Heer Kothari unveils the reality of the original stunt queen Reshma Pathan, through her gripping biopic, the webseries ‘Sholay Girl’
Unsung heroine
March 8, as we all know, is celebrated as international Women’s Day. But over the last couple of years, women who have been celebrated, are re-celebrated, and they continue to be lauded by different jury members from time to time! This time however, Zee 5 took the initiative to think out of the box, and celebrate an unsung heroine. ‘Sholay Girl’, that was aired on March 8, celebrated Reshma Pathan, Bollywood’s very first stuntwoman.
Rough ride
At the age of 14, this young girl has some serious aspirations of becoming part of the Hindi film industry. Her aspirations were fulfilled, but as fate had it, her presence on screen was discounted, as the then celebrity actresses took the cake. Bidita Bag, who plays the lead protagonist, promptly adds, “She started at the age of fourteen, and honestly what we’ve actually filmed, doesn’t quite justify the efforts she has invested in driving Bollywood to its present helm.” Reshma Pathan worked her way up the ladder in the ’70s and ’80s.
She has witnessed people who doubted her abilities, and even tried to cast her aside on the grounds of being a woman, but she piously followed her heart and invested purely in the best of abilities. She had no expectation apart from the fact that she brought the money home to keep the wheels in motion. Bidita didn’t shy from adding, “In fact there were no safety measures taken while carrying out the stunts. Stuntmen and women were simply expected to throw themselves into the situation. If they were lucky they would emerge unharmed or else, they would land up in the hospital.”
Bidita & Reshma Pathan4 |
The christening
‘Sholay Girl’ was a term that was bestowed on Reshma Pathan after she braved the ‘Tonga incident’ as filed at the very opening of the biopic titled ‘Sholay girl’. Back in the day, Reshma Pathan doubled as ‘Dream Girl’ Hema Malini, to play the part where her character Basanti is trying to run away from lecherous men who were after her ‘izzat’. She not only marked her entry into Bollywood, with the film ‘Sholay’ but also sustained injuries that earned her the name, in a lifetime to follow. In spite of enduring the pain, Reshma was only more enthused to get back on the sets, and resume working again. “Reshmaji’s spirit was boundless, and continues to remain as such even today! We were pleasantly humoured to learn about how, even to this day, she wanted to re-do the stunt again, just as she did it earlier! Only this time, we had to hire an able stuntwoman to deliver the role as ably as Reshmaji had done back in the day,” Bidita adds.
Inspiring watch
CEO of Zee 5, Tarun Katiyal, gave Bidita Bag (a mainstream Bengali actress), the opportunity to play ‘Sholay Girl’. The biopic was a result of sheer research, and passion that producer Shrabani Deodhar and Sai Deodhar had for unsung heroines. Aditya Sarpotdar has directed the film wonderfully keeping every element of the ’70s and ’80s era in mind. The sets and time frame were impressively realistic. Faisal Akhtar, who has written the script, worked very closely with Reshma Pathan herself. According to Bidita Bag, “There is special care taken in incorporating dialogues, that were originally spoken by the legend herself.” The biopic is refreshing in its own right. It well inspires women of today to take to professions that are not only out of the box, but also graciously break the glass ceiling that the industry has harboured since decades.
Just desserts
There are several unsung heroines like Reshma Pathan, who are due to receive their deserving credit, and bask in the light of their hard work which they had invested in without any expectations at one point in time. Today Reshma Pathan has earned her celebrity status and is enjoying the sweet fruits of her labour.
