India, Sept. 25 -- When Sholay was first filmed, director Ramesh Sippy wanted the climax to show the villain, Gabbar Singh (actor Amjad Khan), dying at the hands of Thakur (actor Sanjeev Kumar). But distributors convinced him to alter the ending, where Thakur spares him and Gabbar is arrested. Now, 50 years after the film first hit the screens, it will be re-released with the original ending at The Indian Film Festival of Sydney (IFFS). The film festival's team announced that the newly restored version of Sholay will the centrepiece film at the event, which will run from October 9 to 11 . One of the most iconic films in Indian cinema history, Sholay has been meticulously restored in 4K by the Film Heritage Foundation in collaboration with Sippy Films. The process, years in the making, involved locating a rare colour reversal print in London, and recovering original camera negatives and long-lost deleted scenes from a warehouse in Mumbai. The result is that the film returns to its original 70mm glory. Festival Director Mitu Bhowmick Lange expressed her excitement at bringing this milestone screening to Sydney: "Sholay is more than a film, it is woven into the fabric of Indian storytelling, memory and myth. To bring back its original ending, after all these years, is to restore not just a different final scene, but the full vision of its creator. As we mark 50 years of Sholay, we honour the courage of cinema to challenge, to endure, and to be reborn in its truest form." htc...