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She has smashed deep-seated stereotypes.
A conservative Muslim from the clustered bylanes of Pydhonie, she decides to be a stuntwoman. At 14, she turns breadwinner for a family of seven, heedless of the risks of the vocation. She struggles for her place in a male-dominated bastion. She protects herself from the predatory propositions from heroes, stuntmen associates... Fatal accidents and filmmakers who play foul… she survives them all. She fights gender bias to become the first female member of the Movie Stunt Artistes’ Association. She marries a stunt-master, rears up the children of her divorced sister and her own son into becoming qualified professionals. At 65, the woman who body-doubled for several heroines – her act as Hema Malini’s duplicate in Sholay being legendary – has emerged from anonymity to applause. The biopic, The Sholay Girl, streamed on the OTT platform, inspired by Reshma Pathan’s life celebrates the shero. Produced by Sai Deodhar, directed by Aditya Sarpotdar, the film has actress Bidita Bag essaying the resilient Reshma. “After 50 years in the
