New Delhi: Ramesh Sippy’s Sholay is regarded as one of India’s cult classic films; however, its journey at the box office was not initially smooth. Released in 1975, the film failed to impress on its opening day and faced negative feedback from industry critics.
Despite this, writers Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar remained optimistic about the film’s potential success. In response to its dismal first-day box office performance, Javed Akhtar reassured the team, stating, “We told him not to worry. Let them say what they want to. This is going to be a super hit. It’s all nonsense.”
The documentary Angry Young Men reveals that Sholay was perceived as a significant failure during its first week, prompting an urgent meeting with Amitabh Bachchan and director Ramesh Sippy to discuss the film’s poor performance. Nevertheless, Sholay gradually began to attract viewers, ultimately achieving blockbuster status.
In a podcast interview with Siddharth Kannan, Ramesh Sippy recounted that newspapers had described Sholay as a flop. He mentioned the film’s budget, noting that while the initial budget was set at Rs 1 crore, the final production costs reached Rs 3 crore. He pointed out that Rs 1 crore in that era would be equivalent to approximately Rs 100 crore today.
According to industry tracker Sacnilk, Sholay was produced with a budget of Rs 3 crore and recorded box office earnings of Rs 0.08 crore on its first day. Its total worldwide collection eventually peaked at Rs 50 crore.
Directed by Ramesh Sippy, Sholay features a distinguished cast, including Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Amjad Khan, Jaya Bachchan, Hema Malini, and Govardhan Asrani. The film holds an IMDb rating of 8.1 and is currently available for streaming on Prime Video.
Also Read: Sholay: The Final Cut: All you need to know about the 4K restored version of Ramesh Sippy’s cult classic.
