Latest news with #RameshSippy
Time of India
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Sholay's grand restoration premieres at Bologna's Il Cinema Ritrovato Festival
In a momentous occasion for , Ramesh Sippy's iconic film Sholay received a grand screening at the prestigious Il Cinema Ritrovato Festival in Bologna, Italy, on June 27, 2025. This special event marked the world premiere of the film's fully restored, uncut version, complete with its original ending and previously deleted scenes, commemorating its 50th anniversary. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The screening took place in the magnificent open-air setting of Piazza Maggiore, providing a truly cinematic experience for thousands of cinephiles. The painstaking three-year restoration effort was a collaborative project between the Film Heritage Foundation and Sippy Films, ensuring that this cinematic masterpiece will captivate new generations with its authentic vision.
BBC News
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Sholay: Bollywood epic roars back to big screen after 50 years with new ending
Sippy Films Fifty years after it first exploded on Indian screens, Sholay (Embers) - arguably the most iconic Hindi film ever made - is making a spectacular return. In a landmark event for film lovers, the fully restored, uncut version of Ramesh Sippy's 1975 magnum opus will have its world premiere at Il Cinema Ritrovato Festival in Bologna, Italy, on Friday. This version includes the film's original ending - changed due to objection from the censors - and deleted scenes. The screening will take place on the festival's legendary open-air screen in Piazza Maggiore - one of the largest in Europe - offering a majestic setting for this long-awaited cinematic resurrection. Crafted by writer duo Salim-Javed and featuring an all-star cast led by Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Jaya Bhaduri, Sanjeev Kumar and the unforgettable Amjad Khan as Gabbar Singh, Sholay draws cinematic inspiration from Western and samurai classics. Yet, it remains uniquely Indian. The 204-minute film is a classic good-versus-evil tale set in the fictional village of Ramgarh, where two petty criminals, Jai and Veeru (Bachchan and Dharmendra), are hired by a former jailer, Thakur Baldev Singh, to take down the ruthless bandit Gabbar Singh - one of Indian cinema's most iconic villains. When it first released, Sholay ran for five uninterrupted years at Mumbai's 1,500-seater Minerva theatre. It was later voted "Film of the Millennium" in a BBC India online poll and named the greatest Indian film in a British Film Institute poll. Half a million records and cassettes of RD Burman's score and the film's instantly recognisable dialogues were sold. Sippy Films The film is also a cultural phenomenon: dialogues are quoted at weddings, referenced in political speeches and spoofed in adverts. "Sholay is the eighth wonder of the world," Dharmendra, who plays a small-town crook and is paired up with Bachchan in the film, said in a recent statement. Shooting the film was an "unforgettable experience," Bachchan said, "though I had no idea at the time that it would become a watershed moment in Indian cinema." This new restoration is the most faithful version of Sholay, complete with the original ending and never-before-seen deleted scenes, according to Shivendra Singh Dungarpur of the Film Heritage Foundation. In the original version, Gabbar Singh dies - killed by Thakur, who crushes him with spiked shoes. But the censors objected. They balked at the idea of a former police officer taking the law into his own hands. They also found the film's stylised violence too excessive. The film faced unusually tough censors because it hit the theatres during the Emergency, when the ruling Congress government suspended civil liberties. After failed attempts to reason with them, Sippy was forced to reshoot the ending. The cast and crew were rushed back to the rugged hills of Ramanagaram in southern India - transformed into the fictional village of Ramgarh. With the new, softened finale - where Gabbar Singh is captured, not killed - in place, the film finally cleared the censors. The road to the three-year-long restoration of the epic was far from easy. The original 70mm prints had not survived, and the camera negatives were in a severely deteriorated condition. But in 2022, Shehzad Sippy, son of Ramesh Sippy, approached the Mumbai-based Film Heritage Foundation with a proposal to restore the film. Sippy Films Sippy Films He revealed that several film elements were being stored in a warehouse in Mumbai. What seemed like a gamble turned out to be a miracle: inside the unlabelled cans were the original 35mm camera and sound negatives. The excitement didn't end there. Sippy Films also informed the Foundation about additional reels stored in the UK. With the support of the British Film Institute, the team gained access to archival materials. These were carefully shipped to L'Immagine Ritrovata in Bologna, one of the world's premier film restoration facilities. Despite the loss of the original 70mm prints and severely damaged negatives, archivists sourced elements from Mumbai and the UK, collaborating with the British Film Institute and Italy's L'Immagine Ritrovata to painstakingly piece the film back together. The effort even uncovered the original camera used for shooting the film. Sippy Films Interestingly, Sholay had a rocky start when it first hit the screens. Early reviews were harsh, the box office was shaky, and the 70mm print was delayed at customs. India Today magazine called the film a "dead ember". Filmfare's Bikram Singh wrote that the major problem with the film was the "unsuccessful transplantation it attempts, grafting a western on the Indian milieu". "The film remains imitation western - neither here nor there". In initial screenings, audiences sat in silence - no laughter, no tears, no applause. "Just silence," writes film writer Anupama Chopra in her book, Sholay: The Making of a Classic. By the weekend, theatres were full but the response remained uncertain - and panic had set in. Over the next few weeks, audiences warmed up to the film, and word of mouth spread: "The visuals were epic, and the sound was a miracle…By the third week, the audience was repeating dialogues. It meant that at least some were coming in to see the film for the second time," writes Chopra. A month after Sholay hit screens, Polydor released a 48-minute dialogue record - and the tide had turned. The film's characters became iconic, and Gabbar Singh - the "genuinely frightening, but widely popular" villain - emerged as a cultural phenomenon. Foreign critics called it India's first "curry western". Sholay ran for over five years - three in regular shows and two as matinees at Mumbai's Minerva. Even in its 240th week, shows were full. Sholay hit Pakistani screens on April 2015, and despite being 40 years old, it outperformed most Indian films over a decade old - including the 2002 hit Devdas starring Shah Rukh Khan. As film distributor Shyam Shroff told Chopra: "As they used to say about the British Empire, the sun never sets on Sholay." Why does Sholay still resonate with audiences, half a century later? Amitabh Bachchan offers a simple yet profound answer: "The victory of good over evil and… most importantly, poetic justice in three hours! You and I shall not get it in a lifetime," he told an interviewer. Asia Film Bollywood India
BBC News
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Sholay: The Bollywood epic roars back to the big screen after 50 years
Fifty years after it first exploded on Indian screens, Sholay (Embers) - arguably the most iconic Hindi film ever made - is making a spectacular a landmark event for film lovers, the fully restored, uncut version of Ramesh Sippy's 1975 magnum opus will have its world premiere at Il Cinema Ritrovato Festival in Bologna, Italy, on Friday. This version includes the film's original ending - changed due to objection from the censors - and deleted screening will take place on the festival's legendary open-air screen in Piazza Maggiore - one of the largest in Europe - offering a majestic setting for this long-awaited cinematic by writer duo Salim-Javed and featuring an all-star cast led by Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Jaya Bhaduri, Sanjeev Kumar and the unforgettable Amjad Khan as Gabbar Singh, Sholay draws cinematic inspiration from Western and samurai classics. Yet, it remains uniquely 204-minute film is a classic good-versus-evil tale set in the fictional village of Ramgarh, where two petty criminals, Jai and Veeru (Bachchan and Dharmendra), are hired by a former jailer, Thakur Baldev Singh, to take down the ruthless bandit Gabbar Singh - one of Indian cinema's most iconic it first released, Sholay ran for five uninterrupted years at Mumbai's 1,500-seater Minerva theatre. It was later voted "Film of the Millennium" in a BBC India online poll and named the greatest Indian film in a British Film Institute poll. Half a million records and cassettes of RD Burman's score and the film's instantly recognisable dialogues were sold. The film is also a cultural phenomenon: dialogues are quoted at weddings, referenced in political speeches and spoofed in adverts. "Sholay is the eighth wonder of the world," Dharmendra, who plays a small-town crook and is paired up with Bachchan in the film, said in a recent the film was an "unforgettable experience," Bachchan said, "though I had no idea at the time that it would become a watershed moment in Indian cinema."This new restoration is the most faithful version of Sholay, complete with the original ending and never-before-seen deleted scenes, according to Shivendra Singh Dungarpur of the Film Heritage Foundation. In the original version, Gabbar Singh dies - killed by Thakur, who crushes him with spiked shoes. But the censors objected. They balked at the idea of a former police officer taking the law into his own hands. They also found the film's stylised violence too excessive. The film faced unusually tough censors because it hit the theatres during the Emergency, when the ruling Congress government suspended civil failed attempts to reason with them, Sippy was forced to reshoot the ending. The cast and crew were rushed back to the rugged hills of Ramanagaram in southern India - transformed into the fictional village of Ramgarh. With the new, softened finale - where Gabbar Singh is captured, not killed - in place, the film finally cleared the road to the three-year-long restoration of the epic was far from easy. The original 70mm prints had not survived, and the camera negatives were in a severely deteriorated condition. But in 2022, Shehzad Sippy, son of Ramesh Sippy, approached the Mumbai-based Film Heritage Foundation with a proposal to restore the film. He revealed that several film elements were being stored in a warehouse in Mumbai. What seemed like a gamble turned out to be a miracle: inside the unlabelled cans were the original 35mm camera and sound excitement didn't end there. Sippy Films also informed the Foundation about additional reels stored in the UK. With the support of the British Film Institute, the team gained access to archival materials. These were carefully shipped to L'Immagine Ritrovata in Bologna, one of the world's premier film restoration the loss of the original 70mm prints and severely damaged negatives, archivists sourced elements from Mumbai and the UK, collaborating with the British Film Institute and Italy's L'Immagine Ritrovata to painstakingly piece the film back together. The effort even uncovered the original camera used for shooting the film. Interestingly, Sholay had a rocky start when it first hit the screens. Early reviews were harsh, the box office was shaky, and the 70mm print was delayed at customs. India Today magazine called the film a "dead ember". Filmfare's Bikram Singh wrote that the major problem with the film was the "unsuccessful transplantation it attempts, grafting a western on the Indian milieu"."The film remains imitation western - neither here nor there".In initial screenings, audiences sat in silence - no laughter, no tears, no applause. "Just silence," writes film writer Anupama Chopra in her book, Sholay: The Making of a Classic. By the weekend, theatres were full but the response remained uncertain - and panic had set the next few weeks, audiences warmed up to the film, and word of mouth spread: "The visuals were epic, and the sound was a miracle…By the third week, the audience was repeating dialogues. It meant that at least some were coming in to see the film for the second time," writes Chopra. A month after Sholay hit screens, Polydor released a 48-minute dialogue record - and the tide had turned. The film's characters became iconic, and Gabbar Singh - the "genuinely frightening, but widely popular" villain - emerged as a cultural phenomenon. Foreign critics called it India's first "curry western".Sholay ran for over five years - three in regular shows and two as matinees at Mumbai's Minerva. Even in its 240th week, shows were full. Sholay hit Pakistani screens on April 2015, and despite being 40 years old, it outperformed most Indian films over a decade old - including the 2002 hit Devdas starring Shah Rukh film distributor Shyam Shroff told Chopra: "As they used to say about the British Empire, the sun never sets on Sholay." Why does Sholay still resonate with audiences, half a century later? Amitabh Bachchan offers a simple yet profound answer: "The victory of good over evil and… most importantly, poetic justice in three hours! You and I shall not get it in a lifetime," he told an interviewer.
India.com
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- India.com
This blockbuster film is set for a grand re-release, will show deleted scenes and uncut version, made in Rs 2 crore, film earned Rs…, lead actors are…
This blockbuster film is set for a grand re-release, will show deleted scenes and uncut version, made in Rs 2 crore, film earned Rs..., lead actors are... Bollywood's most iconic film Sholay, which was first released in 1975, is set to re-release on the silver screen, but this time, in its original, cut form. Helmed by Ramesh Sippy, the film will have its world premiere on June 27 in Bologna, Italy, as part of the Il Cinema Ritrovato Festival. Sholay to screen at Bologna Film Festival The special screening of the film will be held at Piazza Maggiore on June 27, 2025, to celebrate Sholay's 50th anniversary. It is a joint collaboration between Film Heritage Foundation and Sippy Films Pvt. Ltd. The full-length version of Sholay, with complete original ending and scenes that were previously cut, will be shown to audiences for the first time. In fact, the resorted version will also include the original ending-in which Thakur kills Gabbar Singh- that was originally cut from the film following directions from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra talk about Sholay's re-release Amitabh Bachchan, who played a key role in the film, expressed his delight about the re-release and said, 'Some things in life remain permanently etched in your mind. Sholay is one such film. Shooting for the film was an unforgettable experience, but at the time I had no idea that it would be a watershed for Indian cinema. Its dramatic change in fortunes from being declared an unsuccessful venture, to its record-breaking box office run was an emotional rollercoaster for all of us. It's wonderful that the Film Heritage Foundation has restored 'Sholay' and that they have managed to locate and include the original ending as well as some deleted scenes in the restoration.I hope that even 50 years later, the film will capture the imagination of new audiences across the world.' Describing Sholay as the 'eight wonder of the world,' veteran actor Dharmendra expressed, 'I am thrilled to hear that the film is being restored and I am sure it will have the same success as it had 50 years ago. Who can forget the dialogues of Salim-Javed and the direction of Ramesh Sippy? So many scenes have gone down in the history of Indian cinema and every character became a star. But the real hero was the coin… My favourite scenes were the tanki scene, the scene in the temple, and so many others, but the most powerful scene I feel was the death of Jai, which is still etched in my mind.' Made in a reported budget of Rs 2 crore, Sholay earned Rs 35 crore in India, and became the highest-grossing Bollywood film for nearly two decades. The film's cast also included Sanjeev Kumar, Jaya Bachchan and Hema Malini.
Muscat Daily
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Muscat Daily
Restored, uncut 50th anniversary version of Sholay to premiere in Italy
Mumbai – The legendary Bollywood film Sholay , often hailed as the greatest Indian movie ever made, will mark its golden jubilee with the world premiere of its fully restored and uncut version at the Il Cinema Ritrovato Festival in Bologna, Italy, on June 27. Restored over three years from rare archival material in Mumbai and London, the new version features the film's original ending and scenes long thought lost. Directed by Ramesh Sippy and written by the famous screenwriting duo Salim-Javed, Sholay is widely regarded as a turning point for Indian cinema. Lead actors Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra have both described it as a milestone that transformed India's popular culture. The restoration was carried out by Sippy Films and Film Heritage Foundation. Shehzad Sippy, producer and grandson of G.P. Sippy, who produced the original, said, 'This is a tribute to my grandfather's vision and legacy. It has taken us three years, but we have restored the film to its full form.' Cinematographer Kamlakar Rao was closely involved to ensure the visuals and audio stayed true to the original. The team converted the 70mm projection and stereophonic sound mix to a 2.2:1 aspect ratio with a 5.1 surround sound mix. Working with interpositives and colour reversal intermediates from archives in Mumbai and London, the restoration team discovered a colour reversal intermediate in London that contained the film's original ending and two deleted scenes — footage many thought had vanished forever. The screening at Bologna's Piazza Maggiore during the festival from June 21 to 29 is expected to draw a large international audience, celebrating Sholay's enduring cultural influence both in India and around the world.
