''Reshma Aur Shera'' ( ''Reshma and Shera'') is a 1971

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

crime drama film Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as drama or gangster film, but al ...

produced and directed by

Sunil Dutt Sunil Dutt (born Balraj Raghunath Dutt; 6 June 1929 – 25 May 2005) was an Indian actor, film producer, director, and politician known for his work in Hindi Cinema. He acted in more than 80 films over a career spanning five decades and was t ...

and starring Waheeda Rehman as Reshma and

as Shera. It also stars

Vinod Khanna Vinod Khanna (6 October 1946 – 27 April 2017) was an Indian actor, film producer, and politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the greatest actors of Hindi cinema. Recognised as a style and fashion icon, he wa ...

Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema. He is often considered one of the greatest, most accomplished and commercially successful actors in the history of Indian cinema.* * * * * With a cinemati ...

, Raakhee,

Ranjeet Ranjeet (born as Gopal Bedi; 12 September 1942) is an Indian actor and film director. He has mostly played villain roles in over 200 Hindi films. He has also played a positive character in the TV series '' Aisa Des Hai Mera''. He has also ...

, K.N. Singh, Jayant and

Amrish Puri Amrish Puri (22 June 1932 – 12 January 2005) was an Indian actor, who was one of the most notable and important figures in Cinema of India, Indian cinema and Theatre of India, theatre. He acted in more than 450 films, established himsel ...

in supporting roles. Sunil Dutt's son Sanjay Dutt, who was 12 years at the time, appears briefly as a

Qawwali Qawwali is a form of Sufi Islamic devotional singing originating in the Indian subcontinent. Originally performed at Sufi shrines throughout the Indian subcontinent, it is famous throughout Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Afghanistan and has ...

singer in his first film appearance. ''Reshma Aur Shera'' received high critical acclaim from domestic and international critics and

was nominated for the

Golden Bear The Golden Bear () is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival and is, along with the Palme d'Or and the Golden Lion, the most important international film festival award. The bear is the heraldic an ...

at the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

. It was selected as the Indian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the

44th Academy Awards The 44th Academy Awards were presented April 10, 1972, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. The ceremonies were presided over by Helen Hayes, Alan King, Sammy Davis Jr., and Jack Lemmon. One of the highlights of the evening was o ...

, but was not accepted as a nominee. ''Reshma Aur Shera'' won 3 awards at the 19th National Film Awards. Waheeda Rehman won the

National Film Award for Best Actress The National Film Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards of India since 1968 to an actress for the best performance in a leading role within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry. ...

for her highly-acclaimed performance in the film. The film also won the National Film Award for Best Music Direction for Jaidev and the

National Film Award for Best Cinematography The National Film Award for Best Cinematography is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the National Film Development Corporation of India. It is one of several awards presented for feature films and awarded with Rajat Kamal (S ...

for Ramachandra.

Synopsis

Set against the backdrop of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

, Reshma (Rehman) and Shera (Dutt) love each other in the midst of a violent feud between their clans. When their families find out about their relationship, Chotu (Bachchan), Shera's mute sharpshooting brother carries out his father Sagat Singh's (Jayant) orders to kill Reshma's father ( K. N. Singh) and her recently married brother Gopal (

). Unable to bear the grief of Gopal's widowed bride (Raakhee), Shera kills his own father believing he actually pulled the trigger. After this tragedy, Reshma and Shera's family's feud will end in more tragedy as misunderstandings lead to more bloodshed between the clans. Shera swears to kill Chotu and protect Reshma's family. Shera searches for Chotu, who hides in Reshma's house and seeks protection from her. The movie's climax is when Shera waits outside Reshma's house to kill Chotu. At the moment, Chotu and Reshma emerge from the house as a married couple. Shera notices ''

sindoor Sindoor (, ) or sindura (,) is a traditional vermilion red or orange-red or maroon Cosmetics, cosmetic powder (substance), powder from South Asia, usually worn by marriage, married women along the part of their hairline. In Hindu communities, ...

'' on Reshma's forehead and realizes that he cannot kill Chotu since he is now her husband, thus ending the bloodshed. In his grief, Shera ends his own life using his rifle, just as Reshma to collapses after begging the skies to take her life away, with her corpse falling on that of Shera’s. As the two lovers lay dead in the desert, a windstorm takes place, and buries their bodies within the sand.

Cast

* Waheeda Rehman as Reshma *

as Shera *

as Chhotu *

as Vijay * Raakhee as Reshma's Sister-in-law *

as Gopal * Jayant as Sagat Singh * K. N. Singh as Chaudhary *

as Rehmat Khan * Sanjay Dutt as Qawwali Singer * Naval Kumar as Jagat Singh

Music

Awards

;Won * Best Actress - Waheeda Rehman * Best Music Direction - Jaidev * Best Cinematography - Ramachandra ;Nomination *

- Sunil Dutt (as director)

Reception

The film was a big commercial failure at the box office which lead to a financial loss for

. He had to sell seven of his cars started travelling by bus. However, it was critically praised for its exquisite story of love in war time and considered as a lesser gems in Indian Cinema.

References

External links

* 1971 films 1971 crime drama films 1970s Hindi-language films 1970s Indian films Films featuring a Best Actress National Award–winning performance Films directed by Sunil Dutt Films whose cinematographer won the Best Cinematography National Film Award Films scored by Jaidev Films set in Rajasthan Indian crime drama films Hindi-language crime drama films {{1970s-Hindi-film-stub