Karachi, April 18: Kitne aadmi the?

Seldom has one film dialogue defined an actor as much as this one-liner did Amjad Khan, playing the iconic khaini-chewing bandit king Gabbar Singh in Ramesh Sippy's 1975 blockbuster Sholay.

But for generations of Bollywood fans across the border in Pakistan, their access to Sholay was primarily through video cassettes, and later, CDs and DVDs.

Finally, 40 years after its release in India - on August 15, 1975 - the film has made it to the big screen in Pakistan with a premiere held in Karachi on Friday. The main heroes, Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra, who crooned the magical ode to friendship, Yeh Dosti, on a modified 1942 BSA WA 500cc motorbike with a sidecar, are now in their seventies, and both Sanjeev Kumar and Amjad Khan are no more.

Sholay never released in Pakistan, thanks to the ban imposed by Islamabad on Indian films after the 1965 war. The ban was lifted only in 2006, with Akbar Khan's Taj Mahal being screened and a premiere being held in Lahore. An exception was made for K. Asif's Mughal-e-Azam, which hit the theatres in Pakistan after the war. But no other Bollywood movie found its way to Pakistani screens.

Sholay, starring Amitabh and Dharmendra and their respective wives, Jaya Bachchan (then Bhaduri) and Hema Malini, hit theatres in Pakistan for the first time yesterday. The film was released across the country by Geo films and Mandviwalla Entertainment with a grand premiere in Karachi at the Neuplex.

" Sholay has its legion of fans in Pakistan, including that generation which grew old watching Indian movies on VCRs when it was illegal to screen them in Pakistan," film critic Omair Alavi said.

"We have heard so much about the movie from our parents and older relatives, so for them to watch the film for the first time on the big screen in 3D and 2D is an unforgettable experience."

Nadeem Mandviwalla, the exporter and distributor of the film in Pakistan, said he was expecting Sholay to generate good business. "Even though we have some top releases lined up, including Avengers: Age of Ultron, Sholay will continue to draw its audiences because of its evergreen effect," he said.

Incidentally, Sholay had bombed on its initial release in India but went on to become a blockbuster after it was withdrawn and re-released some weeks later.

Adnan Baig, a well-known Pakistani actor and stylist, said watching Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan), Veeru (Dharmendra) and Jai (Bachchan) in 3D was an exciting experience. At one cineplex where Sholay is being screened, the owners have erected huge cut-outs of Gabbar, Jai and Veeru in a village-like environment and film-goers can get photographed with their favourite characters.