Security force personnel attend 'Sholay' screening at The Himalayan Film Festival

Over 55 personnel of the Indian Armed Forces were special guests at the screening of the Hindi cinema classic ‘Sholay’ on the third day of The Himalayan Film Festival here.

The screening of the Ramesh Sippy directorial on Sunday evening at the Sindhu Sanskriti Kendra was attended by security personnel from the CISF unit KIBR Airport Leh and the Indian Air Force.

While some audience members sang along to songs such as ‘Ye Dosti’, picturised on Dharmendra and Amitabh Bachchan, from the 1975 multi-starrer, others made Instagram reels of their favourite actors delivering their favourite dialogues.

Yogesh, who serves in the Indian Air Force’s northern base rank, said his favourite actor from ‘Sholay’ is Bachchan.

But what takes the cake for him is the part where Amjad Khan’s Gabbar Singh has Dharmendra’s Veeru in chains and Hema Malini’s Basanti is dancing to ‘Jab tak hai jaan’.

“I wasn’t even born when the film was released. But my parents told me they had bunked school to watch this film. My father received quite a beating at home for missing classes and going to the theatre. Today, I understood what he must have felt while watching the film on the big screen,” Yogesh told PTI.

ASI Ramesh Kumar from the CISF said he first watched the film about eight years ago.

“I love Gabbar Singh, the villain’s character the most, but my favourite actor is Amitabh Bachchan. I also like his film ‘Zanjeer’,” he added.

For Corporal Mahesh of the Indian Air Force, Dharmendra is the obvious choice as his favourite actor because they both hail from Punjab.

“I have watched the films many times on TV. My favourite part is when Dharmendra does all that drama standing on top of the water tank. He is my favourite as we both come from Punjab. His acting is all natural,” he said.

CISF ASI Sachin Kumar is also a fan of Dharmendra’s Veeru.

“I watched this film in my childhood with my family, but this is the first time I saw ‘Sholay’ in a theatre. Out of everyone, Dharmendra ji is my favourite,” he added.

Watching ‘Sholay’ on the big screen was a special experience, said an audience member.

“Jai-Veeru got so much hooting. The songs were a big hit with everyone singing along,” she said.

THFF is organised by the Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) of the Administration of Union Territory of Ladakh, in collaboration with Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Leh.

The gala, which opened on September 29, will conclude on October 3.