A restored and uncut version of Sholay, titled Sholay - The Final Cut, is finally getting a theatrical release in India. Sippy Films have announced that the Ramesh Sippy classic will arriving in 1500 screens across India on December 12.
The wait is finally over!! “Sholay - The Final Cut” restored by Film Heritage Foundation in 4K with the original ending being seen for the first time is slated to be released by Sippy Films in 1500 screens across India on December 12, 2025!!! pic.twitter.com/ftM5rTA789
— Film Heritage Foundation (@FHF_Official) November 15, 2025
The new version, featuring the original ending and deleted scenes not originally included in the theatrical version, was earlier screened at the Il Cinema Ritrovato festival in Bologna, Italy, in June.
The restoration was the outcome of a complex three-year joint effort between the Film Heritage Foundation and Sippy Films, owing to the fact that the heavily damaged original camera made restoration difficult. In an earlier statement, the team had said: "The main elements used were the interpositives found in London and Mumbai. Miraculously, the colour reversal intermediate found in London had the original ending and two deleted scenes. We had managed to acquire the original Arri 2C camera that was used to shoot Sholay for our archive."
The team also relied on the expertise of veteran cinematographer Kamlakar Rao, who had worked on the original film with its cinematographer Dwarka Divecha, due to the unavailability of 70mm prints. "He told us that Dwarka Divecha suggested putting a ground glass in front of the camera lens on which Kamlakar Rao made markings so that the margins of the 70mm frame could be identified. This helped us to decide on the aspect ratio as 2.2:1 for the restored film. As luck would have it, we also found the original magnetic sound elements at the Sippy Films office. The sound restoration was done using the original sound negative and the magnetic elements."
‘Sholay' like you’ve never seen before!! Film Heritage Foundation and Sippy Films are proud to announce the world premiere of the restored uncut version of Ramesh Sippy’s 1975 landmark film, ‘Sholay’! https://t.co/xTyKwqiL7a pic.twitter.com/sZ8Jd2MOJN
— Film Heritage Foundation (@FHF_Official) June 23, 2025
Written by Salim-Javed and produced by G.P. Sippy, Sholay was India's first 70mm film and the first Hindi film to employ stereophonic sound, until then a feature of big Hollywood VistaVision epics made in the 1950s through the '60s.
Headlined by Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Amjad Khan, Hema Malini, and Jaya Bhadhuri, Sholay is celebrated as one of Indian cinema's biggest blockbusters. A towering milestone bar none, the film drew influences from classic spaghetti Westerns and Japanese samurai epics.
