How Sholay became India's OG brand IP

Made with INR 25 million in 1975, it earned INR 300 mn, now worth INR 30 billion!

- BY S VENKAT NARAYAN Our Special Correspondent

In a world flooded with algorithms, franchise fatigue and forgettable content, one Indian film continues to do what new-age brands desperately chase: command recall, spark emotion and drive engagement across five generations.

That film is Sholay. And it turns 50 on August 15, 2025.

For many, Sholay is the definitive Bollywood blockbuster. But for marketers, it's something more powerful, India's first mass-market cinematic IP, long before the term became jargon. It didn’t just make box office history. It gave India a language of branding before we knew what that was.

"Sholay isn’t a film that finds its identity solely as a commercial blockbuster—it’s an iconic fixture in Indian cinematic memory. So relevant, it has transcended cinema, TV, OTT and made its way into the meme-world," says Harikrishnan Pillai, chief executive officer and co-founder of digital marketing agency TheSmallBigIdea.

"Advertising has milked its charm time and again: Gabbar (played by Amjad Khan) selling cement, Veeru (Dharmendra) promoting mobile networks, and Basanti (Hema Malini) endorsing scooters. Gabbar’s voice has been recontextualized in Gen Z reels, now yelling at interns and customer care executives. The characters often show up in cameos and callbacks in newer films."

And marketers have plugged in. In 2023, Coca-Cola India launched a limited-edition 'Basanti's Orange' retro can, a quirky nod to Hema Malini's iconic character. It sold out within days. Bharti Airtel's #KitneAadmiThe reels challenge clocked over 12,000 user-generated videos in 72 hours. Hyundai created an artificial intelligence (AI) filter that let fans 'race' Jai (Amitabh Bachchan) and Veeru's bike through Ramgarh, leading to a 25% bump in test drive leads—no influencer needed.