Before Sholay, I was already doing stunts in Gujarati films — jumping off rooftops, rolling down hills, whatever the scene demanded. One afternoon, on an outdoor shoot, a call came for me at the studio watchman’s post. It was from my Guruji, Azim Bhai, who had introduced me to this line of work. He said Ramesh Sippy’s team was hunting for a stuntwoman for a big project and asked me to get in touch with the stunt director.

They had already auditioned women who could ride horses and were trained in action. But they hadn’t found what they were looking for.

I called from a neighbour’s phone. They asked me to meet them as soon as I was back in Bombay. I called and was asked to reach a Juhu hotel by 5.30 the next morning. There was a large open area, and the team, including Ramesh-ji (Sippy), was sitting there. They asked me to drive a tonga.

I forgot I was supposed to drive just a little and stop. I went quite far before turning around. When I returned and stopped in front of them, they all stood up and clapped. They asked, ‘Why did you go so far?’ I told them it had been a while since I rode on such a long open stretch. That was it, I was selected.

Later, I was taken to Ramesh-ji’s office for fittings. They took my measurements for bangles and wigs. Even then, I didn’t know whose body double I was going to be. Back then, stunt people weren’t told much, we just did the work. Two days later, I got a call at the ration shop near my house. They told me to be at the airport the next morning. I packed and left.

We went to Bangalore. The first shot they took was of Hema-ji (Malini) sitting by the water and seeing her reflection and then four dacoits approach. She sees them and takes off in the tonga. That whole chase scene was me. I jumped onto the tonga from behind and rode off. Later, they filmed Hema-ji’s close-ups. But the running tonga was all me.

I was on that shoot for 22 days. One unforgettable incident happened during the Holi scene, when Gabbar’s men attack the village. A little girl runs during the chaos. I was supposed to rescue her by running through the horses. As I ran towards her, she suddenly fell. The horses were right behind us. I didn’t have time to think. I grabbed her mid-fall, rolled on the ground to shield her, and ran through the horses with her in my arms. She didn’t get a scratch. I was badly bruised.

People clapped after that shot. Even Dharmendra-ji came up to me and gave me Rs. 100 as a token of appreciation. That was a big amount then. Our daily wage was just Rs. 175, so I hesitated to take it. I was always nervous about men offering money. But my Guruji signalled to me to accept it, so I did.

Then came the dangerous tonga scene. Hema-ji’s tonga hits a rock, one wheel breaks, the tonga topples. It’s me in that scene. Originally, the broken wheel was supposed to be a fake wooden one that would break easily. But the second wheel was accidentally replaced with a real metal one. When the tonga hit the rock, it didn’t break but dragged. I was thrown off and the tonga overturned. That was a real accident and I was injured. But those two scenes really stayed with people. I even received awards, seven in total.

On the sets, Hema-ji always treated me with respect. If she was sitting, she would ask for a chair for me to sit. Our body types matched so well, if I wore her makeup and stood sideways, you couldn’t tell the difference. Same with Sridevi-ji, Rekha-ji. I matched them naturally.

Sholay was the turning point in my career. Back then, things were difficult. Only boys did stunts. People would say, ‘You are so beautiful. Why are you doing this? If you get a scar on your face or break a bone, who will marry you?’ But marriage wasn’t my priority. We had fallen on hard times. I had to feed my family.

After Sholay, people realized I could drive a tonga and handle daring action. The film gave me recognition and credibility. I became a go-to stuntwoman for all kinds of scenes.

Eventually, I bought a house, got my siblings married and fulfilled every responsibility that had once felt impossible. And then, life came full circle. In 2019, a biopic on my journey was made. It was called The Sholay Girl.