The film became one of the biggest hits in the history of Hindi cinema and made 135 crore worldwide, breaking the record of the film Sholay ( 1975 ).

Sholay became the biggest hit in the history of Hindi cinema and is listed by Indiatimes as one of the " Top 25 must see Bollywood films of all time ".

Sholay, released in 1975, became a box-office phenomenon, where she played the role of Basanti, an unforgettable role of a talkative girl.

When first released, Sholay opened to a tepid response, but as word-of-mouth spread, audiences gave the film a chance, and soon it became a box office phenomenon.

Over time the critical reception to Sholay has improved to where it is now regarded among the greatest Hindi language films, and a classic.

Other films in this genre were, Khote Sikkay ( 1973 ), Mera Gaon Mera Desh ( 1971 ), and Kuchhe Dhaage ( 1973 ) both by Raj Khosla, the latter inspired the blockbuster, Sholay ( 1975 ) had the character of Gabbar Singh played by Amjad Khan.

Sholay is also considered the most important of the early Masala films, which popularized this genre in India.

Sholay was the longest running film in Indian cinema until Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge broke its record in 2001.

Sholay earned about in India in its first run, which was many times its budget, earning it an " All Time Blockbuster " status.

Sholay was nominated for nine Filmfare Awards after its release but won only one: M. S. Shinde won the award for Best Editing.

In 2005, Filmfare announced the best movie of the last 50 years as Sholay, although the film did not win the Filmfare Award for Best Film in its year of release.

His success continued with hits such as Yaadon Ki Baaraat ( 1973 ), Aap ki Kasam ( 1974 ), Sholay ( 1975 ) and Aandhi ( 1975 ).

Despite the soundtrack's success, at the time, the songs from Sholay attracted less attention than the dialogues — a rarity for Bollywood.

Comedian Jagdeep, who played Soorma Bhopali in the film, attempted to use his Sholay success to create a spinoff.

He was one of the lead actors of the all-time blockbuster Sholay ( 1975 ), and went on to star in numerous successful Bollywood films across five decades.

In particular, Kurosawa's Seven Samurai has been remade several times as Western films, such as The Magnificent Seven ( 1960 ) and Battle Beyond the Stars ( 1980 ), and has also inspired several Bollywood films, such as Sholay ( 1975 ) and China Gate ( 1998 ).

Mother India belongs to a small collection of films, including Kismet ( 1943 ), Mughal-e-Azam ( 1960 ), Sholay ( 1975 ) and Hum Aapke Hain Koun ( 1994 ) which continue to be watched daily throughout India and are considered to be definitive Hindi cultural film classics.

Mother India belongs to only a small collection of films, including Kismet ( 1943 ), Mughal-e-Azam ( 1960 ), Sholay ( 1975 ) and Hum Aapke Hain Koun ...!

Perhaps his best-remembered roles were in the blockbuster films Sholay ( 1975 ) and Trishul ( 1978 ).

It is believed that they fell in love on the sets of film Sholay ( 1975 ) although they had made films together before.

Apart from Sholay, the Dharmendra-Hema pair appeared together in films like Seeta Aur Geeta, Dreamgirl, Charas and The Burning Train.

Sholay has inspired many films and television broadcasts, and has spawned a whole sub-genre of films, namely the " Curry Western ", which is a play on the term Spaghetti Western.

She was noted for her performances in films including Uphaar ( 1971 ), Koshish ( 1972 ), Kora Kagaz ( 1974 ), among others. She appeared alongside her husband Amitabh Bachchan in films such as Zanjeer ( 1973 ), Abhimaan ( 1973 ), Chupke Chupke ( 1975 ), Mili ( 1975 ) and Sholay ( 1975 ).

This was closely followed by their pairing in films like Abhimaan ( 1973 ), Chupke Chupke ( 1975 ) and Sholay ( 1975 ).

Sholay still remains one of the biggest blockbuster films in Hindi film history and remains one of the favourites for Hindi film audiences globally.

While Sholay was a tribute to Westerns, his next film Shaan in 1980 was inspired by the James Bond films.

He also sang songs in 4 other films: Sholay ( 1975 ) where he sang the quawwali " Chand Sa Koi Chehera " along with Manna Dey, Kishore Kumar, Bhupinder ; Maha Chor ( 1976 ); Charas ( 1976 ); and, Balika Badhu ( 1976 ).

In Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag, a remake of Sholay, Mohanlal played the role of the protagonist Narasimham, a cop with a vendetta against the criminal Babban Singh played by Amitabh Bachchan.

Aag was originally also called Ram Gopal Varma Ki Sholay and was apparently meant to be a tribute to and " in the spirit of Sholay.

In 2007, he directed Nishabd, followed by the ambitious Sholay remake, Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag, as well as Darling.

She was signed to perform the item song in Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag, a remake of the 1975 blockbuster Sholay.

They also had hits in Yaadon Ki Baaraat ( 1973 ), Zanjeer ( 1973 ), Deewaar ( 1975 ), Sholay ( 1975 ), Trishul ( 1978 ), Kranti ( 1981 ), Zamaana ( 1985 ) and Mr India ( 1987 ).

After this, he wrote memorable lyrics in many movies including Bobby and Amar Prem ( 1971 ), Aradhana 1970, Jeene Ki Raah, Mera Gaon Mera Desh, Aaye Din Bahar Ke, Aya Sawan Jhoom Ke, Seeta Aur Geeta, Sholay ( 1975 ), Dharam Veer, Nagina, Hum ( 1991 ), Mohra ( 1994 ), Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge ( 1995 ), Heer Raanjha, Dushman ( film ) ( 1998 ), Taal ( 1998 ), Mohabbatein ( 2000 ), Gadar: Ek Prem Katha ( 2001 ) and Yaadein.

Helen was by far the most popular vamp of that era, having had performed in scores of item numbers including such popular songs as " Mera Naam Chin-Chin Choo " from the film Howrah Bridge ( 1958 ), " Piya Tu Ab To Aaja " from Caravan ( 1971 ), " Mehbooba Mehbooba " from Sholay ( 1975 ) and " Yeh Mera Dil " from Don ( 1978 ).

He played Gabbar Singh again in the 1991 spoof Ramgarh Ke Sholay.

In 2004, Sholay was digitally remastered and shown again to packed theaters in India, including the Minerva, where it had run successfully 29 years earlier.

In the climax of Sholay, Veeru and Jaidev decide their next strategy over their encounter with the villains by tossing a coin ( they are in habit of deciding over the affairs between themselves this way ).

Dharmendra's most notable acting performance was Satyakam with Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Sholay, where he appeared as the inimitable Veeru.

Hema fell in love with her co-star Dharmendra during the filming of Sholay.

By some accounts, Sholay is the highest grossing film of all time in Indian cinema when inflation is considered, although such figures are not known with certainty.

As such, Sholay was released with a length of 188 minutes.

Anupama Chopra's Sholay: The Making of a Classic ( 2001 ) is an inside look at the film's production, based on interviews with the director, stars, and crew members.