Sholay is a 1975 action-adventure Indian Hindi film directed by Ramesh Sippy and produced by G. P. Sippy. Shot in the rocky terrain of Ramanagara (pictured), the film follows two criminals, Jai and Veeru (played by Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra), hired by a retired police officer (Sanjeev Kumar) to capture the ruthless dacoit Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan). 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. 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. The film's dialogues and certain characters became extremely popular, contributing to numerous cultural memes and becoming part of India's daily vernacular. In 2002, Sholay ranked first in the British Film Institute's list of "Top 10 Indian Films". It was re-released to theatres in 3D in January 2014. (Full article...)
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