , conformation to feudal ethos , debate between social order and mobilised usurpers , homosocial bonding , and the film 's role as a national allegory . The combined sales of the original soundtrack , scored by R. D. Burman , and the dialogues ( released separately ) , set new sales records . The film 's dialogues and certain characters became extremely popular , contributing to numerous cultural memes and becoming part of India 's daily vernacular . In January 2014 , Sholay was re @-@ released to theatres in the 3D format . 
 
 = = Plot = = 
 
 In the small village of Ramgarh , the retired policeman Thakur Baldev Singh ( Sanjeev Kumar ) summons a pair of small @-@ time thieves that he had once arrested . Thakur feels that the duo — Veeru ( Dharmendra ) and Jai ( Amitabh Bachchan ) — would be ideal to help him capture Gabbar Singh ( Amjad Khan ) , a dacoit wanted by the authorities for a ₹ 50 @,@ 000 reward . Thakur tells them to surrender Gabbar to him , alive , for an additional ₹ 20 @,@ 000 reward . 
 The two thieves thwart the dacoits sent by Gabbar to extort the villagers . Soon afterwards , Gabbar and his goons attack Ramgarh during the festival of Holi . In a tough battle , Veeru and Jai are cornered . Thakur , although he has a gun within his reach , does not help them . Veeru and Jai fight back and the bandits flee . The two are , however , upset at Thakur 's inaction , and consider leaving the village . Thakur explains that Gabbar had killed nearly all of his family members , and cut off both his arms a few years earlier , which is why he could not use the gun . He had concealed the dismemberment by always wearing a shawl . 
 Living in Ramgarh , the jovial Veeru and cynical Jai find themselves growing fond of the villagers . Veeru is attracted to Basanti ( Hema Malini ) , a feisty , talkative young woman who makes her living by driving a horse @-@ cart . Jai is drawn to Radha ( Jaya Bhaduri ) , Thakur 's reclusive , widowed daughter @-@ in @-@ law , who subtly returns his affections . 
 Skirmishes between Gabbar 's gang and Jai @-@ Veeru finally result in the capture of Veeru and Basanti by the dacoits . Jai attacks the gang , and the three are able to flee Gabbar 's hideout with dacoits in pursuit . Fighting from behind a rock , Jai and Veeru nearly run out of ammunition . Veeru , unaware that Jai was wounded in the gunfight , is forced to leave for more ammunition . Meanwhile , Jai , who is continuing the gunfight singlehandedly , decides to sacrifice himself by using his last bullet to ignite dynamite sticks on a bridge from close range . 
 Veeru returns , and Jai dies in his arms . Enraged , Veeru attacks Gabbar 's den and catches the dacoit . Veeru nearly beats Gabbar to death when Thakur appears and reminds Veeru of the promise to hand over Gabbar alive . Thakur uses his spike @-@ soled shoes to severely injure Gabbar and destroy his hands . The police then arrive and arrest Gabbar . After Jai 's funeral , Veeru leaves Ramgarh and finds Basanti waiting for him on the train . Radha is left alone again . 
 
 = = Cast = = 
 
 Dharmendra as Veeru 
 Sanjeev Kumar as Thakur Baldev Singh , usually addressed as " Thakur " 
 Hema Malini as Basanti 
 Amitabh Bachchan as Jai ( Jaidev ) 
 Jaya Bhaduri as Radha , Thakur 's daughter @-@ in @-@ law 
 Amjad Khan as Gabbar Singh 
 Satyen Kappu as Ramlaal , Thakur 's servant 
 A. K. Hangal as Rahim Chacha , the imam in the village 
 Sachin as Ahmed , son of the imam 
 Jagdeep as Soorma Bhopali , a comical wood trader 
 Leela Mishra as Mausi , Basanti 's maternal aunt 
 Asrani as the Jailor , a comical character modelled after Charlie Chaplin in The Great Dictator ( 1940 ) 
 Keshto Mukherjee as Hariram , prison barber and Jailor 's side @-@ kick 
 Mac Mohan as Sambha , Gabbar Singh 's sidekick 
 Viju Khote as Kaalia , another of Gabbar 's men whom he kills in a game of Russian roulette 
 Iftekhar as Inspector Khurana , Radha 's Father 
 Helen in a special appearance in song " Mehbooba Mehbooba " 
 Jalal Agha in a special appearance in song " Mehbooba Mehbooba " 
 
 = = Production = = 
 
 
 = = = Development = = = 
 
 The idea for Sholay began as a four @-@ line snippet which screenwriter pair Salim @-@ Javed told G. P. Sippy and Ramesh Sippy ; two other producer / director teams had earlier rejected the idea . Ramesh Sippy liked the concept and hired them to develop it . The original idea of the film involved an army officer who decided to hire two ex @-@ soldiers to avenge the murder of his family . The army officer was later changed to a policeman because Sippy felt that it would be difficult to get permission to shoot scenes depicting army activities . Salim @-@ Javed completed the script in one month , incorporating names and personality traits of their friends and acquaintances . 
 The film was loosely styled after Akira Kurosawa 's 1954 film Seven Samurai , and drew heavily from the conventions of Westerns , especially Sergio Leone 's Spaghetti Westerns such as Once Upon a Time in the West ( 1968 ) , and John Sturges ' film The Magnificent Seven ( 1960 ) . Sholay was also influenced by the westerns of Sam Peckinpah , such as The Wild Bunch ( 1969 ) and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid ( 1973 ) ; and by George Roy Hill 's Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid ( 1969 ) . A scene depicting an attempted train robbery was inspired by a similar scene in North West Frontier ( 1959 ) , and a scene showing the massacre of Thakur 's family has been compared with the massacre of the McBain family in Once Upon a Time in the West . Some plot elements were borrowed from the Indian films Mera Gaon Mera Desh ( 1971 ) and Khote Sikkay ( 1973 ) . 
 The character Gabbar Singh was modelled on a real @-@ life dacoit of the same name who had menaced the villages around Gwalior in the 1950s . Any policeman captured by the real Gabbar Singh had his ears and nose cut off , and was released as a warning to other policemen . The character was also influenced by the villain " El Indio " ( played by Gian Maria Volontè ) of Sergio Leone 's For a Few Dollars More ( 1965 ) . Soorma Bhopali , a minor comic relief character , was based on an acquaintance of actor Jagdeep , a forest officer from Bhopal named Soorma . The real @-@ life Soorma eventually threatened to press charges when people who had viewed the film began referring to him as a woodcutter . The main characters ' names , Jai and Veeru , mean " victory " and " heroism " in Hindi . 
 
 = = = Casting = = = 
 
 The producers considered Danny Denzongpa for the role of bandit chief Gabbar Singh , but he could not accept it as he was committed to act in Feroz Khan 's Dharmatma ( 1975 ) , under production at the same time . Amjad Khan , who was the second choice , prepared himself for the part by reading the book Abhishapta Chambal , which told of the exploits of Chambal dacoits . The book was written by Taroon Kumar Bhaduri , the father of fellow cast member Jaya Bhaduri . As cast members had read the script ahead of time , many were interested in playing different parts . Pran was considered for the role of Thakur Baldev Singh , but Sippy thought Sanjeev Kumar was a better choice . Initially , Dharmendra was also interested to play the role of Thakur . He eventually gave up the role when Sippy informed him that Sanjeev Kumar would play Veeru if that happened , and would be paired with Hema Malini , who Dharmendra was trying to woo . Dharmendra knew that Kumar was also interested in Malini . Sippy wanted Shatrughan Sinha to play the part of Jai , but there were already several big stars signed , and Amitabh Bachchan , who was not extremely popular yet , lobbied hard to get the part for himself . 
 During the film 's production , four of the leads became romantically involved . Bachchan married Bhaduri four months before filming started . This led to shooting delays when Bhaduri became pregnant with their daughter Shweta . By the time of the film 's release , she was pregnant with their son Abhishek . Dharmendra had begun wooing Malini during their earlier film Seeta Aur Geeta ( 1972 ) , and used the location shoot of Sholay to further pursue her . During their romantic scenes , Dharmendra would often pay the light boys to spoil the shot , thereby ensuring many retakes and allowing him to spend more time with her . The couple married five years after the film 's release . 
 
 = = = Filming = = = 
 
 Much of Sholay was shot in the rocky terrain of Ramanagara , a town near Bangalore , Karnataka . The filmmakers had to build a road from the Bangalore highway to Ramanagara for convenient access to the sets . Art director Ram Yedekar had an entire township built on the site . A prison set was constructed near Rajkamal Studio in Mumbai , also outdoors , to match the natural lighting of the on @-@ location sets . One part of Ramanagara was for a time called " Sippy Nagar " as a tribute to the director of the film . As of 2010 , a visit to the " Sholay rocks " ( where much the film was shot ) was still being offered to tourists travelling through Ramanagara . 
 Filming began on location on 3 October 1973 , with a scene featuring Bachchan and Bhaduri . The film had a lavish production for its time ( with frequent banquets and parties for the cast ) , took two and a half years to make , and went over budget . One reason for its high cost was that Sippy re @-@ filmed scenes many times to get his desired effect . " Yeh Dosti " , a 5 @-@ minute song sequence , took 21 days to shoot , two short scenes in which Radha lights lamps took 20 days to film because of lighting problems , and the shooting of the scene in which Gabbar kills the imam 's son lasted 19 days . The train robbery sequence , shot on the Mumbai – Pune railway route near Panvel , took more than 7 weeks to complete . 
 Sholay was the first Indian film to have a stereophonic soundtrack and to use the 70 mm widescreen format . However , since actual 70 mm cameras were expensive at the time , the film was shot on traditional 35 mm film and the 4 : 3 picture was subsequently converted to a 2 @.@ 2 : 1 frame . Regarding the process , Sippy said , " A 70mm [ sic ] format takes the awe of the big screen and magnifies it even more to make the picture even bigger , but since I also wanted a spread of sound we used six @-@ track stereophonic sound and combined it with the big screen . It was definitely a differentiator . " The use of 70 mm was emphasised by film posters on which the name of the film was stylised to match the CinemaScope logo . Film posters also sought to differentiate the film from those which had come before ; one of them added the tagline : " The greatest star cast ever assembled – the greatest story ever told " . 
 
 = = = Alternate version = = = 
 
 The director 's original cut of Sholay has a different ending in which Thakur kills Gabbar , along with some additional violent scenes . Gabbar 's death scene , and the scene in which the imam 's son is killed , were cut from the film by India 's Censor Board , as was the scene in which Thakur 's family is massacred . The Censor Board was concerned about the violence , and that viewers may be influenced to violate the law by punishing people severely . Although Sippy fought to keep the scenes , eventually he had to re @-@ shoot the ending of the film , and as directed by the Censor Board , have the police arrive just before Thakur can kill Gabbar . The censored theatrical version was the only one seen by audiences for fifteen years . The original , unedited cut of the film finally came out in a British release on VHS in 1990 . Since then , Eros International has released two versions on DVD . The director 's cut of the film preserves the original full frame and is 204 minutes in length ; the censored widescreen version is 198 minutes long . 
 
 = = Themes = = 
 
 Scholars have noted several themes in the film , such as glorification of violence , conformation to feudal ethos , debate between social order and mobilised usurpers , homosocial bonding , and the film 's role as a national allegory . 
 Koushik Banerjea , a sociologist in the London School of Economics , notes that Sholay exhibits a " sympathetic construction of ' rogue ' masculinity " exemplified by the likeable outlaws Jai and Veeru . Banerjea argues during the film , the moral boundary between legality and criminality gradually erodes . Film scholar Wimal Dissanayake agrees that the film brought " a new stage in the evolving dialectic between violence and social order " to Indian cinema . Film scholar M. Madhava Prasad states that Jai and Veeru represent a marginalised population that is introduced into conventional society . Prasad says that , through the elements of revenge included in the plot and the application of Jai and Veeru 's criminality for the greater good , the narrative reflects reactionary politics , and the audience is compelled to accept feudal order . Banerjea explains that though Jai and Veeru are mercenaries , they are humanised by their emotional needs . Such dualism makes them vulnerable , in contrast to the pure evil of Gabbar Singh . 
 Gabbar Singh , the film 's antagonist , was well received by the audience , despite his pervasive sadistic cruelty . Dissanayake explains that the audience was fascinated by the dialogues and mannerisms of the character , and this element of spectacle outweighed his actions , a first for Indian melodrama . He notes that the picturisation of violence in the film was glamourised and uninhibited . He further notes that , unlike earlier melodramas in which the female body occupies the audience 's attention as an object of male fetish , in Sholay , the male body becomes the centrepiece . It becomes the battleground where good and evil compete for supremacy . Dissanayake argues that Sholay can be viewed as a national allegory : it lacks a comforting logical narrative , it shows social stability being repeatedly challenged , and it shows the devaluation of human life resulting from a lack of emotions . Taken together , these elements comprise the allegorical representation of India . The narrative style of Sholay , with its violence , revenge , and vigilante action , is occasionally compared by scholars to the political unrest in India at the time of its release . This tension culminated in the Emergency ( rule by decree ) declared by prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1975 . 
 Dissanayeke and Sahai note that , although the film borrowed heavily from the Hollywood Western genre , particularly in its visuals , it was successfully " Indianised " . As an example , William van der Heide has compared a massacre scene in Sholay with a similar scene in Once Upon a Time in the West . Although both films were similar in technical style , Sholay emphasised Indian family values and melodramatic tradition , while the Western was more materialistic and restrained in its approach . Maithili Rao , in Encyclopedia of Hindi Cinema , notes that Sholay infuses the style of the Western genre into a " feudalistic ethos " . Ted Shen of the Chicago Reader notes Sholay 's " hysterical visual style " and intermittent " populist message " . Cultural critic and Islamist scholar Ziauddin Sardar lampoons the film in his book The Secret Politics of Our Desires : Innocence , Culpability and Indian Popular Cinema , both for its caricature and stereotyping of Muslim and women characters , and for what he calls mockery of innocent villagers . Sardar notes that the two most prominent Muslim characters in the film are Soorma Bhopali ( a buffoonish criminal ) , and an impotent victim of the bandits ( the imam ) . Meanwhile , the sole function of one female character ( Radha ) is to suffer her fate in silence , while the other female lead ( Basanti ) is just a garrulous village belle . 
 Some scholars have indicated that Sholay contains homosocial themes . Ted Shen describes the male bonding shown in the film as bordering on camp style . Dina Holtzman , in her book Bollywood and Globalization : Indian Popular Cinema , Nation , and Diaspora , states that the death of Jai , and resultant break of bonding between the two male leads , is necessary for the sake of establishing a normative heterosexual relationship ( that of Veeru and Basanti ) . 
 
 = = Music = = 
 
 R. D. Burman composed the film 's music , and the lyrics were written by Anand Bakshi . The songs used in the film , and released on the original soundtrack are listed below . Following that is a list of unused tracks and dialogues which were released later on an updated soundtrack . The album 's cover image depicts an emotional scene from the film in which Basanti is forced to sing and dance on the song " Haa Jab Tak Hai Jaan " on broken glass under the blazing sun to save Veeru 's life . 
 The song " Mehbooba Mehbooba " was sung by its composer , R. D. Burman , who received his sole Filmfare Award nomination for playback singing for his effort . The song , which is often featured on Bollywood hit song compilations , samples " Say You Love Me " by Greek singer Demis Roussos . " Mehbooba Mehbooba " has been extensively anthologised , remixed , and recreated . A version was created in 2005 by the Kronos Quartet for their Grammy @-@ nominated album You 've Stolen My Heart , featuring Asha Bhosle . It was also remixed and sung by Himesh Reshammiya , along with Bhosle , in his debut acting film Aap Kaa Surroor ( 2007 ) . " Yeh Dosti " has been called the ultimate friendship anthem . It was remixed and sung by Shankar Mahadevan and Udit Narayan for the 2010 Malayalam film Four Friends , and also in 2010 it was used to symbolise India 's friendship with the United States during a visit from President Barack Obama . 
 Several songs from the soundtrack were included in the annual Binaca Geetmala list of top filmi songs . " Mehbooba Mehooba " was listed at No. 24 on the 1975 list , and at No. 6 on the 1976 list . " Koi Haseena " was listed at No. 30 in 1975 , and No. 20 in 1976 . " Yeh Dosti " was listed at No. 9 in 1976 . Despite the soundtrack 's success , at the time , the songs from Sholay attracted less attention than the film 's dialogue — a rarity for Bollywood . The producers were thus prompted to release records with only dialogue . Taken together , the album sales totalled an unprecedented 500 @,@ 000 units , and became one of the top selling Bollywood soundtracks of the 1970s . 
 Music critic Oli Marlow reviewed the soundtrack in 2013 , calling it a unique fusion of religious , folk , and classical music , with influences from around the world . He also commented on the sound design of the film , calling it psychedelic , and saying that there was " a lot of incredible incidental music " in the film that was not included in the soundtrack releases . In a 1999 paper submitted to London 's Symposium on Sound in Cinema , film critic Shoma A. Chatterji said , " Sholay offers a model lesson on how sound can be used to signify the terror a character evokes . Sholay is also exemplary in its use of soundmatching to jump cut to a different scene and time , without breaking the continuity of the narrative , yet , intensifying the drama . " 
 
 = = Reception = = 
 
 
 = = = Box office = = = 
 
 Sholay was released on 15 August 1975 , Indian Independence Day , in Mumbai . Due to lacklustre reviews and a lack of effective visual marketing tools , it saw poor financial returns in its first two weeks . From the third week , however , viewership picked up owing to positive word of mouth . During the initial slow period , the director and writer considered re @-@ shooting some scenes so that Amitabh Bachchan 's character would not die . When business picked up , they abandoned this idea . After being helped additionally by a soundtrack release containing dialogue snippets , Sholay soon became an " overnight sensation " . The film was then released in other distribution zones such as Delhi , Uttar Pradesh , Bengal , and Hyderabad on 11 October 1975 . It became the highest grossing Bollywood film of 1975 , and film ranking website Box Office India has given the film a verdict of " All Time Blockbuster " . 
 Sholay went on to earn a still @-@ standing record of 60 golden jubilees across India , and was the first film in India to celebrate a silver jubilee at over 100 theatres . It was shown continuously at Mumbai 's Minerva theatre for over five years . Sholay was the Indian film with the longest theatrical run until Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge ( 1995 ) broke its record of 286 weeks in 2001 . 
 Exact figures are not available on the budget and box office earnings of Sholay , but film trade websites provide estimates of its success . According to Box Office India , Sholay earned about ₹ 150 million nett gross ( valued at about US $ 16 @,@ 778 @,@ 000 in 1975 ) in India during its first run , which was many times its ₹ 30 million ( valued at about US $ 3 @,@ 355 @,@ 000 in 1975 ) budget . Those earnings were a record that remained unbroken for nineteen years , which is also the longest amount of time that a film has held the record . Its original gross was increased further with re @-@ releases during the late 1970s , 1980s , 1990s , and early 2000s . It is often cited that after adjusting the figures for inflation , Sholay is one of the highest grossing films in the history of Indian cinema , although such figures are not known with certainty . In 2012 , Box Office India gave ₹ 1 @.@ 63 billion ( US $ 24 million ) as Sholay 's adjusted net gross , whereas Times of India , in a 2009 report of business of Indian films , reported over ₹ 3 billion ( US $ 45 million ) as the adjusted gross . 
 
 = = = Critical response = = = 
 
 Initial critical reviews of Sholay were negative . Among contemporary critics , K.L. Amladi of India Today called the film a " dead ember " and " a gravely flawed attempt " . Filmfare said that the film was an unsuccessful mincing of Western style with Indian milieu , making it an " imitation western — neither here nor there . " Others labelled it as " sound and fury signifying nothing " and a " second @-@ rate take @-@ off " of the 1971 film Mera Gaon Mera Desh . Trade journals and columnists initially called the film a flop . In a 1976 article in the journal Studies : An Irish Quarterly Review , author Michael Gallagher praised the technical achievement of the film , but otherwise criticised it stating , " As a spectacle it breaks new ground , but on every other level it is intolerable : formless , incoherent , superficial in human image , and a somewhat nasty piece of violence " . 
 Over time , the critical reception to Sholay greatly improved ; it is now considered a classic , and among the greatest Hindi @-@ language films . In a 2005 BBC review , the well @-@ rounded characters and simple narrative of the film were commended , but the comical cameos of Asrani and Jagdeep were considered unnecessary . On the film 's 35th anniversary , the Hindustan Times wrote that it was a " trailblazer in terms of camera work as well as music , " and that " practically every scene , dialogue or even a small character was a highlight . " In 2006 , The Film Society of Lincoln Center described Sholay as " an extraordinary and utterly seamless blend of adventure , comedy , music and dance " , labelling it an " indisputable classic " . Chicago Review critic Ted Shen criticised the film in 2002 for its formulaic plot and " slapdash " cinematography , and noted that the film " alternates between slapstick and melodrama " . In their obituary of the producer G.P. Sippy , the New York Times said that Sholay " revolutionized Hindi filmmaking and brought true professionalism to Indian script writing " . 
 
 = = = Awards = = = 
 
 Sholay was nominated for nine Filmfare Awards , but the only winner was M. S. Shinde , who won the award for Best Editing . The film also won three awards at the 1976 Bengal Film Journalists ' Association Awards ( Hindi section ) : " Best Actor in Supporting Role " for Amjad Khan , " Best Cinematographer ( Colour ) " for Dwarka Divecha , and " Best Art Director " for Ram Yedekar . Sholay received a special award at the 50th Filmfare Awards in 2005 : Best Film of 50 Years . 
 
 = = Legacy = = 
 
 Sholay has received many " Best Film " honours . It was declared the " Film of the Millennium " by BBC India in 1999 . It topped the British Film Institute 's " Top 10 Indian Films " of all time poll of 2002 , and was voted the greatest Indian movie in a Sky Digital poll of one million British Indians in 2004 . It was also included in Time Magazine 's " Best of Bollywood " list in 2010 , and in CNN @-@ IBN 's list of the " 100 greatest Indian films of all time " in 2013 . 
 Sholay inspired many films and pastiches , and spawned a subgenre of films , the " Curry Western " , which is a play on the term Spaghetti Western . It was an early and most definitive masala film , and a trend @-@ setter for " multi @-@ star " films . The film was a watershed for Bollywood 's scriptwriters , who were not paid well before Sholay ; after the film 's success , script writing became a more respected profession . 
 Certain scenes and dialogues from the film earned iconic status in India , such as " Kitne aadmi the " ( How many men were there ? ) , " Jo dar gaya , samjho mar gaya " ( One who is scared is dead ) , and " Bahut yaarana laagta hai " ( Looks like you two are very close ) – all dialogues of Gabbar Singh . These and other popular dialogues entered the people 's daily vernacular . Characters and dialogues from the film continue to be referred to and parodied in popular culture . Gabbar Singh , the sadistic villain , ushered in an era in Hindi films characterised by " seemingly omnipotent oppressors as villains " , who play the pivotal role in setting up the context of the story , such as Shakal ( played by Kulbhushan Kharbanda ) of Shaan ( 1980 ) , Mogambo ( Amrish Puri ) of Mr. India ( 1987 ) and Bhujang ( Amrish Puri ) of Tridev ( 1989 ) . Filmfare , in 2013 , named Gabbar Singh the most iconic villain in the history of Indian cinema , and four actors were included in its 2010 list of " 80 Iconic Performances " for their work in this film . 
 The film is often credited with making Amitabh Bachchan a " superstar " , two years after he became a star with Zanjeer ( 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 . Comedian 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 . 
 In 2004 , Sholay was digitally remastered and shown again to packed theatres in India , including Mumbai 's Minerva , where it had run successfully 29 years earlier . An attempt to remake Sholay , Ram Gopal Varma 's film Aag ( 2007 ) , starring Amitabh Bachchan as the villain , was a commercial and critical disaster . Because of television and home media , Sholay is widely available and still popular . Twenty years after its release , Sholay was first shown on the Indian DD National television channel , where it drew the highest ratings ever for a film broadcast . Video game producer Mobile2win released the " Sholay Ramgarh Express " game for mobile phones in 2004 , along with other Sholay themed content such as wallpapers , video clips , and ringtones . 
 Sholay has been the subject of two books and many articles . Wimal Dissanayake and Malti Sahai 's Sholay , A Cultural Reading ( 1992 ) attempts a comprehensive scholarly study that sets the film within the broader history of popular cinema in India . Anupama Chopra 's Sholay : The Making of a Classic ( 2000 ) provides an inside look at the film 's production based on interviews with the director , stars , and crew members . 
 Sholay has been labelled by Chopra as the gold standard in Indian cinema , and a reference point for audiences and trade analysts . Over the years , the film has reached a mythic stature in popular culture , and has been called the greatest Hindi film of all time . It belongs to only a small collection of films , including Kismet ( 1943 ) , Mother India ( 1957 ) , Mughal @-@ e @-@ Azam ( 1960 ) and Hum Aapke Hain Koun .. ! ( 1994 ) , which are repeatedly watched throughout India , and are viewed as definitive Hindi films with cultural significance . The lasting effect of Sholay on Indian cinema was summarised by Anupama Chopra , when in 2004 she called it " no longer just a film , [ but ] an event " . In the 2000 book Sholay : The Making of a Classic , the noted director Shekhar Kapur stated " there has never been a more defining film on the Indian screen . Indian film history can be divided into Sholay BC and Sholay AD " . The film was jointly released in Pakistan by Geo films and Mandviwalla Entertainment on 17 April 2015 , almost 40 years after its theatrical release . The film 's premiere in the country was held in Karachi . 
 
 = = 3D re @-@ release = = 
 
 Filmmaker Ketan Mehta 's company Maya Digital was responsible for converting Sholay into the 3D format . Mehta was approached by G. P. Sippy 's grandson , Sasha Sippy , about the project in 2010 . In March 2012 , Shaan Uttam Singh , the grandson of producer G. P. Sippy , said that he would sponsor a conversion of the film to 3D , and release it in late 2012 ; this was later postponed to late 2013 , and eventually finalised for 3 January 2014 . It took ₹ 250 million ( US $ 3 @.@ 7 million ) to convert Sholay to 3D . 
 Under the leadership of computer animator Frank Foster , 350 people worked to convert the film into the digital 3D format , for which every scene had to be individually restored , colour @-@ corrected and re @-@ composited in 3D to match the depth . New set @-@ pieces , particularly those suited to the new format were also included , such as digital logs which scatter in the direction of the camera during the first half of the film when the train collides with them , the gunshot scene which frees Jai and Veeru from their handcuffs , and panoramic views of Gabbar 's hideout in the caves . 
 The theatrical trailer and release date were unveiled by the original script @-@ writers Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar . The two original leads , Bachchan and Dharmendra , were also involved in promoting the re @-@ release . The film was released in 1 @,@ 000 screens in India , and additional screens overseas . It earned approximately ₹ 100 million ( US $ 1 @.@ 5 million ) during its re @-@ release , not enough to recover its conversion cost . 
 
 