Sholay - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Sholay is a 1975 Indian action-adventure film produced by G.P. Sippy and directed by his son Ramesh Sippy

Ramesh Sippy

Ramesh Sippy is an Indian film director, probably best-known for directing the popular and critically acclaimed film Sholay ....

. It is considered among the greatest films in the history of Indian cinema. Released on 15 August 1975, it stars Dharmendra

Dharmendra

Dharmendra Singh Deol |Punjab]]), better known as Dharmendra, is an award-winning Hindi film actor who has appeared in more than 247 Hindi-language films as of 2011. In 1997, he received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Hindi cinema and also another Lifetime...

, Amitabh Bachchan

Amitabh Bachchan

Amitabh Bachchan is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades...

, Hema Malini

Hema Malini

Hema Malini is an Indian actress, director and producer, as well as a Bharatanatyam dancer-choreographer. Making her acting debut in Sapno Ka Saudagar , she went on to appear in numerous Bollywood films, most notably those with actor and future-husband Dharmendra. She was initially promoted as...

, Sanjeev Kumar, Jaya Bhaduri and Amjad Khan

Amjad Khan

Amjad Khan was an acclaimed Indian actor and director. He worked in over 130 films in his film career spanning nearly twenty years. He enjoyed popularity for his villainous roles in Hindi films the most famous being the unforgettable Gabbar Singh in 1975 classic Sholay...

. The film, shot in the rocky terrain of Ramanagara, Karnataka

Karnataka

Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

, is the story of two criminals hired to capture a ruthless dacoit

Dacoity

Dacoity is a term used for "banditry" in India. The spelling is the anglicized version of the Hindi word and as a colloquial Anglo-Indian word with this meaning, also appears in the Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words and Phrases Banditry is criminal activity involving robbery by groups of...

by the name of Gabbar Singh.

When first released, Sholay opened to a tepid response, but word of mouth convinced audience members to give the film a chance, and soon it became a box office phenomenon.