'Sholay' director Ramesh Sippy gets Padma Shri

New Delhi, Jan 25 (IANS) Ramesh Sippy, the man behind cult film "Sholay", has been named for the Padma Shri award on the eve of 64th Republic Day.

Son of veteran film producer G.P. Sippy, the 66-year-old made his directorial debut with 1971 romantic-drama "Andaz", after working as assistant director for seven years. The film starring Shammi Kapoor and Hema Malini as the lead and Rajesh Khanna in the guest role, went on to become a super hit.

However, it was his 1975 film "Sholay" that catapulted him into the big league. The Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra starrer not only was a blockbuster, the golden jubliee film ran for more than five years in a theatre in Mumbai.

Sippy's body of work as a director also includes "Saagar", "Shakti", "Shaan" and "Seeta Aur Geeta".

He also directed super hit television series, "Buniyaad", that showed the ups and downs of an Indian family in pre and post partition India.

His son Rohan Sippy is quite active in films as a director and made films like "Bluffmaster".