Sholay, the bollywood blockbuster is still remembered by so many people, and has retained its mass appeal even after its release fifty years ago. Released in the year, 1975, this star studded movie has become a cultural phenomenon. When I first watched it on screen, I could’nt help but wonder at the closeness of the movie to a "western", comparable to movies like "The Good, the bad and the ugly". With no frills attached, everything about the movie appeared stark and intense. The producer, G P Sippy’s magnum opus, his decision to shoot the movie on 70 mm and to have a stereophonic soundtrack paid off brilliantly. Shot in Ramnagara near Bengaluru, the scenery, complemented the plot with its dusty lanes and rocky outcrops. The cast was, of who’s who from Bollywood. The characters Jai and Veeru played by Amitabh bacchan and Dharmendra, in that order, play pivotal roles that blend in with the required plot. Though they are of divergent personalities, they complement each other. Jai comes across as a tall, handsome man with a dry but infectious sense of humor. Whereas Veeru is dramatic and comical, and who can forget his evergreen dialogues in the watertank sequence. Sanjeev kumar, a consummate actor, plays the role of a man with a mission to the hilt and who hires Jai and Veeru to carry out his revenge against Gabbar singh, the hardcore villain in the movie(played by Amjad Khan). Hema Malini and Jaya Bhaduri, with their roles provide an essential but a different angle to an otherwise raw and intense atmosphere of the 204-minute long film. This movie’s piece de resistance however is introducing Amjad khan for the first time in a major role, which is that of a person who is "unadulterated pure evil".The camera zooming in on his combat boots and his booming voice, that had a slight touch of Awadhi, Gabbar makes a deep impression on all those watching. Dialogues such as, "tera kya hoga kaliya", "arre o samba", "poore pachaas hazaar", made history. This movie definitely had the right mixture of all emotions, romance, tragedy and comedy. The songs that were part of the movie were catchy and freshly lilting. The raunchy number rendered by RD Burman, "mehbooba", for the dance sequence by Helen, was just right for Gabbar s lecherous campsite. There were a lot of firsts in this movie. Today, we are not making films that connoisseurs will appreciate and commoners will also say- "wow I enjoyed watching it", but Sholay had both the aspects, the interesting and the sensible. Surely, this movie continues to fascinate and rightly so, and which is a movie that cannot be replicated. Incidentally, the director himself does not expect to make another film like this. Truly, a once in a lifetime film for the viewers and it’s makers.