Sholay Girl Reshma Pathan: In today’s era, apart from action heroes, action heroines are also mentioned. Deepika Padukone and Katrina Kaif There are actresses like her who do action scenes without a body double. In the old days, there have been many actresses who did action and also did some stunts. But their body double used to be Reshma Pathan.
Reshma Pathan has worked in blockbuster films like ‘Sholay’. Where is Reshma Pathan today, who is she and how did she start this journey? Why is Reshma Pathan called the first stuntwoman of Indian cinema? Let us tell you about it.
Who is Reshma Pathan?
Reshma Pathan, born in India, started doing many things including horse riding at the age of 14, which was almost impossible for women of that time. Reshma Pathan made a place in the industry on the basis of her hard work. In a video of Tabassum Talkies, Reshma Pathan had told that she has been inspired by many women like Jhansi Ki Rani, Razia Sultana.
Reshma was also very influenced by Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India at that time. Being born in a middle class family, Reshma had to take care of the responsibility of her family but she wanted to do something different from other women, so she learned many acrobatics as stunts.
How did Reshma Pathan start her career?
When Reshma was 14 years old, fight director S Azim advised her to join films. She worked as a body double for actress Lakshmi Chaya in the 1972 film Ek Khiladi Bawan Patte. In an interview with Tabassum, Reshma had told that earlier she used to get Rs. 175 per day for work, out of which she used to save Rs. 100 and Rs. 75 was spent on transport.
Reshma got her biggest success in the film Sholay (1975) when she played the role of Hema Malini’s body double. Apart from this, Reshma worked as a body double for Sridevi, Dimple Kapadia, Rekha, Waheeda Rehman and Meenakshi Sheshadri. Reshma has also worked a lot in Bhojpuri films and South films. Reshma was very active in the 70’s and 80’s. Then with age, she reduced this work and then stopped it.
Reshma Pathan’s personal life
In 1980, Reshma Pathan married stunt director Shakoor Pathan, with whom she is still married. When the director of ‘Sholay’ and Hema Malini came to the set of ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’, the ‘KBC’ team also invited Reshma Pathan, who is now quite old. Reshma Pathan has worked the most in Hindi cinema and she is known as the first stunt woman of Indian cinema.
