Photo: PTI
During a special screening of "Sholay," fans relived the magic, singing along to "Yeh Dosti Hum Nahi Chodenge" and cheering at every memorable speech and actor's entrance. The film served as a reminder of why this Hindi cult classic has endured for nearly 50 years.
Organised by the not-for-profit organisation Film Heritage Foundation (FHF), the special, one-time-only screening of the vintage 70 mm cinemascope print of the 1975 iconic blockbuster witnessed many ardent fans queuing up to watch the 6:00 PM show at Colaba’s Regal Cinema.
"Sholay," written by Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, better known as Salim-Javed during their heyday, and directed by Ramesh Sippy, remains one of the most celebrated films in Bollywood history.
The film is considered an inalienable part of Indian pop culture due to its popular characters like Jai, Veeru and Thakur as well as Gabbar Singh, one of the iconic villains of Hindi cinema, and plenty of dialogues and action sequences.
The atmosphere inside the 1,000-plus seater theatre was electric, with fans expressing their enthusiasm at experiencing the classic film in its original format.
“I’m feeling as if I have time travelled. The vintage print truly gives an old-school experience. The viewers are enthusiastic and cheering excitedly. Truly an unforgettable experience,” a fan said.
‘Sholay’ featured an ensemble cast including Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Jaya Bhaduri, Sanjeev Kumar, Amjad Khan, A K Hangal, Asrani, Iftekhar, Jagdeep, Keshto Mukherjee, Leela Mishra, Mac Mohan and Viju Khote, among others.
Prior to the screening, legendary writer duo Salim-Javed addressed the eager fans, who welcomed them with applause and whistles.
“This usually doesn’t happen with writers,” Akhtar said.
The 79-year-old lyricist and screenwriter expressed his gratitude towards the audience and recalled how the unexpected multi-starrer aspect of the movie added to its beauty.
“When Salim sahab and I wrote this script, we had no idea that it was going to be a big film. When we started the film, we didn’t know it would have a big cast.
“As the screenplay developed, it slowly turned upon us that we can have many stars in the picture because the roles are such. It was not planned to be a multi-starrer film; perhaps that’s the beauty of it. It had an organic growth,” Akhtar added.
He credited the audience for their continued appreciation and love for the film and its characters.
“I don’t think of any film, except for ‘The Godfather’ or ‘Gone with the Wind’, where people remember many characters. But the list of characters (in ‘Sholay’) that are remembered after 50 years is much longer,” Akhtar said.
“There’s some magic and that magic is not created just by us. It is somewhere between us and the audience. Thank you for appreciating this film. We are thankful to the audience of India and overseas where the picture has been appreciated,” he added.
With PTI inputs