I , like many millions, have watched Sholay more times than Roger Federer's grand slam titles and has matched his  5 titles in row at Wimbledon and US open with 5 days in row viewing of Sholay... (In fact he matched me as I did it in 1989..  :-) 

But I will not watch it this time around. After all , they are out there to kill the classic, was my initial reaction, when I first heard that Sholay is getting converted into 3D and that the entire soundtrack is getting re-created along with totally new sound design. Why are they killing the classic? It is just not done... And then we had Raju Singh, Kunal and Parikshit for our show at Pancham magic. Talking with them, listening to the sountracks they have created and to be honest, listening to the sheer passionate efforts they had put in to create the soundtrack, I had no option but to watch Sholay. (I can hear my friends saying, I just needed an excuse) 

Still I had apprehensions but… The first black background screen appeared with the credit titles of the new team and a lovely rich sound of Sax filled the theatre… I was thrilled; there was no jarring synthesized sound. It is not about merits/demerits of digital sound.. Just that it cannot be related with Sholay. With Sholay it has to be acoustic , natural , 'unplugged', of 'that' era...  And right from train entering the deserted,  loan man standing station, to the train leaving the same station with final credit  titles rolling, those 206 odd minutes I lived and enjoyed Sholay again  as I had enjoyed it every time I had watched it. 

There is no need to mention the storyline and the details... Everybody knows it. If not in theatres everybody has seen it on DVD, Blue-ray, television, on  youtube… Well somewhere... (Incidentally when Sholay was first shown on TV, I remember the advertisement rates were hiked to double) But I would say, go to theatre. Watch it on 3D with the new crystal clear sound. Many new things you will notice. Many new things you will discover. It is great that while making 3D, makers have not overdone the 3D part. You won’t get an object a minute flying at you. They have used the gimmick very very effectively. 

And now to the most touchy part…  

Is the soundtrack original? : No 

Is it re-created? Yes 

Is it recreated note to note, bar to bar as original? : No 

Even the (re)creator will not claim that what PanchamDa has done, along with his team,  can be re-created 'as it is', 

But has RAju Singh butchered the music ? In my opinion, NO. 

Has he  “re-mixed” : Absolutely NOT. 

Had Pancham Da been alive he sure would have got excited about creating the music and sound, afresh, for the latest audio systems that are in theatres today, for sure. If   re-creating the music was the only option (and as we know now, it was),   this is the closest anybody can get to the original. It helps that Raju Singh has an emotional connect with Pancham Da and to his music, and has surely made Pancham Da proud and happy. Most importantly the music does not sound 'electronic' at all. It is that acoustic grandeur which one associates with RDB and especially with Sholay, one can clearly feel in the theatres with this 3D edition. 

With the modern speakers and music systems, the acoustic sound 'sounds' more rich, more real, more dynamic, more fulfilling and credit and big thanks must be given to Raju Singh for making this happen. Cinematic experience especially in a film like Sholay, increases manifold with the kind of music, soundtrack it has and Raju Singh has delivered it... Bingo... And to the sound detailing… It is sheer DETAILING. So when mausiJee listens to Jai, when she moves her hand held fan there is that typical sound of the fan moving. Moment she stops moving the fan, the sound breaks. In Gabbar’s den there is an echo only for that part of dialogue which is said in high pitch or by shouting. 

When at the end of the ‘tanki’ scene camera moves away from the tanki still you get to listen to the sound of a bottle crashing on the ground, whenever there is a bottle filled with liquid, there is a distinct sound of that liquid if bottle is thrown or is vibrated, you get to listen to the bangles only when Basanti moves her hands and not when they are still and when Jay plays with marbles listening to Viru's nautanki, there is that distinct sound of marbles colliding and hitting in his hands. 

Are there no flaws ? Of course there are. Nothing is ‘perfect’ in this world. But sure this glass is 80 % filled. Depends on your outlook, depends on whats important to you, and depends on what you notice… 80 % filled or 20 % empty…  If you are a Sholay fanatic you must  watch it (if not watched already , that is), if you are a PanchamDa fan do watch it as an independant score by Raju Singh, still if you cannot digest the idea, watch it as a tribute by Raju Singh to R.D.Burman.  And I am convinced there will be no better tribute... Ramesh Sippy we all know and agree, is a perfectionist and a man with an eye and ear for detailing... Sholay was his vision and dream and he chased it with all the love and passion for 3 years. 

Must say Raju, Kunal and Parikshit have matched his passion and have excelled in what they have delivered. Sure Ramesh Sippy will be a happy man listening to the detailing that has gone into creating new soundtrack for Sholay 3D!!! After watching Sholay-3D (on back to back days :-) )  I am happy that I did not give it a miss... Nowadays they do not toil for 3 years on outskirts of major city, they do not take hundreds of re-takes for a scene which is not going to last more than few seconds on the screen, they do not ‘invent’ instruments so that they can produce the exact sound as they want…  Days of ‘no-compromise’ in true sense are long over… 

Do not give it a miss. After all, they don't make it like this anymore... 

Ashutosh Soman, Pune