Not Hema Malini, this was real Basanti of Sholay, she is now 75 year old, here's how she looks now

India.com

a day ago

Sholay is going to complete 50 years on 15th August. In such a situation, the film is being released in theatres once again with a new version. This film has given many memories to the audience. Like the story of the film, many dialogues, friendship of Jai-Veeru, many memorable characters, fear of Gabbar Singh, Basanti's chatter, and much more. But do you know who is the real Basanti of this film is, who is 75 years old today? Let us tell you. How Sholay became a cult?
When 'Sholay' hit the big screen almost 50 years ago, it created history at the box office. Directed by Ramesh Sippy, this film featured big stars like Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Jaya Bachchan, Amjad Khan and Sanjeev Kumar. However, there were some action scenes in the film that were not performed by the actors themselves, but by someone else. Hema Malini gave many dangerous scenes in the role of Basanti, but the actor was someone else. Not Hema Malini, but this star was the real Basanti
This woman is not seen in the film, but she was the one who performed every difficult stunt of Basanti. Here we are talking about Hindi cinema's first stuntwoman Reshma Pathak.
Apart from Hema Malini, she also worked as a body-double for famous actresses like Meena Kumari, Dimple Kapadia, Sridevi, and Rekha. She got the opportunity to enter the world of stunts because of a neighbour who was a stunt director and knew her difficult situation. How much was Reshma Pathak paid for Sholay?
Reshma Pathak's father found this work dangerous and refused. Reshma's only aim was to give a good life to her family. In 1968, she did a stunt for the first time for actress Lakshmi Chaya in the film 'Ek Khiladi Bawdi Patte'.
It was a dance scene in which the actress had to slide from the stage. Reshma did this scene in one take. She got 175 rupees a day for this work, out of which she used to save Rs 100 and spend Rs 75. Do you know Reshma Pathak's biopic?
Reshma Pathan worked in many big films and became a body double for many actresses. But her work as Hema Malini's duplicate in 'Sholay' is still considered the most memorable. Not only this, in 2019, a biopic named 'The Sholay Girl' was also made on her life, which was released on ZEE5. This film shows the story of her struggle and courage, which made her the real 'stunt queen' of Hindi cinema.