Pakistanis get ready — Gabbar Singh coming with his gang!

KARACHI: Pakistanis are getting ready as Gabbar Singh is coming with his gang as evergreen classical film ‘Sholay’ still No 1 due to the superb performance of Amjad Khan, Amitabh, Dharmendhra, Heema Malini, Sanjeev Kumar and Asrani.
With only three days left as the 3D release of 1975 cult classic ‘Sholay’ is all set to hit cinemas across Pakistan on April 17. Many people seem to have mixed feelings about watching Jai and Veeru taking on Gabbar and his bunch of goons on the big screen. Where some are looking forward to witness the all-time-classic, others have their reservations. Many of them have said, “Yes, we are definitely going and watching the film since we haven’t seen it before. Many Amitabh Bachchan fans would love to watch this film in digital 3D.” It is a fact that despite not having seen the movie, many are familiar with the characters, songs and iconic dialogues of Sholay due to its impact on popular culture. Those who have seen the movie several times said that they would “definitely” go and watch Sholay in cinemas. Indian film industry’s most renowned actor, Amitabh Bachchan is a name that echoes across the globe. The Thespian, who is an avid social media user, recently took to his Twitter handle and posted an unseen old picture from ‘Sholay’ music celebrations. Bachchan senior captioned the image as “And this Sholay music celebration … Dharam ji, Hema ji, Jaya, AB, Amjad. What times. It is quite refreshing to see the evergreen dream girl Hema Malini along with hubby Dharmendra. Jaya Bachchan and Big B too look fascinating in the retro mode. We like such flashback pictures, says Mr Bachchan.
Classic ‘Sholay’ was helmed by Ramesh Sippy and was released in 1975. The cult film is loved by cinema lovers and its dialogues are a hit among youth, even today. Mandviwalla Entertainment in collaboration with Geo and Jang group is now bringing the cult classic to Pakistani cinema screens, over 40 years after its release.
In its 40th year, Sholay is finally getting an official theatrical release in Pakistan. It would be safe to assume that many people in Pakistan, as Bollywood obsessed as India, are already familiar with the film after watching it for years on VHS tapes, then VCDs and finally DVDs. And yet what a thrill to imagine seeing the menacing Gabbar, the loquacious Basanti, or Helen shimmying to “Mehbooba”, in full 70mm glory is! Yet, strangely enough, the version that will be seen in Pakistan, while being the same as the one seen by millions in India, is still not going to be the version that was intended by Sippy.