50 Years Of Sholay: London Film Festival 2025 To Celebrate Amitabh Bachchan-Dharmendra Starrer With Special Screening

Ramesh Sippy's 1975 film, Sholay, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra, is one of the cult classics of all time. The 69th BFI London Film Festival is set to celebrate 50 years of Sholay, with a special screening of a restored version of the director’s cut, reported PTI. The film will be screened with the original ending and some deleted scenes.

In a statement, Mr Bachchan said, "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," and added that his role of Jai in the film is "permanently etched" in his mind.

"Shooting for the film was an unforgettable experience, but at the time I had no idea that it would be a watershed for Indian cinema. Its 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… .I hope that even 50 years later, the film will capture the imagination of new audiences across the world," he said further.

Dharmendra, who played Veeru, Jai's best friend in the film, shared, "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 added, "Few people know that I was offered the role of Gabbar and Thakur, but I was clear that I wanted to play the role of Veeru as he is so much like me. I had so much fun on the shoot. 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."

Sholay, released on August 15, 1975, also starred Amjad Khan, Sanjeev Kumar, Hema Malini and Jaya Bachchan, among others.

The British Film Institute’s (BFI) IMAX in London, the UK’s biggest screen, will host the special screening of Sholay on October 19, on the last day of the 2025 London Film Festival

The annual film festival starts next week on October 8 in London and around the UK. It has other films like Lucknow-born Ahmed Alauddin Jamal’s Hotel London and Anuparna Roy’s Songs of Forgotten Trees.