'Sholay' goes international: Uncut version to premiere in Italy
What's the story
The legendary Bollywood film Sholay will be celebrated with a 50th-anniversary tribute at the Il Cinema Ritrovato Festival in Italy, reported Variety. The festival will host the world premiere of the fully restored, uncut version of the movie on June 27. This marks a significant moment as audiences will finally get to see the film's original ending and deleted scenes that were removed from its widely released theatrical version. The film starred Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, and Hema Malini.
Restoration process
The film's restoration took 3 years
The painstaking restoration of Sholay was a three-year-long collaboration between the Film Heritage Foundation and Sippy Films Pvt. Ltd. The original camera negative of the film was in a terrible condition, so the team worked with interpositives found in London and Mumbai. A major breakthrough came when a color reversal intermediate (duplicated color film negative), discovered in London, contained the original ending and two deleted scenes.
Producer's statement
It's been labor of love to resurrect the film: Sippy
Producer Shehzad Sippy of Sippy Films said, "It has taken us three years, but we were able to find the original ending and some deleted scenes that the world will see for the first time at the grand premiere." "It's been a labor of love to resurrect the film, and this is a tribute to the vision and the legacy of my grandfather G.P. Sippy." The movie was helmed by Ramesh Sippy and written by Salim-Javed.
Technical achievement
How the restored version was created
The restoration of Sholay is a major technical achievement in the preservation of Indian cinema. The film was India's first 70mm movie and the first Hindi film with stereophonic sound. The restored version has been created using two interpositives and two color reversal intermediates, with the final 5.1 sound mix using original magnetic sound elements found at the Sippy Films office.
Actor's perspective
'Sholay' was initially rejected by critics and audiences
Despite a tepid initial response, the 204-minute-long film is now a cult classic. Dharmendra, who played Veeru, said, "Sholay'is the 8th wonder of the world. 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." Bachchan added, "[The film's] 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."