Ramesh Sippy’s Sholay, released on 15 August 1975, is not just a film, but the history of Indian cinema. This film with stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Sanjeev Kumar and Amjad Khan was made in that era for about 3 crore rupees. Today, after fifty years, if this film was made in 2025, then its budget would have reached 300 to 400 crores.
Between 1975 and 2025, there has been a big change in the price of rupee. The 3 crore rupees of that time are equivalent to about 150 to 200 crores today. But the matter does not end here. Now it takes high-tech cameras, drone shots, digital cinematography and heavy VFX to make a film. 70-100 crores would have been spent on all this. The cost of shooting location and set design has also increased manifold. Today, 25-40 crore rupees can be spent in these works on making films in areas like Ramnagaram today.
Expenditure increases further due to stars’ fees
At that time, the fee of the entire star cast was around Rs 25-30 lakh. But today if big artists like Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone or Ranveer Singh are taken, then only their fees can reach 100-150 crores. 20-30 crores would be easily imposed in digital promotion, social media campaign and events before release.
Amitabh and Dharmendra’s ‘Sholay’
All records break in earnings
In 1975, Sholay earned Rs 30 crore, which was incredible for any film at that time. According to today, this earnings sit more than 3000 crores. The film was not only a hit at the box office, but also proved to be a game-changer in branding. Characters like Gabbar, Veeru and Basanti became the face of advertisements. Gabbar was seen selling cement, Viru promoted mobile network and became the brand ambassador of Basanti scooter.
Sholay’s characters are still in trend today
Sholay, which lasted for five consecutive years in the Minerva Theater in Mumbai, is still equally popular on social media and TV. Its dialogues are seen in mimes and reels. Many brands took advantage of this in recent years. Coca-Cola launched a retro can under the name of Basanti, which was sold in a few days. How many Airtel men were there in the challenge in 72 hours more than 12,000 videos were made. Hyundai made an AI filter, so that people can race Jai-Viru’s bike in Ramgarh.
Sholay’s story will never be old
Sholay’s story is as strong as its effect. The film, which started with the idea of four lines of the author couple Salim-Javed, was a combination of action, romance, comedy, emotion and memorable music that did not allow the audience to move from the seat. Gabbar’s dialogues are still used from office meeting to cricket commentary and Instagram reels. Research suggests that people click more on nostalgia content and also watch it for a long time. The technology may be limited at all, but Sholay touched the height in both the box office and the market, where it is not easy for any film to reach.