Reshma Aur Shera

Reshma Aur Shera
	Original poster
Directed by	Sunil Dutt
Produced by	Sunil Dutt (Ajanta Arts)
Written by	S. Ali Raza
Starring	Sunil Dutt; Waheeda Rehman; Raakhee; Vinod Khanna; Amitabh Bachchan
Music by	Jaidev
Cinematography	Ramachandra
Edited by	Pran Mehra
Release date	23 July 1971
Running time	158 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi; Urdu

Reshma Aur Shera (translation: Reshma and Shera) is a 1971 Hindi crime drama film produced and directed by Sunil Dutt and starring Waheeda Rehman as Reshma and Sunil Dutt as Shera. It also stars Vinod Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, Raakhee and Amrish Puri in supporting roles. Sunil Dutt's son Sanjay Dutt, who was 12 years at the time, appears briefly as a qawwali singer in his first film appearance.

Reshma Aur Shera was well received by the critics internationally and was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 22nd Berlin International Film Festival. It was selected as the Indian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 44th Academy Awards but was not accepted as a nominee.

The film won music director Jaidev, his first National Film Award for Best Music Direction in 1972, it was noted for classics such as "Ek Meethi Si Chuban, Ek Thandi Si Agan" (lyrics by Udhav Kumar)^[4] and "Tu Chanda Main Chandini" sung by Lata Mangeshkar (lyrics by Balkavi Bairagi).^[5]

Synopsis

Set against the backdrop of Rajasthan, 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 (Ranjeet). 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 on Reshma's forehead and realizes that he cannot kill Chotu since he is now her husband, thus ending the bloodshed.