Thirty-five years ago,the rocky Ramnagaram town,bordering Bangalore,was immortalised as the dacoit-infested Ramgarh in the iconic Bollywood film Sholay. Today,a glitzy retreat called the Ramgarh Resort & Spa based on the cult movies theme is coming up on the exact spot. In Sholays Ramgarh,a strikingly beautiful Basanti (Hema Malini) danced on shards of glass to appease the sadistic dacoit leader Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan) as she desperately tried to save the life of her love,Veeru (Dharmendra). The fearsome Gabbar stood on Ramgarhs rocks,cracking his whip,laughing hysterically and roaring classic lines such as,Kitne aadmi the? and,Ab tera kya hoga,Kalia? When Ramgarh Resort & Spa opens in 6.6 acres of rocky terrain in August 2011,visitors will re-live the movies magic. A hostess dressed as Basanti could lead guests to their seats in the restaurants Gabbar ka Adda or Thakur ki Haveli. A masseur dressed as Gabbar Singh could give a visitor a soothing massage at the spa,which stands at the spot where a thrilling horse chase was filmed for the movie. Despite the huge success of Indias Hindi film industry,there have been no resorts or theme parks based on Bollywood so far. Ramgarh Resort & Spa,located 50 kms from Bangalore and just outside the quiet Ramnagaram town,will be a first. The spectacularly successful Sholay,released in 1975,is hailed amongst the worlds Top 100 films ever made. It went on to become one of the Hindi movie industrys top grossers and ran for over five years non-stop in Mumbais Minerva cinema. The sleepy Ramnagaram,meanwhile,has had none of the rub-off from the iconic film. Hardcore Sholay buffs sometimes stop off at Ramnagaram,which falls on the Bangalore-Mysore route,to gaze at the magnificent granite rocks. Most times,the rocky backdrop of the town serves as a rappelling spot for adventure-seekers. The resort is being developed by Amritara Hotels & Resorts,a Bangalore-based hospitality firm that manages other swanky resorts in Kerala and Coorg. The resort will not be a movie set,but will have 24 contemporary-style cottages. But the art on the walls,the décor,the cutlery,staff uniforms everything will be a nostalgic journey into Sholay, says Armitaras MD Ravi Shankar. Shankar says his company is even scouting for Ramgarhs own Thakur Baldev Singh,a Sanjeev Kumar look-alike,to be the resort manager. Guests can indulge in horse-riding,rappelling and an assortment of in-house games on the Sholay theme. However,there might be certain copyright issues since movies producers,the Sippys,who are fiercely protective of their brand. Filmmaker Ramgopal Varma who made a take-off on Sholay was forced to call it Aag. We are looking into the intellectual property aspects of it, said Shankar,That is why we have stayed away from the name Sholay.
