Sholay was one of the biggest blockbusters of Bollywood and what’s more surprising is its relevance and eminence till date despite passage of 42 years.

Locals from the Karnataka village where the iconic movie was shot refer to their area as “Sippy Nagar”, name of the director.

Ramanagara, near Bengaluru, is where the Sholay team, under the supervision of its art director, the late Ram Yedekar, created an entire village, Ramgarh—complete with homes, streets, temples, a mosque and marketplace.

This is where the revenge, romance and comedy blockbuster, starring Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjeev Kumar, Hema Malini, Jaya Bachchan and Amjad Khan, played out in the rugged outdoors. Locals say it took close to a year for the set to come up.

Seven hills are located within a 10-km radius of Ramanagara, including Ramadevar betta, where Gabbar Singh, played by the late Amjad Khan in the antagonist role in the 1975 film, were picturised.

Gabbar Singh’s dacoit role gave Khan cult status, along with the memorable role of his henchmen Samba and Kaalia.

A 7.5 crore proposal is on the anvil to establish “Sholay the 3D Virtual Reality Village’ for cine lovers on a locale at Ramadevara Betta here, that was popularly known as Ramgad as picturised in the film.

The Ramanagaram district administration has submitted the plan to the state government to either implement it as a public-private venture or as a state project.The project, however, will not be established in the vulture reserve area, but outside it.

The virtual actors will come to life and deliver world famous punchlines in the film, and the visitors can deliver the following dialogues, the official said.

“When Gabbar Singh says Kitne aadmi they….. the visitors can immediately deliver the dialogue that follows “do sarkar” .. “woh do they aur tum teen,” the official said, reminiscing a scene when Gabbar Singh attacks the village for the first time in the film.

The locale at Ramadevara Betta known as Ramgad, is about 50 km south-west of the city, is a paradise for trekking, rock climbing and photo shooting.

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