2. Sholay (1975)
This film created a new milestone in the history of Indian cinema and is referred to as the greatest movie ever made in Bollywood. It follows the story of two criminals Jai and Veeru, who are hired by a retired and handicapped police officer Thakur Baldev Singh to capture the fearsome and ruthless dacoit Gabbar Singh. Sholay released to a very moderate response. Its popularity soon built up through word-of-mouth, soon making it a box office hit. It ran for more than 5 years at a stretch in a theatre in Mumbai to celebrate a record of 60 golden jubilees. It was the first film to introduce stereophonic sound and to use the 70mm format. It was declared as the Film of the Millennium by BBC India in 1999 and topped the Top 10 Indian Film poll by British Film Institute in 2002. It was included in the Best of Bollywood list of 2010 by the Time Magazine and also received a special award of the Best Film of 50 Years at the 50th Filmfare Awards in 2005. The music and dialogues of the film were a smashing hit and are still sung and recited by the people all over India. The characters of Jai, Veeru, Thakur, Gabbar, Basanti and even her horse Dhanno are immortalized in the mind of people even now.
