BROOKLINE, MA — Nearly five decades after its original release, the iconic Bollywood film Sholay continues to captivate audiences. A screening of the legendary 1975 film has been sold out on Saturday at the Coolidge Corner Theatre, prompting organizers to add a second show on Sunday, February 8, 2026.
Widely regarded as the most influential Hindi film of all time, Sholay starred Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Hema Malini, Jaya Bhaduri, and Amjad Khan. The film celebrated the 50th anniversary of its release in 2025 and remains deeply embedded in popular culture across generations.
“It is no surprise that the movie show for Sholay is sold out,” said Preetesh Shrivastava, president of Hindi Manch and a lifelong fan of the film. Shrivastava famously commemorated Sholay’s 50th anniversary last August at Boston’s Hatch Shell, displaying Sholay posters on his car—whose license plate reads “SHOLAY.”
“For fans like me, Sholay is not just a movie; it’s an experience we want to enjoy again and again,” Shrivastava said. “Ramgarh, the village in the film, feels like a familiar place to many of us.”
According to Shrivastava, Sholay’s cultural impact goes far beyond its leading actors. “Most movies are remembered for a few characters. Sholay is so iconic that fans can name at least ten characters. Even the mare, Dhanno, is more famous than the hero or heroine of many other films,” he said.
He added that the film’s influence shaped the careers of several legendary performers. “After Sholay, actors like Asrani and Jagdeep were forever remembered as the jailor and Soorma Bhopali, despite their many other hit roles. I could talk about Sholay for hours—it’s my all-time favorite movie.”
Directed by Ramesh Sippy and written by the celebrated screenwriting duo Salim–Javed, Sholay was conceived as India’s biggest action-adventure film—a genre-bending “Curry Western” inspired by classic Hollywood westerns. The story follows a retired police officer who hires two small-time crooks to help him capture a ruthless bandit, Gabbar Singh, played in a career-defining role by Amjad Khan.
The Coolidge screenings feature the recently completed director’s cut, restored in 4K by the Film Heritage Foundation in collaboration with Sippy Films and L’Immagine Ritrovata in Italy. The restoration preserves the film’s original 70mm aspect ratio and includes the original ending and previously deleted scenes that were censored at the time of release.
The painstaking restoration drew from rare surviving film elements discovered in the U.K. and India, with sound restored from original negatives. No original 70mm prints of the film are known to survive, making this presentation a rare opportunity for audiences to experience Sholay as closely as possible to the director’s original vision.
The film, presented in Hindi with English subtitles, runs 3 hours and 26 minutes. Saturday’s 1:00 p.m. screening is sold out, while tickets remain available for Sunday’s 12:30 p.m. show.
For fans old and new, the sold-out screenings are a testament to Sholay’s enduring legacy—and proof that some stories truly stand the test of time.
