Celebrating 50 years of Sholay; London Film fest to screen movie with original ending

The iconic film Sholay, which completed 50 years on August 15 and is one of Indian cinema's most celebrated works, will be screened at the London Film Festival on October 19. The best part of the screening is that the film will be screened with the original ending -- the restored director’s cut.

The screening will mark the 50th anniversary of the Ramesh Sippy-directed classic, which was first released in 1975 and went on to become a defining moment in Indian film history. The restored version, featuring the original climax and previously deleted scenes, have been brought to life by the Film Heritage Foundation in partnership with Sippy Films.

"It's wonderful that the Film Heritage Foundation has restored ‘Sholay’ and that they have managed to locate and include the original ending as well as some deleted scenes in the restoration," said Amitabh Bachchan, who played Jai in the film. "Shooting for the film was an unforgettable experience, but at the time I had no idea that it would be a watershed [moment] for Indian cinema… I hope that even 50 years later, the film will capture the imagination of new audiences across the world," PTI reported.

Dharmendra, who played Veeru, echoed similar sentiments, noting the film's enduring charm and memorable lines written by Salim-Javed. "Who can forget the dialogues of Salim-Javed and the direction of Ramesh Sippy? So many scenes have gone down in the history of Indian cinema and every character became a star," he said. He shared that he was originally offered the roles of both Thakur and Gabbar Singh, but was drawn to Veeru. "My favourite scenes were the tanki scene, the scene in the temple, and so many others, but the most powerful scene I feel was the death of Jai, which is still etched in my mind."

The original version had a revised ending where Thakur spares Gabbar Singh, handing him over to the police, a change made to satisfy censorship guidelines of the time. In the newly restored cut, viewers will see the originally intended conclusion, in which Thakur exacts violent revenge for the murder of his family.

The restoration has been a process, launched in 2022 by Shehzad Sippy, grandson of GP Sippy and producer at Sippy Films. "It has taken us three years, but we were able to find the original ending and some deleted scenes. It’s been a labour of love to resurrect the film, and this is a tribute to the vision and the legacy of my grandfather GP Sippy," PTI quoted him as saying.

Despite the loss of the original camera negative and absence of surviving 70mm prints, the team remained committed to preserving the film's legacy. "We have left no stone unturned to ensure that this historic film has not only been beautifully restored, but that the restored version will have the original ending and some never-before-seen deleted scenes,” said Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, director of the Film Heritage Foundation.

In addition to Sholay, the festival’s lineup includes works by Indian filmmakers such as Hotel London by Ahmed Alauddin Jamal and Anuparna Roy’s debut feature Songs of Forgotten Trees, which is competing in the First Feature category.