Sunil Dutt mortgaged home to make film with Amitabh Bachchan, nearly went bankrupt

There are very few artistes in the Hindi film industry who remain highly respected even years after they have passed, and late actor-producer Sunil Dutt is one such rare gem of the film industry. Sunil started his career in the movies in 1955, and just a couple of years later, he married the love of his life Nargis. Soon after, they welcomed their son Sanjay, and Nargis stopped working in the movies and Sunil accepted the sole financial responsibility of the household. In 1963, he turned producer with Yeh Rastey Hain Pyar Ke, but as he kept producing films, it became evident that Sunil was the kind of producer who wasn’t too careful with production expenses. For the first few years, this did not affect the company but the making of the 1971 film Reshma Aur Shera led him to mortgage his bungalow in Bandra and brought him close to bankruptcy.

The multi-starrer film had Sunil in the lead role, and also starred Waheeda Rehman, Rakhee and Amitabh Bachchan, and was directed by Dutt himself. He made the film with a lot of love, but as production went on, he and Nargis both realised that they had bitten off more than they could chew. S Ali Raza wrote the film after Dutt shared the idea with him as he truly believed in it. This was a love story set in Rajasthan, where a family feud leads to bloodshed, and the hero turns into the villain as he hunts his own brother for killing his lover’s family. Raza wasn’t keen on the story, but upon Dutt’s insistence, came on board.

Sunil Dutt directed Reshma Aur Shera. (Photo: Express Archives)

Sunil Dutt hated Amitabh Bachchan’s voice, cast him because of Indira Gandhi

Amitabh was cast in the role of Dutt’s mute brother in the film and it is popularly believed that it was upon former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s insistence that Bachchan was cast in the film. Indira Gandhi shared a close bond with Nargis, and the two shared a friendship until Nargis’ last days. Indira and Amitabh’s mother, Teji Bachchan, had also been close since their days in Allahabad. Since the request came from Nargis, Sunil couldn’t say no and cast Amitabh. Actor Sheeba Akashdeep Sabir even recalled her interaction with Sunil about Amitabh. She shared with Siddharth Kannan, “In fact, Dutt sahib told me, ‘We hated his voice. His voice sounds similar to a radio jockey.’ They made him play a mute character in Dutt sahab’s movie.”

Sunil had initially planned to wrap the shoot in just 15 days but eventually, he realised, that this was just a distant dream. The crew had almost 100 people, including director Sukhdev. Sunil set up his unit’s tents 80 miles from Jaisalmer, in a village called Pochina. The planned shoot of 15 days eventually went on for over two months, which increased the cost of the project tremendously.

ALSO READ | Raj Kapoor followed Nargis to Berlin after break up, offered her money ‘after exploiting’ her

Nargis handled the production requirements from Mumbai and was in constant touch with Sunil but when she saw the initial rushes of the film, she expressed her displeasure over them. Sunil quickly made a pivot and took over the directorial duties from Sukhdev.

Sunil Dutt wanted 100 camels, refused to shoot when he got 99

Despite the setbacks, Sunil was striving for perfection. His daughter, Namrata Dutt, shared in the book Mr and Mrs Dutt: Memories of Our Parents that once Sunil wanted 100 camels for a shot, but he could only get 99. He refused to shoot. Rakhee shared that for the first 15 days, Sunil wanted her to observe the locals and get into the mood of the character. The lack of planning thus resulted in the increased costs, which led him to mortgage his family home in Bandra. Sunil was also investing all the money he was getting from other films, where he was hired as an actor, and by this point, everything he owned was on the line.

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Rakhee and Waheeda Rehman on the set of Reshma Aur Shera. (Photo: Express Archives)

The film released in theatres, and bombed. While Reshma Aur Shera managed to win three National Film Awards, and become India’s official entry at the Oscars, this couldn’t save Sunil from the financial ruin that seemed almost inescapable. At one point, as per Kishwer Desai’s book Darlingji, Sunil was nearly bankrupt and had sold many of his cars in trying to get by in the aftermath of Reshma Aur Shera. Sunil signed Heera, Pran Jaaye Par Vachan Na Jaaye and Geeta Mera Naam in a signing spree so he could get out of the financial hell he was in.

‘Nargis was darning socks, school uniforms to save money’

The situation got so bad that he decided to shut down his production office. He called a meeting and told everyone, “As an actor, I am not that great. As a producer as well, there are a lot of expenses. I want to take it easy and apart from the accountant, I should let everyone else go. The circumstances are very bad.” His employees were stunned but decided to stick by him, even without any pay, as they had complete faith in him.

Namrata, in her book, recalled the “terrible days” that her parents faced. “Dad would find Mom darning socks and school uniforms because they couldn’t afford to buy us new clothes. He described how Mom used to deal with those trying times: In my wife’s attitude, I found neither condemnation nor complaint. She went about her daily business without any resentment. She had a way of accepting life and it showed in how she brought up the children,” she wrote.

ALSO READ | Nargis’ brother beat her up because of her relationship with Raj Kapoor; she lost money, opportunities while he set up his studio

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Nargis collected coins in a piggy bank and when the family was broke, Nargis broke it open and found enough money for them to get by for at least a month. “Mom had a habit of collecting coins in a tall box. Dad told us one day, when they were really broke and had no money even for household expenses, Mom opened the box, threw all the coins on the bed and started counting. It took her a couple of hours to count all the change, but she was delighted to find they now had enough money to last the next 30 days. I think it was because of her positive attitude that none of us experienced what our parents were really going through at the time,” Namrata recalled.

As the family was struggling, Vinod Khanna learnt of their circumstances. Vinod had gotten his first break in Dutt’s 1969 film Man Ka Meet and he rushed in to help. “Dutt sahib, start a film,” he said, and Sunil then made Nehle Pe Dehla.

It took Sunil many years to get out of the financial mess of Reshma Aur Shera but he eventually came out on the other side largely due to his acting assignments.