JOIN USThere is something amazing about the Bollywood classic and one of the greatest films of our times--- Sholay.
Re-released after 38 years and that too in 3D form, the film was a ‘refresh’ for those who saw the film way back in 1975. For many in the present generation it was more a fun-filled first time experience, having been entertained by the re-runs of the film on television only. Ironically a blockbuster of its time, this timeless classic pulled fewer fans to the cinema halls despite its new clearer and three dimensional format.
It has been more than a week now since the film hit the screens and is gradually inching towards the Rs 10 crore mark. For a film like Sholay, which is etched in our memory for its unforgettable roles and dialogues, such a cold response was not expected. The ‘3D effect’ somewhere failed to enthuse and garner eyeballs. It won’t be wrong to say that whatever the film has earned so far and, will be earning in the coming time at the box-office, is just because of the spell it had cast over our collective memories, since it first hit the silver screen.
On a lighter note, however, it wasn’t such a disappointing experience to watch the film wearing goggles! Obviously, we never expected to see the film like this. Though much-hyped, by far the most unsatisfactory part in the film was its 3D effect. The film fails to match the standard of a perfect three dimensional work.
The technical work done by more than 250 employees of Maya Digital Studios Private Limited, which is owned by Ketan Mehta and Deepa Sahi, failed somewhere to addany further value to the movie-watching experience. No doubt the frames were more clean and had depth, but even without 3D, the audience wouldn’t have missed anything.
The technicalities apart, watching the film in a cinema hall was an experience in itself. Thanks to the numerous re-runs of the film on TV channels, the audience already familiar with the story, the dialogues and the fight sequences matched word for word, dialogue for dialogue, almost lip-synced with the actors!
There were some irritating moments too when the cinema hall reverberated with dialogues delivered in style by some in the audience even before the actor got to speak his lines! The experience, neither funny nor irritating because somewhere everyone knew what the next line and scene would be, left one with a sense of déjà vu!
It’s up to you to decide whether Sholay is better in its original format or 3D has made it larger than life.