47 Years Of Historic Sholay : The Box Office Records & Mass Popularity Which Are Likely To Remain Unbroken For Years!

There can't be a single soul found in India who hasn't seen or doesn't know about Ramesh Sippy's historic blockbuster, Sholay. Perhaps the greatest and most iconic casting unit ever assembled after K. Asif's legendary Mughal-e-Azam, and interestingly, this film surpassed all the existing box office records created by the magnum opus. Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Jaya Bhaduri Bachchan, Amjad Khan, Sanjeev Kumar and others in supporting roles, Ramesh Sippy's memorable adaptation of multiple spaghetti Western flicks, Sholay, was released on 15th August 1975.The film opened to a lukewarm response from critics and audiences in Mumbai in August 1975. But two weeks later, what happened was nothing short of a miracle. The film picked up amongst the masses due to positive word of mouth and registered housefull shows in Mumbai. More shows were added by October 1975 in places like Delhi, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Hyderabad, and Uttar Pradesh. The unexpected and unbeatable records took place later, as Sholay went on to earn a still-standing record of 60 golden jubilees across India and was the first film in India to celebrate a silver jubilee at over 100 theatres.Made on the budget of 2 crore (approx), Sholay earned humongous 15 crore nett and 30 crore gross at the Indian box office, beating the previous record of Mughal-e-Azam by an almost triple margin. The film also saw a blockbuster re-run in many places, the figures of which are not available, or else these numbers would have gone much higher. The ticket rates varied, but the ATP (average ticket price) for Sholay was about Rs. 2 to Rs. 2.50, reportedly. With easy calculations, we can assume that Sholay sold approximately 15 crore tickets in its initial run, becoming the biggest domestic of all time at the Indian box office. However, the possibility of Mother India and Mughal-e-Azam being bigger than Sholay can't be denied, as the ticket rates in the 50s and early 60s were cheaper. But due to the lack of accurate data, Sholay is always termed as the biggest blockbuster of Indian cinema by most of the trade.Sholay's dialogues, songs, and characters have become damn popular in every household in India. Be it Jay, Veeru, Basanti, Thakur, Radha, Ramu Kaka, Dhanno, Gabbar Singh, Sambha, Kalia, Rahim Chacha, Ahmed, Soorma Bhopali, Mausi, and what not. There is hardly any film in Indian cinema that has so many evergreen characters, and every single thing about the film is well known to moviegoers. Songs like Yeh Dosti, Holi Ke Din, Mehbooba, Koi Haseena, and Jab Tak Hai Jaan are all iconic chartbusters. Who can even forget the friendship goals set by Jay and Veeru? Who can even forget the deadly villain Gabbar Singh? Can't he be voted as the best villain of all time in Indian cinema? Take my vote now. How can you forget Veeru and Basanti's sweet romance? How can you ever get over Sanjeev Kumar's iconic role and transformation? The unforgettable dialogues of Sholay need a separate library of their own to be stored. Kitne aadmi the?, Kab hai Holi, Ye Haath mujhe de de Thakur, Itna Sannata Kyu hai Bhai, Basanti In Kutto ke saamne mat nachna, Ye haath nahi faasi ka fanda hai, Angrezo ke zamane ke jailor hai, and Chun Chun ke Marunga are some of the legendary ones.I can continue writing such things about Sholay, and if you keep reading them, then I think you'll miss the independence day celebrations. There is so much to write, so much to bring to notice, so much to enjoy, so much to recommend, and so much to remember in Sholay, and that's why it never gets old. The box office records of the film will remain unbroken anyway, but its legacy is unbeatable too. All said and done, there can't be another mass-action cult blockbuster like Sholay that can define the entire movie culture of the nation. Period! Here's wishing a glorious 47th birthday to the historic Blockbuster. The golden jubilee, i.e, 50th anniversary is awaited.