SAT APR 25, 2026 7:00 PM

SHOLAY

$12.00 (member) ; $17.00 (general admission)

Egyptian Theatre | Co-presented by IFFLA

New Restoration

The American Cinematheque is thrilled to co-present SHOLAY with The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) which is celebrating its 24th edition on April 23-26 at Landmark Sunset Hollywood. The festival features an incredible lineup of 26 films, including World and North American premieres by some of the most exciting voices in South Asian cinema. For the full line up, visit IFFLA.

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  • RELEASED IN: 1975
  • 204 MINUTES
  • DIRECTED BY: Ramesh Sippy

ABOUT THE FILM:

In Hindi with English subtitles.

Few classics of Indian cinema are as exhilarating as Ramesh Sippy’s 1975 hit SHOLAY, presented in a new restoration. One of the foremost examples of the dacoit Western, the film follows two ne’er-do-wells, Veeru (Dharmendra) and Jai (Amitabh Bachchan), recruited by an old frenemy Thakur (Sanjeev Kumar) to rid his village of the villain Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan). This genuine marvel riffs off Sergio Leone’s spaghetti Westerns, Akira Kurosawa’s samurai films and BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID, and may have influenced various Hong Kong action titles of the 1980s.

FORMAT: DCP

DISTRIBUTOR: Film Heritage Foundation

COUNTRY: India

ABOUT THE RESTORATION:

Restored by Film Heritage Foundation at L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory in association with Sippy Films. Funding provided by Sippy Films. SHOLAY was restored using the best surviving elements: an interpositive and two color reversal intermediates found in a warehouse in the U.K. and a second interpositive dating from 1978 deposited by Sippy Films and preserved by Film Heritage Foundation. The sound was restored using the original sound negative, and the magnetic soundtrack preserved by Film Heritage Foundation. The film was originally shot on 35mm and blown up to 70mm for release. No 70mm prints of the film survive. The original camera negative was severely damaged due to heavy vinegar syndrome with coils adhesion and halos, overcoat deterioration both on base side and emulsion side, and base distortion. This restoration of the film in 4K includes the original ending as well as two deleted scenes and with the original 70mm aspect ratio of 2.2:1.