New Delhi: Do you know which is the movie that is India’s most watched? This movie was initially labelled as a flop but even today, it’s a classic Bollywood movie that redefined Indian cinema. When we talk about blockbusters, it is measured by the crores it has earned at the box office. However, in years gone by, it was measured by the number of tickets sold at the ticket window.
This particular movie that was announced as a flop sold 25 crore tickets, the highest for any Indian film. Are you still wondering which film is this? Well, let’s delve into more details!
India’s most-watched film
The film that redefined Indian cinema and brought a wave is none other than Ramesh Sippy’s Sholay, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Hema Malini, and Jaya Bachchan. After being called a flop movie, Sholay went on to rake over Rs 15 crore at the box office.
As per IndiCine, the film sold around 15 crore tickets in India in its first run and lasted for six years. Over the years, re-releases of Sholay in theatre collected more than Rs 3 crore. Not only in India but Sholay’s film tickets were sold in Europe, North America and the Middle East, taking its box office total to Rs 25 crore.
Why Sholay was labelled as a flop?
When Sholay was initially released in theatres in 1975, it had a low footfall. Due to its slow start, people started to write that it was a flop and about its box office failure by Saturday. However, with a good mouth of words, the film picked up on Sunday. People around started saying its dialogues that till that are considered to be iconic. The film went on to earn Rs 15 crore at the box office.
Sholay was released in theatres on 15 August 1975. It also stars Amjad Khan, Sanjeev Kapoor, Sachin Pilgaonkar, Helen, Jagdeep, and Asrani among others in important roles.