"I wonder how a film has entered the Indian psyche so very deeply. It had never happened before in show business," Akhtar, 65, told IANS.

Sholay released Aug 15, 1975, and went on to become a cult film with its mix of drama, tragedy, romance and comedy, and its characters like Gabbar, Jai, Veeru and even the one-dialogue Samba or Dhanno the mare still remembered.

"After 35 years, even the minor characters are used in advertisements, promos and films and even sitcoms revisit the film," Akhtar said.

"It's totally unprecedented all over the world. Films like Godfather and James Bond have created iconic characters, but their shelf life has not been so long as only a couple of characters have been remembered. I do not remember any film whose many characters are remembered after so many years. Ironically, Sholay was not planned to be such a huge film."