The Hindu Business Line : After 29 years, <I>Sholay</I> still enthralls audience

TWENTY-NINE years after setting the box-office ablaze, a new and digitally enhanced Sholay has returned to scorch big screens in theatres across the country and is drawing huge crowds.

Of particular significance is the movie's return to Minerva, the theatre where Sholay premiered and ran to packed houses for five consecutive years from August 15, 1975.

In fact, of the two movies currently running in the theatre, Sholay is luring a larger and younger audience compared to Ishq Mohabbat, says Mr Sushil Mehra, General Manager of Minerva.

Mr Mehra, brother of yesteryear producer and Minerva's joint owner F.C. Mehra, said the film continues to have a magical allure, especially to generations born much after the film's successful run through the late 1970s.

"The music was good, the direction was good, the star cast was excellent and this was an unbeatable combination. Those days, people did not have many other avenues for entertainment as they have now. The prices of tickets were Rs 4.40 and Rs 5.50 in those days."

Eighteen-year-old Imran Affini and his friend, Manish Dhonde, both college students, queued up outside Minerva to catch a show of the epic film on the big screen. "We have seen the movie several times on television and on DVD. But an opportunity to see it on a big screen was something we didn't want to miss," says Dhonde.

Rajab Ali had come along with his young burkha-clad wife. " I have seen this movie several times but I wanted to see it again with my wife."

Manoj Kumar had taken a day off from work specifically to see the movie on the big screen. Twenty-eight-year-old Deepak says he wants to experience seeing Sholay at Minerva. " I have heard a lot about Sholay running at Minerva and the crowds that used to mill outside the theatre in the wee hours of the morning for tickets," he says.

This time around, Sholay is expected to last for at least six to eight weeks in the matinee show at Minerva. On the first day of the re-release, Ramesh Sippy, director of the movie, turned up to watch the film it, says J.D. Yadav, Assistant Manager of the movie house.

Yadav was a ticket clerk when Sholay made its debut in 1975. "People used to come in heavy rains and brave floods to watch this movie."

Of the film's lead star cast, Amjad Khan and Sanjeev Kumar are no more and Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Hema Malini and Jaya Bhaduri have moved on to doing `character' roles. However, `Gabbar Singh' and `Thakur Baldev Singh' along with `Jai', `Veeru' and `Basanti' have all become legends who promise to entertain and enthral audiences for generations to come.