MUMBAI: On 14 August, Universal Music India released a special anniversary collection to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Bollywood’s legendary blockbuster – Sholay. One of the most iconic films in the industry, Sholay has been the first Indian film to have a Stereophonic soundtrack and to use the 70 mm Wide Screen format.
Over the years Sholay has become a cult classic and was the first film to enjoy a 25-week run in over 100 cinemas. In 1975, it became the highest grossing Bollywood film that year. Sholay holds a still-standing record of 60 Golden jubilees (running 50 consecutive weeks at 60 theaters) across India, and was the first film in India to celebrate a Silver jubilee (25 weeks) at over 100 theatres.
The multi-million selling soundtrack (music and dialogues) continues to sell across new formats including on line and mobile. The music from the film has captured the hearts of generations. Who can forget the iconic voices of Kishore Kumar, Manna Dey, Lata Mangeshkar and R D Burman crooning to classic tunes like “Mehbooba Mehbooba”, “Yeh Dosti”, “Jab Tak Hai Jaan” and “Koi Haseena” among others.
‘Sholay: The 40th Anniversary Collection’ includes over two hours of the dialogues and songs of the iconic film chronologically sequenced to take the listener through a fantastic Sholay experience.
Universal Music Group, South Asia managing director and CEO Devraj Sanyal said, “Sholay is one of the most memorable films of our time… with one of the most endearing soundtracks ever. I don’t think there is any other film in the history of Indian cinema where both the songs and the dialogues have become so iconic! And 40 years later, it gives us immense pleasure to present this Anniversary Collection – an album packed with over two hours of music and dialogues to relive the magic of Sholay. This is indeed a collector’s edition, which every cinema enthusiast out there must possess. And to top it all, the album is now available across all digital formats keeping up with changing consumer preferences.”
Additionally, Universal Music is also rolling out a multi-pronged campaign to celebrate the 40th year of the Soundtrack. DJ Suketu will be creating a five minute mashup that will introduce the music of Sholay to a whole new generation out there. Besides, riding on the film’s popular dialogues and characters, Universal Music has associated with Dubsmash where enthusiasts will have the chance to create their own videos of Gabbar, Jai, Veeru, Jailor and other casts from the film. While Big FM 92.7 – the official radio partner on the album will reach out to the films core audience through its pan-India presence. The station will run innovative campaigns around the film’s characters and it’s music.
The ‘Sholay: 40th Anniversary Collection’ will see a simultaneous worldwide digital download release on 14 August, 2015 exclusively on the iTunes store. The album will also be available across streaming partners as well as on physical formats.
