‘Sab ko pata tha’: Sholay stunt double recalls Hema Malini-Dharmendra romance on set

It has been five decades since Sholay released, yet stories from its set continue to surface. Recently, Hema Malini’s stunt double, Reshma Pathan, shared memories of working on the film and spoke about the off-screen bond between Hema Malini and Dharmendra.

In a conversation with Hindustan Times, Pathan recalled how the two actors, who later married in 1980, were dating during the shoot. “Hum sabko pata tha ke Hemaji aur Dharamji ka ishq chal raha hai. But they never showed that on the set. They were always professional… Set pe toh alag alag hi rehte the,” she said.

She explained that actors of that era kept personal relationships private. “They were in the same hotel, but in different rooms. Dharamji used to be with his team, and Hemaji spent time with hers, which included me,” she added.

Known as ‘The Sholay Girl’, Pathan performed all of Basanti’s stunts in Ramesh Sippy’s film, written by Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar. The cast also included Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjeev Kumar, Amjad Khan, and Jaya Bachchan. “I got respect after this film, which I didn’t get anywhere else. Hema ji often asked for me in her projects. We would sit together, eat together, and she even took me to her home,” Pathan recalled.

One of her most remembered stunts was the tonga scene. She revealed that the crew forgot to replace the real wheel with a duplicate, causing the tonga to actually fall after hitting a rock. “I got 17 stitches on my left leg, bruised my right leg, and hurt my back,” she said.

Pathan also remembered a Holi sequence stunt where Dharmendra handed her ?100 for her performance. “I refused, but my master told me, ‘He is giving it because he is happy with your shot.’ That’s when I accepted it,” she shared.

Hema Malini and Dharmendra first met in 1970 during Tum Haseen Main Jawaan. They went on to become one of the most popular on-screen pairs of the 1970s, working in films like Seeta Aur Geeta, Dillagi, and Dream Girl, besides their timeless roles in Sholay.