Indian film industry is known for giving some of the biggest blockbusters in its history. Every era since the time first spoken film ‘Alam Ara’ was released, we have seen dozens of golden and jubilee hits. Stars like Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, Shahrukh Khan, Amir Khan and Hrithik Roshan etc have given us top grosser. But if we have to name just one film that has done astonishing business and is officially considered as the biggest hit and highest gross earner of Bollywood then it must be Sholay. This movie is nothing less than a legend. It is not just a movie; it has become an icon. This movie represents the essence of Hindi cinema. This movie gave a new lease of life to bollywood. It helped in redefining the genre of action movies in Hindi cinema. More than actors, we remember the characters portrayed by the leading actors of the movie. Who can forget names like Thakur, Gabbar Singh, Jai, Veeru, Basanti and even Dhanno? The characters and stars became immortals with this movie.
Sholay was released on August 15, 1975. According to one estimate, Sholay has earned more than $200 million till now. It also has an enviable record of running for more than 5 years in one Mumbai theatre named Minerva. This movie began the culture of hard core action packed movies. Sholay is also the only movie to celebrate Silver Jubilee in over 500 theatres all over the country, at the same time. That’s indeed something to cherish for!
Foreign channels and publications have also hailed this movie. For example, BBC has declared this movie as the ‘Film of the Millennium’ in the year 1999. Movie was directed by Ramesh Sippy and was made in no less than 3 years. Movie starred Amitabh Bacchan, Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Jaya Prada, Sanjeev Kumar and Amjad Khan. Anand Bakshi wrote the lyrics and movie was written by Salim-Javed. Music was composed by legendary RD Burman and movie was shot in Ramanagaram, a small village near Bangalore.