Sholay (1975)
Indian Film Booklet
1975 (made)
1975 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Sholay (1975) was one of the all-time big hits of Indian cinema. The film lived up to its advertising slogan: ‘The Greatest Story Ever Told’. Described as an Indianised western, it tells the story of a man who hires two ex-convicts to seek revenge for the murder of his family. The film’s advertising aimed to convey the monumentality of the film through the all-star cast and the distinctive typography. The lettering is formed from rocks and stones, which represent the boulders and desert setting of the film. The film booklet cover and the original poster had the same design.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Titles |
|
| Materials and techniques | Lithograph on paper |
| Brief description | Indian film booklet |
| Physical description | On the front cover, at the top of the leaflet is written 'The Greatest star cast ever assembled- The Greatest story ever told'. Across the centre of the cover is the title 'Sholay ' drawn in three-dimensional lettering and shading which looks like cracked stone and gives the impression of monumental scale. The entire background is in painted flames of orange and red . Below the title are seven insets with photographs of the main characters. The back cover is a repeat of the front with the text in Hindi. The inside cover has a synopsis of the film in English with line drawn images from the film below. There are eight pages in the booklet, the first four have a synopsis of the film and some of the song lyrics written in Hindi, the next three have the equivalent in Urdu. The final page along with the inside back cover lists the film credits |
| Dimensions |
|
| Production type | Mass produced |
| Gallery label | This booklet was displayed as a group:
Song booklets are unique to Indian cinema. They contain a film synopsis, stills and song lyrics. The booklets were sold to the audience for a few annas (pence) and in the absence of cheap recordings people would be able to sing the songs at home using the lyrics. In most cases the text was reproduced in Hindi, Urdu and English. Often artists could be more creative and innovative with the booklet covers than the posters. |
| Summary | Sholay (1975) was one of the all-time big hits of Indian cinema. The film lived up to its advertising slogan: ‘The Greatest Story Ever Told’. Described as an Indianised western, it tells the story of a man who hires two ex-convicts to seek revenge for the murder of his family. The film’s advertising aimed to convey the monumentality of the film through the all-star cast and the distinctive typography. The lettering is formed from rocks and stones, which represent the boulders and desert setting of the film. The film booklet cover and the original poster had the same design. |
| Bibliographic reference | Rachel Dwyer & Divia Patel, Cinema India: The Visual Culture of the Hindi Film, Reaktion Press, 2002. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | IS.190-1992 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | December 9, 2002 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSON
