Sholay movie poster.
Credit: Special Arrangement
Fifty years ago, Sholay, one of Dharmendra's blockbusters, blazed onto the silver screen and became one of Indian cinema’s most loved films.
The film, directed by Ramesh Sippy and also starring Amitabh Bachchan Hema Malini and Gabbar Singh, was shot extensively in the rocky hills of Ramanagara near Bengaluru.
The film's production team built an entire temporary township and even constructed a road from the Bangalore-Mysore highway to the set. Locals referred to the area as "Sippy Nagar" after the director.
Shooting for the film began in October 1973, and during the making, the film's crew stayed in Bengaluru and used to travel nearly 50 km to the location at Ramanagara.
People used to gather outside the hotels where the crew used to stay and also at the location to catch a glimpse of the actors.
In an episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati featuring Hema Malini and Ramesh Sippy, the show's host, Bachchan, recalled his experience of shooting for Sholay and an incident involving Dharmendra while commuting to the location.
"Dharamji is very carefree, he lived life to the fullest,” Big B had said. He went on to explain how, during long shoots, Dharmendra would often lose track of the time. If the production got delayed, he would simply shrug and say, “You guys go, I will sleep here.”
He also recalled an incident when crowds surrounded their car that had broken down in a busy area of Bengaluru.
"Once, when both of us were heading to the location and our car broke down in a crowded locality of the city. Suddenly, we found ourselves surrounded by thousands of fans. I started to worry. Dharmendra made a spur-of-the-moment decision. He got out of the car, stopped an auto and both of us reached the sets of Sholay at Ramgarh by that auto,” Bachchan said.
With Dharmendra as Veeru, Amitabh Bachchan as Jai, and Hema Malini as Basanti, the film’s story of friendship, courage, and the battle against Gabbar Singh, played by Amzad Khan, has endured for generations.
Ramadevara Betta, the granite-strewn landscape in Ramanagara which doubled as the fictional village of 'Ramgarh' in the film, is a tourist draw now.
Fundraiser for swimming pool
Sholay also played a significant role in the city getting its first swimming pool for girls.
Bengaluru's Baldwin Girls High School hosted the premiere on August 22, 1975 at Galaxy theatre on Residency Road as a fundraiser for the swimming pool being built in the school.
The tickets for the premiere were priced at Rs 50, Rs 25, Rs 15 and Rs 10.
Arathi Manay, an alumna of Baldwin Girls High School, has written about the school's connection to the movie.
She says that the father of one Sheena Malhotra, a champion swimmer who was six at the time of the film's release was the distributor of Sholay and donated the premiere to Baldwin Girls High School.
"He loved sports. Little did he know that years later that pool would become the foundation for my swimming career and those of many others," Arathi quotes Sheena.