Where was Bollywood’s Most Popular Movie ‘Sholay’ Shot?

Sholay 3D was released recently, in a stereoscopic 3D version, and it still captivates the audience. Jai, Veeru, Gabbar & Thakur have proved that old is gold; the movie raked in more moolah than some of the latest Bollywood films that were released at the same time.

But do you know where was this blockbuster movie ‘Sholay’ shot?

More About ‘Sholay’, the Movie

Sholay, one of the biggest hits in the history of Bollywood, was shot over a span of two and a half years, and released in August 1975. Many also believe that it was the highest grossing movies of all times (considering inflation) despite the fact that several movies today are grossing more than 200 crore rupees (ticket prices are way to high nowadays).

Most also rate Sholay as the best Bollywood movie of all time, for its fast-paced, action-packed plot that had the right mix of everything that the audience desires. Most experts agree that ‘Sholay’ has it all – epic fight scenes, bromance, humour, memorable songs, plot twists, thrilling dance sequences and sparkling performances. The haunting score, pulsating music (Mehbooba), and Bollywood’s baddest villain (Amjad Khan as Gabbar) are the icing on a rollicking, all-action cake.

Where Was Sholay Filmed?

Sholay was shot in the rocky terrain of Ramanagaram, located in the southern state of Karnataka. Its about 275km from Mangalore city, going towards Mysore-Bangalore.

Ramesh Sippy (director of Sholay) had explored several locations for his movie but finally settled in on Ramanagar, a village near Bangalore (now Bengaluru). The big rocks of granite and hills in this region seemed to be perfect hideout for Gabbar and his men.

Here are some pictures of the place where this classic was shot.

Can you imagine Gabbar’s men at the top?

Can you imagine Jaya Bachchan there?

Several horse scenes including that of Basanti & Dhannu

And though most of the film was shot here, the famous train robbery sequence (first of its kind in Hindi cinema) was shot on the Mumbai-Pune railway route near Panvel.

More About Gabbar Singh’s Ramgarh

The moment you reach near this place, you can spot the big rocks and hills from far away, and you’ll see signs saying “Ramanagar Welcomes You”.

There are about seven hills in the 10Km radius of Ramanagara — Yatirajagiri, Sidilakallu Betta Shivaramagiri, Krishnagiri, Somagiri, Revanna Siddeshwara Betta and Jala Siddeshwara Betta, Randevara Betta. Ramadevar betta was ‘Ramgad’ in Sholay where Gabbar Singh & his men (Samba and Kaalia) were picturised.

The scenery is awesome and picturesque, the hills and rocks that were shown in movie are still there, but most huts/small houses that were built for the movie shoot are now being used by the villagers.

Though Ramanagara is famous for its silk market, it will always be remembered as the place where the Bollywood classic ‘Sholay’ was shot.

Major Tourist Attraction

With the movie becoming the biggest hit in the history of Bollywood, this small town near Bangalore became a buzzing touring destination. In fact, the villagers also re-named a small village nearby to ‘Sippynagar’.

Though Ramanagaram was a small town when the movie was shot, it has now become a ‘district’ of Karnataka.

Private tour organizers offer travel packages that include Trekking, Rappelling and Rock climbing, Bird watching, Nature and Wild Life Exploration, Star gazing (sleep under the sky, watch the twinkling stars, and if you play the mouth organ, the tune that Jay used to play in the movie would be just about perfect), and Cave Walk.

I’m sure you’ll love ‘Ramanagar’ the way the cast and crew ‘Sholay’ loved it!

Ramgarh Resort and Spa
There was a lot of talk about launching ‘The Ramgarh Resort and Spa’, with the entire theme based on Sholay and its characters. However, the resort plans have not taken off yet and we’ll have to wait and see if its going to be a reality.

Sholay’s Jai Veeru Injured in Israeli Airstrikes: Fake Photo

Almost everything we see on television, or in newspapers, or even on the internet, we tend to believe it, especially if that piece looks like some news item. But the truth can be far from it.

Recently, a picture was trending on twitter that shows a couple of men horrifically injured by Israeli airstrikes (the picture has ‘Live Gaza’ superimposed on it), and there’s a logo on the picture that suggests that the image has been posted by Al Jazeera. There’s also a text that reads “More horrific images of seriously injured as a result of Israeli shelling.”

But do you know who those two men in the picture are?

They are Jay & Veeru from the classic Bollywood movie ‘Sholay’, played by Amitabh Bachchan & Dharmendra.

Yes, that’s right! Take a look at the picture!

Even if you’re not an Indian, and have some information on Bollywood, its easy to recoginize this picture of the famous death scene of Jai, played by the legendary Amitabh Bachchan (that’s his picture from his younger days, almost 3 decades back).

So this picture is definitely a FAKE.

Amitabh Bachchan is a known figure internationally, and the only reason probably many couldn’t recognise him is because the picture is from his younger days, and because the scene shows Amitabh seriously injured, which would make his face somewhat unclear. However, if you’re a Bollywood buff, there’s no chance you wouldn’t recognise this scene.

And what does Al Jazeera have to say about this episode?

Well, they have just decided to laugh it off, and have clarified that the picture is “fabricated”. Al Jazeera’s Public Relations team posted the new screenshot and tweeted, “We can only laugh at these ridiculous stories about #AlJazeera… They could have a least gotten our logo right.”