‘Sholay' ushered in tech revolution, changed movie experience for ever
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What followed was nothing short of cinematic history — a run that lasted 103 weeks, a week short of two years, and rewrote the rulebook for how the city experienced movies.
"For Kolkata audiences, 'Sholay' was not just a film; it was an event, an initiation into a new era of spectacle," said Jyoti Choukhani, owner of Bharat Laxmi Studio and Navina Cinema Hall. Movie halls needed superior projection quality to have that effect.
Thus, the upgrades were far from cosmetic. In the mid-1970s, most Indian films were shot in 35 mm, but Sholay was converted to 70 mm with stereophonic sound in London — a process impossible to do in India at the time, Choukhani added.
Jyoti's technical preparedness meant that when Kolkata finally got 'Sholay', it wasn't just screening a film, it was experiencing an imported technological marvel. The original owners of Jyoti, the Mansata family, went to extraordinary lengths to ensure that the viewing experience matched the grandeur of the film, said Asish Banerjee, the current secretary of the Eastern India Motion Picture Association (EIMPA).
They installed a massive 70 mm screen — one of the few in eastern India — and a state-of-the-art stereophonic sound system tailored for 'Sholay'.
"I vividly recall the scene where Amitabh tosses the coin and it lands on its edge," said longtime moviegoer Gaurav Gayen, now in his early 70s. "The sound was so sharp and the screen so large, it felt as if the coin landed right at my feet."
"My parents' wedding anniversary is always remembered as 'the year Sholay came'," chuckled film-buff Anirban Chatterjee.
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"It became a time marker for our lives." Jyoti's success with 'Sholay' also underscored how a well-equipped cinema could draw repeat crowds and sustain long runs without deficit matinee shows — rare in Kolkata's Hindi film circuit.
Not only Jyoti, 'Sholay' was in high demand across Bengal. "Even at Berachampa, our hall (Banirupa) ran housefull for months together after my father managed a print after a long struggle.
I still remember how the movie brought fortune to my family," said Subhas Sen, now EIMPA vice-president. His is one of the few theatres from the 'Sholay' era that still survives the flux.
Industry insiders note that 'Sholay' also changed the economics for exhibitors. "A film of that scale meant better ticket pricing, longer bookings, and stable revenue for nearly two years," said a retired cinema distributor. "It gave theatres the confidence to invest in sound, projection, and seating."
Off-screen, the film's record-breaking run coincided with the coining of the term 'Bollywood' and a redefinition of Hindi commercial cinema.
Gabbar Singh's "Kitne aadmi the?" and Jai-Veeru's friendship anthem entered everyday speech. Britannia even used Gabbar in a biscuit ad — the first time a Hindi film villain was tapped to sell a consumer product. Looking back, the story of 'Sholay' in Kolkata is as much about new cinema vision as it is about the film itself. By marrying technological ambition with a once-in-a-generation film, the Mansatas gave the city a cinematic memory that still echoes, stereophonically, through time.
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