'Sholay' Restored-Version With Original Ending Set To Premiere At Indian Film Festival Of Sydney

A newly-restored version of Ramesh Sippy's Sholay will premiere at the Indian Film Festival of Sydney (IFFS), presented by the team behind the globally recognised Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM).

The festival will host Sholay as its centrepiece film during its run from October 9 to 11, set to celebrate Indian cinema across three vibrant days.

Dubbed as one of the most iconic films in Indian cinema history, Sholay has been meticulously restored in 4K by the Film Heritage Foundation in collaboration with Sippy Films, the organisers shared, as per the press release.

The painstaking restoration, years in the making, involved locating a rare colour reversal print in London and retrieving original camera negatives along with long-lost deleted scenes from a Mumbai warehouse. The result is a stunning visual and audio revival, returning the classic to its 70mm glory. Most notably, the restored version features the original ending envisioned by director Ramesh Sippy, where Thakur avenges his family by killing Gabbar Singh.

The upcoming screening in Sydney is taking place days after the restored version had its world premiere earlier this month at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

Speaking on the same, festival director Mitu Bhowmick Lange expressed her excitement and added, "Sholay is more than a film - it is woven into the fabric of Indian storytelling, memory and myth. To bring back its original ending, after all these years, is to restore not just a different final scene, but the full vision of its creator."

Besides Sholay screening, the festival will present a carefully curated selection of over 15 films spanning languages, genres and formats, alongside filmmaker conversations, retrospectives and panels celebrating the legacy and future of Indian cinema.

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