One of the greatest films of Indian cinema, Sholay (1975), is all set to re-release in cinemas on Friday, December 12. Titled Sholay – The Final Cut, it promises to showcase the original ending for the first time ever in India. It also includes two deleted scenes and moreover, the film will be released in 4K and Dolby 5.1 with the original 70 mm aspect ratio of 2.2:1. Sadly, the re-release hasn’t been handled well, leading to fears that the cult classic might suffer.
EXCLUSIVE: Team of Sholay – The Final Cut lands in soup over 1,500-screen release claim; STRUGGLES to get 1,000 screens due to long length, HIGH rates & Dhurandhar wave
The first sign of trouble arose when the screening of Sholay – The Final Cut’s was cancelled at the at the 56th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa. Though it was believed that the plan was dropped due to the death of Dharmendra, who stars in the film, a report by Hindustan Times carried a source of an anonymous IFFI official who confirmed that the screening was scrapped due to “technical glitches from the makers’ side”.
A trade source told Bollywood Hungama, “On November 15, the team of Sholay – The Final Cut, that is, restoration partner Film Heritage Foundation (FHF) and producers Sippy Films, announced that the 1975 classic will be re-released on December 12. Interestingly, the FHF’s social media post made a claim that the film would release in 1500 screens in India. But this piece of information was missing in the posts of Sippy Films and Pen.”
A post, uploaded by Film Heritage Foundation last week, said, ‘This is the biggest ever release of a restored film befitting the return of India’s most iconic film to the big screen 50 years since it was first released’. It also hammered once again that it will have a release in 1500 screens. Finally, on December 2, a post by Sippy Films, also confirmed that the 1500 release plan was on.
Only 10 days left to go!
‘Sholay: The Final Cut’ – In cinemas 12th Dec 2025
Experience the original uncut version for the first time ever, restored in 4k and Dolby 5.1 by Film Heritage Foundation.
Releasing across 1,500 screens in India. Also releasing worldwide in the… pic.twitter.com/tfV7E51V0J
— Sippy Films (@sippyfilms) December 2, 2025
The trade source continued, “The industry was shocked by this claim. After all, it is unheard of a film having such a wide release in its repeat run. Earlier, Rakesh Roshan attempted the widest re-release with Karan Arjun (1995). It had released in 1110 screens and that was possible as there was no competition. As for Sholay – The Final Cut, it was scheduled to release a week after Dhurandhar and clash with Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon 2, backed by Disney-Star Studio18. Hence, we wonder what made them make such a claim?”
The source then said, “As expected, it is struggling to get even 1000 screens. The team of Sholay – The Final Cut is lucky that they have a distributor in the form of Pen Marudhar Entertainment. They have used their goodwill and extensive distribution network to get as many theatres as possible. But its next to impossible for the film to release in 1500 screens.”
An industry insider commented, “Dhurandhar has picked up big time and it’ll roar in the second week. That film is more than 3.30 hours long and so is Sholay – The Final Cut. As a result, cinemas will face capacity issues. Usually, tickets of re-release films are capped at Rs. 150. But Sholay – The Final Cut’s tickets will be available at normal rates, which again, is not a good idea.”
He also said, “The timing is just wrong. There’s Avatar: Fire And Ash next Friday followed by multiple films on Christmas. Was there really a need to bring Sholay – The Final Cut in this crowded month? Couldn’t they have come in November? Or rather in the first or second week of January 2026, when the competition is much lesser?”
The insider signed off by exulting, “Sholay is a cult classic, loved by one and all. Does a legendary film require such ‘widest release ever’ marketing tactics? Nevertheless, we still hope Sholay – The Final Cut manages to find huge number of audiences. Many have never seen it on the big screen and also, with Dharam ji passing away less than a month ago, the film is back in the news. We hope all these factors contribute to its good run at the box office.”
#Sholay #SholayReRelease #SholayTheFinalCut
Video #1 From The New Trailer
Video #2 From The Film
James Bond Gets Replaced by Tatya Tope.
Tatya Tope must have been dubbed with James Bond during the original film.
In Cinemas December 12
Trailer Link: https://t.co/dFMNQUIopD pic.twitter.com/5vXx2CAhYg
— amit dadhich (@amit12354) December 5, 2025
Dialogue change leads to unrest
Last week, the fans of Sholay were left angry when Sholay – The Final Cut’s trailer revealed that ‘James Bond’ was replaced by ‘Tatya Tope’ in a crucial dialogue. Bollywood Hungama was the first one to write about it.
Bollywood Hungama then spoke to Javed Akhtar and he, too, was stunned. He said, “What does this mean? And this is just one dialogue. They might have similarly changed other famous lines. The audience won’t accept this…Have they spoken to the director (Ramesh Sippy)? They have certainly not spoken to me or to Salim saab (Khan). We are the writers of those lines that are recited even today by fans of Sholay.”
To conclude
Sholay – The Final Cut should have been in the news solely for restoring the original ending and bringing back the classic in 4K and 70 mm, but instead, it finds itself battling negative chatter – from the IFFI “technical” cancellation to the unrealistic 1500-screen claim and the controversial dialogue tweak. These self-inflicted blows were hardly needed for a film that has commanded love for 50 years. Hopefully, the audience will look beyond the mismanagement, turn up in good numbers and ensure that this landmark re-release is remembered for packed houses and nostalgia, not just for mistakes.
Also Read: Javed Akhtar fumes at the changed dialogue in Sholay – The Final Cut trailer, “No, you can’t tamper with this”
More Pages: Sholay Box Office Collection
Tags : Aditya Dhar, Akshaye Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, Arjun Rampal, B62 Studios, Dharmendra, Dhurandhar, Jio Studios, Jyoti Deshpande, News, Pen Studios, R Madhavan, Ramesh Sippy, Ranveer Singh, Re-Release, Sanjay Dutt, Sara Arjun, Sholay
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