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Reshma Aur Shera

1971 158’(85’) col/scope Hindi d/p Sunil Dutt pc Ajanta Arts st/co-sc Ali Raza co-sc Ajanta Arts Story Dept lyr Balkavi Bairagi, Neeraj, Udhav c Ramchandra m Jaidev lp Sunil Dutt, Waheeda Rehman, Raakhee, Jayant, Sulochana, K.N. Singh, Amrish Puri, Amitabh Bachchan, Vinod Khanna, Padma Khanna

Sunil Dutt’s best-known film as director, shot in the desert at Jaisalmer, retells the Rajasthani legend about the love of Reshma (Rehman) and Shera (Dutt) amid violent feudal conflict between their clans. Also remembered as an early Bachchan appearance in the role of Chotu, Shera’s sharpshooting ‘kid brother’ who, ordered by their vengeful father, shoots Reshma’s father and her recently married brother. Unable to bear the grief of the widowed bride, Shera kills his own father believing he actually pulled the trigger. Trying to save Shera from grief and destructive madness, Reshma marries Chotu. In the end, Shera tries to redeem his patricidal act and commits suicide. Reshma also dies, rolling down a sand-dune towards his dead body. A sandstorm comes to cover their bodies, united in death. The film’s sweeping desert shots dwarf the actors among the enormous dunes. Thematically, the film was unusual in its refusal to sanction the traditional, macho values of bloody revenge: Reshma refuses revenge and, prompted by the goddess Durga, finds a way out of the dilemma while remaining true to her lover. The man, however, chooses to avenge the bride turned widow and rejects love in favour of keeping his word.

Film