When Jawan was released in theatres last year and at the end of its run, it amassed footfalls of nearly 4 crore, it was highlighted as a huge achievement. And that is true, not many films today are able to cross even 1 crore ticket sales, let alone four. But the most watched Indian film ever breached that amount several times over, leaving a record that is likely to never be broken.

Most watched Indian film ever
No prizes for guessing but Ramesh Sippy’s curry-Western Sholay has been watched by more people in theatre than any other Indian film. According to film historians and box office aggregators, Sholay sold a record 18 crore tickets in India alone during its initial run from 1975-80. The film celebrated golden jubilees in 60 theatres and silver jubilee. In Bombay’s Minerva theatre, it ran for five years, a then-record. Overseas, it sold an estimated 2 crore tickets in its original run. The film was then released in Soviet Russia, where it recorded a massive 48 million (4.8 crore) footfalls. Put together, it gives Sholay footfalls of just around 25 crore.

Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra in Sholay

When Sholay was called a flop

By the end of its run, Sholay was India’s most successful and highest-grossing film. It earned Rs 30 crore, beating the record of Mughal-e-Azam and Mother India by a mile. However, the film wasn’t an instant hit. After releasing ahead of Independence Day, the film was hurt by bad reviews and negative word of mouth. In fact, during its first two weeks, industry insiders labelled it a flop and the makers were considering changing the now-famous climax. But eventually business picked up and the rest, as they say, is history.

How even Baahubali, Dangal, RRR can’t touch Sholay

Over the last few years, several Indian films have crossed Rs 1000 crore in worldwide earnings. Needless to say these films have seen millions of footfalls. Yet, they are no match for Sholay. For instance, Baahubali 2 has 15-20 crore footfalls globally, while RRR and KGF Chapter 2 are under 10 crore. Even Dangal, the highest-grossing Indian film ever is just ahead of them with 10 crore footfalls.

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