The Bollywood epic roars back to the big screen after 50 years

Fifty years after its first explosion on Indian screens, the Embers – which can be said to be the most famous Indian film ever – to an amazing return.

In a historical event for film lovers, the entirely restored version of Ramesh Sippy’s 1975 Magnum OPUS will be the first world show at the IL Cinema Ritrovato Festival in Bologna, Italy, on Friday. This version includes the original end of the film – changed due to censorship objection – and deleted scenes.

The display will be held on the festival’s outdoor festival screen at the Bayzuor Magior – one of the largest teams in Europe – which offers a majestic environment for this long -awaited cinematic resurrection.

It was designed by the bilateral writer Salem-Jaid and includes a group of stars led by Amitabh Bachchan, Darndra, Hema Malini, Jaya Badouri, Sanjif Kumar, and with unforgettable classics. However, it is still unique Indian.

The 204 -minute film is a classic background in the fairy village of Ramara, where two Bassibin criminals, Jay and Viru (Bachchan and Darminra) are appointed by former prisons in Indian cinema.

When it was first released, Sholay ran for five years without interruption at the Mineva Theater in Mumbai 1500. It was later voted on “A Millennium Film” in a BBC survey of the BBC in India and its names are the greatest Indian movie in the British Film Institute poll. Half a million records and tapes were sold from the RD Burman result and well -known movie dialogues.

The film is also a cultural phenomenon: the dialogues are transferred at weddings, and it is referred to in Political sermons And the exit in ads.

“Shali is the eighth wonders in the world,” said Darndra, who plays a role in a small town and is paired with Bachchan in the movie.

Bachchan said the filming was “an unforgettable experience, although I had no idea at that time that it would become the moment of gatherings in Indian cinema.”

This new recovery is the most sincere version of Sholay, with the end of unprecedented original scenes, according to Chevandra Singr Dongbur of the Film Heritage Foundation.

In the original version, the Singh dust – killed by Thakur, who crushes it with serrated shoes.

But censorship objected. They have passed on the idea that a former police officer takes the law in his hands. They also found the film’s violence very excessive. The film faced unusually difficult control because it struck theaters during emergencyWhen the ruling Congress government suspended civil freedoms.

After failed attempts to mind with them, Sippy forced to reformulate the end. The staff and crew were transferred to the rugged Ramanagarram hills in southern India – turned into the imaginary village of Ramara. With a diluted new conclusion – where the Singh dust, not killing – in its place, the film has finally cleared the censorship.

The way to restore the three -year epic was far from the plain. The original prints did not survive 70 mm, and the negatives were in the event that it deteriorated.

But in 2022, Shahzad Sibi, Ibn Ramish Sibi, approached Mumbai’s cinema heritage institution with a proposal to restore the movie.

He revealed that many film elements were stored in a warehouse in Mumbai. What seemed to be a gambling that turned into a miracle: inside the unacceptable boxes the original camera was 35 mm and sound negatives.

The excitement did not end there.

Sippy Films reported the basis of additional rollers stored in the United Kingdom. With the support of the British Film Institute, the team was able to reach archive materials. It was carefully shipped to L’Imagine Ritrovata in Bologna, one of the world’s leading films.

Despite the loss of the original 70 mm publications and the negatives that were severely damaged, the preserved provided elements from Mumbai and the United Kingdom, and cooperating with the British Film Institute and L’Mymagine Ritrovata to Italy to assemble the film in a scene. Even efforts revealed the original camera used to shoot the movie.

Interestingly, Shulai was a rock start when the screens were first hit. Early reviews were harsh, the box office was fragile, and the printing was delayed 70 mm in customs.

India magazine today described the film as “Emper”. Bikram Singh wrote from Filmfare that the main problem in the movie was “an unsuccessful transplant that it tries, and to vaccinate the West on the Indian center.”

“The movie is still a western imitation – neither here nor there.”

In initial performances, the audience sat in silence – no laughter, no tears, no applause. “Silence only”, the author of the film, Anopama Chopra, wrote in her book, Shlia: Made the classic. By the weekend, theaters were full, but the response remained unconfirmed – and entered the panic.

Over the next few weeks, the fans rose to the movie, and the oral words spread: “The pictures were epic, and the sound was a miracle … by the third week, the audience repeated the dialogues. This means that at least some of them came to watch the movie for the second time,” he wrote Chopra.

A month after the Shali screens, Polydor released a 48 -minute dialogue – the tide has turned. The characters of the film have become icon, and the Singh – the villain “is really scary, but it is widely famous – as a cultural phenomenon. Foreign critics called it” Western Carrie “in India.

Shalai ran for more than five years – three in regular offers and two as trainees in Mumbai Minerefa. Even in the week 240, the offers were full. Pakistani sholes in April 2015And although she is 40 years old, she surpassed most Indian films for a decade – including Devdas for 2002, starring Shah Rukh Khan.

The Distributor of the Film Shouf Chopra also told: “As they used to say about the British Empire, the sun did not set on Shulai.”

Why is Shlia still echo with the masses, after half a century? Amitabh Bachchan provides a simple but deep answer: “The victory of good over evil and … most importantly, poetic justice in three hours! You and I will not get it at age.” He said, he said dialogue.