Sold cars, mortgaged Bandra home: How one Amitabh Bachchan film pushed Sunil Dutt to the brink of bankruptcy

Sunil Dutt is one Bollywood actor and producer who is loved by many, both for his on-screen performances and the off-screen work he did. Through his prolific career, the actor earned immense respect and made a fortune worth millions. But did you know that there was one project that brought him to his knees financially? So broke, in fact, that he sold his car and mortgaged his house. Which film was it? It was the 1971 movie Reshma Aur Shera.

The multi-starrer featured Waheeda Rehman, Rakhee, and Amitabh Bachchan. It was directed by Sunil Dutt and written by S. Ali Raza.

How Dutt was nearly bankrupt

With a crew of 100 people, Sunil Dutt set up camp in a village called Pochina, located some distance from Jaisalmer. Initially, the team planned to shoot for 15 days, but the schedule stretched to two months, which changed everything for Dutt and his wife,

Nargis. The prolonged shoot only increased the production costs.

As things became difficult, Dutt chose to take over the directorial duties from Sukhdev. Despite his efforts, the team continued to struggle, and this eventually left Dutt in debt of reportedly Rs 60 lakh.

However, Sunil always strived for perfection. In the book Mr and Mrs Dutt: Memories of

Our Parents, Namrata Dutt wrote that Sunil once wanted 100 camels for a scene, but only 99 were available. As a result, he refused to shoot. This was one of many instances, and because of events like this, the filming continued to be delayed for one reason or another. This led to rising costs and eventually forced the director to mortgage his Bandra home.

When the film was released in theatres, it failed to earn money, making the situation even more critical. Although the movie went on to win National Film Awards and became India’s official entry to the Oscars, but money? Where would that come from? None of it was enough to save Dutt and his family from financial trouble.

Nearly bankrupt, Sunil Dutt sold several of his cars to get out of the difficult situation he found himself in after Reshma Aur Shera bombed at the box office.

Nargis was darning socks to save money

The situation was extremely difficult for Dutt and his wife. At one point, he even decided to shut down his production house. In her book, Namrata shared how her parents could not afford new clothes and were forced to darn socks and school uniforms to save money.

To recover financially, Dutt began signing films back-to-back.