Sholay

Sholay
Theatrical release poster
Hindi	शोले
Directed by	Ramesh Sippy
Produced by	G. P. Sippy
Screenplay by	Salim-Javed
Starring	Dharmendra Sanjeev Kumar Hema Malini Amitabh Bachchan Jaya Bhaduri Amjad Khan
Music by	R. D. Burman
Cinematography	Dwarka Divecha
Edited by	M. S. Shinde
Production company	United Producers Sippy Films
Distributed by	Sippy Films
Release date	15 August 1975 (1975-08-15)
Running time	204 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Budget	₹30 million
Box office	est.₹150 million

Sholay ( pronunciation , meaning "Embers") is a 1975 Indian Hindi-language action-adventure film, directed by Ramesh Sippy and produced by his father G. P. Sippy. The film follows two criminals, Veeru and Jai (played by Dharmendra and Amitabh Bachchan), hired by a retired police officer (Sanjeev Kumar) to capture the ruthless dacoit Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan). Hema Malini and Jaya Bhaduri also star, as Veeru and Jai's love interests. Sholay is considered a classic and one of the best Indian films. It was ranked first in the British Film Institute's 2002 poll of "Top 10 Indian Films" of all time. In 2005, the judges of the 50th annual Filmfare Awards named it the Best Film of 50 Years.

The film was shot in the rocky terrain of Ramanagara, in the southern state of Karnataka, over a span of two and a half years. After the Central Board of Film Certification mandated the removal of several violent scenes, Sholay was released with a length of 198 minutes. In 1990, the original director's cut of 204 minutes became available on home media. When first released, Sholay received negative critical reviews and a tepid commercial response, but favourable word-of-mouth publicity helped it to become a box office success. It broke records for continuous showings in many theatres across India, and ran for more than five years at Mumbai's Minerva theatre. By some accounts, Sholay is the highest grossing Indian film of all time, adjusted for inflation.