When Sholay turned black marketeers into millionaires

When Sholay turned black marketeers into millionaires

New Delhi: Black marketeers minted money from selling Sholay tickets. Only four tickets were allotted to one person. As is typical in the industry, people said the film would only run for a week or two and then be forgotten. The 1,500-seater Minerva Theatre at Grant Road in Mumbai proved lucky for Sholay. The audience watched the film on Cinemascope, not a 70mm print. The producer and owner of Minerva Theatre, Umesh Mehra, said, “Nobody noticed …