Chingari

• 1971

Reshma is a pretty petty thief who picks the pocket of a poor but honourable man and when discovered, her life begins to take a turn. Reshma was kidnapped for revenge as a kid by a dangerous criminal on the run. His right arm had to be amputated as a result of shots fired by the police inspector chasing him. Bhagat raises Reshma, teaching her tricks of the pick-pocket business. Bombay's underworld of illicit alcohol, smuggling, goons and the close linkages between crime and politics feature richly in the plot. Reshma falls in love with a policeman but Bhagat wants her to marry Jaggi a local thug. Reshma wants to reform her life, give up her life of petty criminality and enter society. Bhagat sees his meal ticket vanishing with Reshma's wanting to toe the straight path. So Bhagat sets a train of events in motion that will take Reshma to the gallows. Can Reshma, raised in the poorer quarters of Bombay crime steer her path away from the gallows?b