The famous Bollywood film ‘Sholay’, released in 1975, is a milestone in the history of Indian cinema. This classic film by director Ramesh Sippy was initially declared a failure, but later it became a symbol of success that set an unbeaten record by selling 250 million tickets.
The expectations of the marketers from this film were touching the sky as its cast included big names like Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Jaya Bachchan, Sanjeev Kumar, and Amjad Khan. Amjad Khan’s character ‘Gabbar Singh’ gained special fame and even today each of his dialogues is etched in everyone’s minds.
The film faced criticism in the initial days of its release, but the great story, memorable characters and famous dialogues, such as ‘How many men were there?’ The film gained public attention due to the catchphrase ‘Don’t Dance in Front of the Dogs’.
The blockbuster sold 150 million tickets in India during its six-year run and another 30 million tickets were sold through re-releases. It was also a huge success internationally, especially in the Soviet Union where the film sold an astonishing 60 million tickets.
Sholay is still an important part of Indian film culture, with its characters, dialogues, and music being loved by generations, while memes based on the film’s dialogues are also seen adorning social media.
