Sholay 'Films in Concert' World Premiere Set for Royal
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- Sholay will make its "Films in Concert" world premiere at London's Royal Albert Hall on Oct. 10, with Melvin Tay conducting the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra performing R.D. Burman's score live to screen
- Sippy Films and esk are producing the event, screening "Sholay: The Final Cut" — a recently restored 4K version that reinstates footage cut by the Indian censor board in 1975 — in Hindi with English subtitles on a giant HD screen
- Shehzad Sippy, head of Sippy Films, said the screening will feature "the recently restored 4K version of the film with its original cut that had been banned by the Indian censor board in 1975," with the print available theatrically for only a limited window
- Royal Albert Hall programming director Matt Todd called Sholay "an undisputed Bollywood classic paired with an impeccable score," while esk CEO Samuel Weatherstone said this is the first time the restored version will be presented in this immersive format
- Sholay consistently tops critical rankings of Indian cinema — named "Film of the Millennium" by BBC India in 1999, placed in the BFI's top 10 Indian films in 2002, and ranked first on Time Out's "100 Best Bollywood Movies" in 2023
- The event follows last year's "RRR in Concert" at the Hall (featuring Ram Charan, N.T.R., S.S. Rajamouli and M.M. Keeravani), and upcoming "Films in Concert" screenings include "La La Land," "Casino Royale," "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," "Brassed Off" and "Matilda"
Why it matters: For a single Oct. 10 date, London audiences get a rare live-orchestra screening of a film the Indian censor board originally cut in 1975 — now restored in 4K with R.D. Burman's score performed by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, and theatrically available for only a limited window. It's also a milestone for Indian cinema's presence at the Royal Albert Hall, following last year's "RRR in Concert."
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