Bollywood's cult classic Sholay is set to release in Pakistan, 40 years after hitting Indian theatres.

The Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra-starrer, directed by Ramesh Sippy released in 1975 and proved to be a watershed event in the industry. The movie screened for five years at a landmark Mumbai theatre, the longest ever run in India at the time.

Sholay released in India in 1975 Sholay released in India in 1975

Thus, managing director of Mandviwalla Entertainment, Nadeem Mandviwalla is now bringing the iconic classic to Pakistani cinema screens, over 40 years after its release.

"Sholay is undoubtedly one of the most unique films of all time; it's a classic that has never been released in the country. Many people have been deprived of the experience of watching it in a cinema so we feel the audience will want to come watch it, given the opportunity," Dawn quoted Mandviwalla as saying.

The pioneering film's cast includes greats like Sanjeev Kumar, Hema Malini, Jaya Bachchan and Amjad Khan.

Sholay is considered as cult classic in Bollywood Sholay is considered as cult classic in Bollywood

The movie was remastered last year in 2014 and released in 3D for the new generation of moviebuffs. It will be releasing in 2D and 3D in Pakistan.

"The movie will not have a wide release. It will be shown at more cinemas but (with) less shows. It's tentatively releasing March 20, as March 23 will be a public holiday (on account of Pakistan Day), so people will have a wide array of movies to watch such as Jalaibee and Insurgent, which are also releasing around the same time," said Mandviwalla.

Other movies that have been reworked and released in 3D in Pakistani cinemas were The Lion King and Titanic, which didn't garner much attention. It will be interesting to see if Sholay will meet the same fate. For what it's worth, it seems highly unlikely.

With PTI inputs

