Amitabh Bachchan’s ‘Sholay’ Was The First Film To Popularize 70 MM

Explore how Amitabh Bachchan’s iconic film ‘Sholay’ revolutionized Indian cinema by popularizing the immersive 70MM format. Though India’s First 70mm film Around The World (1967) flopped and snipped the dreams of many top filmmakers to abandon their ambitious 70MM films, 7 years later, a young and dynamic filmmaker experimented again with 70MM technique!! He was none other than Ramesh Sippy, son of famous film producer G.P. Sippy, who after his two consecutive hit films Andaz (1971) and Seeta Aur Geeta (1972) announced India’s First Multi-Cast Film Sholay (1975).

Interesting Facts About Sholay

Since Sholay had Bollywood’s top stars of the ’70s hence Ramesh Sippy decided to take a big plunge and experiment with 70MM format with a Stereophonic Sound system and Technique Color!!  Since Ramesh Sippy wanted to give Indian viewers the Hollywood experience of actual 70MM films like Mckenna’s Gold he decided to shot the film in the 70 MM format, unlike Pachhi who shot Around The World in 35 MM format and later blew it to 70 MM.

It may be noted to shot a 70mm film; a film director requires special cameras and a film-stock that is twice as wide as 35mm. Besides, even the cinema halls require special projectors. Thus shooting Sholay in 70mm required huge camera’s which was not only expensive but a tedious affair hence the film veteran Cinematographer Dwarka Divecha shot the film in the traditional 35 formats but used innovative technique to perfect it as a 70MM print.

The Untold Story Of Sholay’s Making

Cinematographer Dwarka Divechaa instructed his assistant, Kamalkar Rao, to perfectly mark the film stock for 70MM frame identification. Divecha shot Sholay’s first frame and sent it to Ramesh Sippy’s brother, Ajit, in London, for 70MM testing. Ajit then sent the frame to a Paris lab, which provided crucial 70MM shooting instructions. Thus, they shot Sholay entirely in 70MM in India through trial and error.  

Since 70mm films needed widescreen cinemas, Ramesh Sippy made only four 70mm prints, with the rest in 35mm. On 15^th August, 1975, Sholay premiered at Mumbai’s Minerva cinema. The 70mm prints were delayed at customs, arriving after the premiere. Fortunately, no one noticed. After the premiere, the Sholay team and relatives watched the 70mm print, amazed by the experience.

 Sholay’s immense success rejuvenated the 70MM craze, opening floodgates for such movies. Films such as The Burning Train, Shaan, Razia Sultan, Saagar, and Karma were made and performed well.  

Down South India, the First films made in 70 MM are Padayottam (1982 – First Malayalam in 70MM); Maa Veeran (1986 – the first Tamil film in 70mm);  Simhasanam (1986 – the first Telugu film in 70mm), Sharavegada Saradara (1989 – the first Kannada film in 70mm).