A restored version of Ramesh Sippy’s 1975 landmark film Sholay will return to cinemas across India this December, nearly five decades after its original release, the Film Heritage Foundation said on Saturday.
"The wait is finally over!! “Sholay - The Final Cut” restored by Film Heritage Foundation in 4K with the original ending being seen for the first time is slated to be released by Sippy Films in 1500 screens across India on December 12, 2025,” the official X handle of Film Heritage Foundation wrote on X.
“This is the biggest ever release of a restored film befitting the return of India’s most iconic film to the big screen 50 years since it was first released. Poster by Prashant Kanyalkar," they added.
Earlier this year, the restored version of Sholay was screened at the International Film Festival of Sydney with an alternate climax. Reports have long suggested that Sippy’s intended ending had Thakur (Sanjeev Kumar) killing Gabbar Singh, a conclusion altered under distributor pressure. That alternate version was shot but never released.
A restored, uncut version was also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 6 as part of the film’s 50th anniversary celebrations.
Regarded as one of Indian cinema’s greatest achievements, Sholay combines action, drama and comedy in a story centred on two small-time criminals, Veeru (Dharmendra) and Jai (Amitabh Bachchan), hired by retired police officer Thakur Baldev Singh to capture the notorious dacoit Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan). Its performances, enduring dialogues and R.D. Burman’s memorable soundtrack cemented its place in Indian film history.
Also featuring Hema Malini and Jaya Bachchan, the film became the biggest box-office success of its time and held the record for India’s highest-grossing movie for more than a decade.
Sholay was first released on 15 August, 1975.