<Tr> <Th> Budget </Th> <Td> ₹ 30 million </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Box office </Th> <Td> est. ₹ 150 million </Td> </Tr> <P> Sholay (pronunciation (help info), meaning "Embers") is a 1975 Indian action - adventure film in Hindi language, written by Salim - Javed, directed by Ramesh Sippy, and produced by his father G.P. Sippy . The film follows two criminals, Veeru and Jai (played by Dharmendra and Amitabh Bachchan, respectively), hired by a retired police officer (Sanjeev Kumar) to capture the ruthless dacoit Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan). Hema Malini and Jaya Bhaduri also star, as Veeru and Jai's love interests . Sholay is considered a classic and one of the best Indian films . It was ranked first in the British Film Institute's 2002 poll of "Top 10 Indian Films" of all time . In 2005, the judges of the 50th annual Filmfare Awards named it the Best Film of 50 Years . </P> <P> The film was shot in the rocky terrain of Ramanagara, in the southern state of Karnataka, over a span of two and a half years . After the Central Board of Film Certification mandated the removal of several violent scenes, Sholay was released with a length of 198 minutes . In 1990, the original director's cut of 204 minutes became available on home media . When first released, Sholay received negative critical reviews and a tepid commercial response, but favourable word - of - mouth publicity helped it to become a box office success . It broke records for continuous showings in many theatres across India, and ran for more than five years at Mumbai's Minerva theatre . By some accounts, Sholay was the highest - grossing Indian film of all time, adjusted for inflation . </P>

Who played the role of gabbar in film sholay