Director Ramesh Sippy on the idea of remaking cult classic Sholay

There is no denying the fact that Sholay (1975) is one of the most iconic films Bollywood has produced ever since coming into existence more than a century ago. Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Hema Malini and Jaya Bachchan in central characters, Sholay remains one of the most favourite films of millions of people even today.

While many people would like to see a modern-day recreation of the all-time blockbuster film, director Ramesh Sippy is against the idea of touching the cult classic. “I am not really keen to recreate Sholay unless one can imagine a way to represent it in a very different way. Otherwise, remaking is something I would not like to do as far Sholay is considered. It does not mean that I am against remakes; many films have been remade beautifully but it is not that easy. It is how you recreate the whole world of a particular film and genre (that matters),” says Sippy.

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Bollywood buffs would remember that filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma had attempt to recreate Sholay with Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag (2007). Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Mohanlal, Ajay Devgn, Prashant Raj Sachdev and Sushmita Sen in lead roles, the film was panned by critics and turned out to be a major box-office failure.

Walking down the memory late, Sippy says that it was a difficult task to manage so many actors on the sets of the film. “From making so many actors work together to involving high-octane action sequences and introducing people to the concept of a 70mm screen, creating Sholay was a huge challenge. I am glad that our efforts did not go in vain. People liked our film, appreciated it and even 45 years later they still talk about it. It feels great to be associated with such a remarkable project,” he concludes.