 Sholay ( pronunciation , meaning " <unk> " ) is a 1975 Indian Hindi @-@ language action @-@ adventure film directed by Ramesh Sippy and produced by his father G. P. Sippy . The film follows two criminals , Veeru and Jai ( played by Dharmendra and Amitabh Bachchan ) , hired by a retired police officer ( Sanjeev Kumar ) to capture the ruthless dacoit Gabbar Singh ( Amjad Khan ) . Hema Malini and Jaya Bhaduri also star , as Veeru and Jai 's love interests . Sholay is considered a classic and one of the best Indian films . It was ranked first in the British Film Institute 's 2002 poll of " Top 10 Indian Films " of all time . In 2005 , the judges of the 50th annual Filmfare Awards named it the Best Film of 50 Years . 
