India's most-watched film sold 25 crore tickets, no superstar has broken the record in 49 years
The methods of judging the success of films have changed with time. In today's era, it is easy to determine whether a movie is a hit or a flop by looking at its budget and box office collection. But in earlier times, the criteria for the success of a film was based on its long run in theatres and celebrating silver or golden jubilee. At that time, the footfall of films, that is, how many viewers watched the movie in the theatre, was also a major measure of success. One such historical film is that of which 25 crore tickets were sold, and it is considered to be the most-watched film in India.
This film is Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra's iconic film 'Sholay', which is the most-watched film in theatres in the history of Indian cinema.
Historic journey of 'Sholay'
Released on 15th August 1975, Ramesh Sippy directed 'Sholay' which had a brilliant star cast of actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Jaya Bachchan, Hema Malini, Sanjeev Kumar and Amjad Khan. The Salim-Javed duo wrote the story of this film, which became a memorable tale of friendship, revenge and courage.
Ticket sales and records
According to IndiCine, 15 crore tickets of 'Sholay' were sold in the beginning. This trend of selling films in quick succession continued for about 6 years. 'Sholay' was also re-released many times. Through which 3 crore more footfalls were noted at the domestic box office.
The magic of 'Sholay'
The success of 'Sholay' was not only in the country but also worldwide. 48 million tickets were sold in the Soviet Union itself. In the past years, 'Sholay' also got a good response in Europe, North America and the Middle East. All together, this figure becomes 25 crore tickets.
If we compare 'Sholay' with the highest-grossing films of the country, then these films of today are not able to break the record of this 49-year-old film. Talking about Bahubali 2, 15 crore footfalls were noted worldwide, while 6 crore people reached the theaters to watch Rajamouli's RRR.
Why was 'Sholay' labeled a flop
'Sholay' was the occasion of Independence Day in 1975. At that time Ramesh Sippy chose the best star cast in the film and the budget was also quite good. The Salim Javed duo wrote the film. But 'Sholay' had a slow start at the box office. By then it was labelled a flop. But due to word of mouth, its earnings increased after Sunday and tickets started selling rapidly from the opening window.
Broke Mughal-E-Azam's record
'Sholay' earned a lot at the box office. The collection crossed 15 crores. With this, Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Hema Malini and Dharmendra's film broke Mughal-e-Azam's record in terms of earnings.