Kati Patang

This film is just the excuse for a lazy sunday afternoon. The story though a little old fashioned has been beautifuly presented with the centeral character played by Asha Parekh taking centre stage alongside Rajesh Khanna. The story centres around Asha Parekh who on the day of her wedding betrays her fathers wishes and runs away to her boyfriend only to find out that he has betrayed her and has found another woman. hurt and disillusioned the girl returns home to find her father dead due the shock of his daughters dissapearance. There is only one place left to go... her friends who is widdowed single mother on her way to meet her inlaws. sadly the there is an accident and Asha parek is left to play the role of the little childs mum and takes on the role of her friend. Enter in Rajesh khanna the man whom she would have been married to if she had not run away. This then becomes the beginnig of a beautiful love story between the two. the film features a lovely evergreen classic soundrack, a must watch film...

A true classic for the hopelessly romantic. An ageless epic of romance and with sprinkles of suspense and agony of a woman scorned by one and yet passionate and protective of another who she had betrayed unknowingly. This is perhaps Asha Parekh's last starring role and she converges all of her emotions and essence into it portraying a woman living a lie. Rajesh Khanna plays true the man scorned by a love he has never seen and falls again for a maiden whom he isn't likely to get either. The songs alone channel the story through its pathway and the climax well - is not unlike so many other Hindi movies around. Prem Chopra a true Hindi villain and Bindu the budding vamp is just the right touch for any ole Hindi Classic.

Although the romantic, suave and serene Rajesh Khanna has other big hits to his credits like AMAR PREM, ANAND, SAFAR and ARADHANA but in KATI PATANG, his inherent and innate acting prowess shot to that vintage point from where, the exact reflection of his acting skills that were imbued in mystic, elegant and romantic gestures emerged supreme.

Coupled with great hit songs and excellent direction of Shakti Samantha, KATI PATANG is a memorable landmark in the filmography of Rajesh Khanna. Being her last lead acting performance on the silver screen, Asha Parekh has also consummately portrayed the pensive image of a forced widow lover.

The real to life turbulent story of an innocent girl who was betrayed by her clever boyfriend, had to bear the brunt of a lifetime stigma. Shakti Samantha's direction, R.D. Burman's choreography of songs and majestically soothing cinematography by Gopi Krishna made "Kati Patang" a toast for the eyes and a sublime stimulant for the spirit of audience. The songs and the wording transcends the true beauty of pure love along with the flow of tumultuous events, thereby captivating the audience to stick to their seats till the end.

Folks ! they don't make it like Kati Patang, any more ........

Kati Patang is a big hit from the 1970s and its success was purely on merit. Rajesh Khanna and Asha Parekh teamed for the first time in Kati Patang and the result was some powerful performances and great screen chemistry between the two. After, Aradhana, Shakti opted for Asha Parekh despite his regular Sharmila Tagore. Asha Parekh takes the place of her dead friend and starts living with her in laws -in her friend's identity. She is a widow. Rajesh Khanna falls in love with Asha Parekh and Asha hesitates to reciprocate his love thinking as to what the society will think and say. She is framed for murder by Prem Chopra and Bindu and how Asha with Rajesh Khanna's help comes out of the frame up forms the climax of the story. She eventually marries Rajesh Khanna. Its a lovely film and the film engrosses the viewers for its entire length. The music is superb with all the songs being hits. The highpoint of the film is the dialogs by Vrajendra Gaur. The dialogs are hard hitting, sensitive and heart warming. VRAJENDRA GAUR is no wonder one of the most gifted dialog writers of the Hindi film industry. His sensitivity came through in his dialogs and he penned dialogs for films like Sharmeelee, Lal Paththar, Anuraag, The Great Gambler, Dulhan Wohi Jo Piya Man Bhaye, Geet Gaata Chal, Teen Deviyaan, etc.etc. I became his greatest fan after watching Kati Patang. The contribution of the versatile Gaur is very big in making Kati Patang a classic hit. Very few know that Shakti Samanta was Vrajendra Gaur's assistant in the only film directed by Gaur called "Kasturi". Gaur passed on all the subsequent offers to Shakti and returned to his first love writing. He subsequently wrote most of the films made by Shakti. The dialog penned by Vrajendra Gaur in innumerable films will always be remembered as they make us value the true worth of great dialogs.

Kati Patang (1971) : Brief Review -

Shakti Samanta adopts Mitchell Leisen's influential Hollywood melodrama "No Man Of Her Own" (1950) and makes it even better at places. For the unversed, Mitchell Leisen is known for making many melodramas in Hollywood that became influential over the years, and No Man Of Her Own happens to be one of his popular works. The tragic story of a woman who is betrayed in love, and then when she finds a true and loyal love, the old love is back to spoil her life again. No Man Of Her Own is a very thrilling affair, whereas Samanta's adaptation is typical but much better at places. The first half an hour goes into setting the plot, including the introduction of the hero, with the super hit song "Yeh Jo Mohabbat Hai." The idea is to make it Indian, and Samanta has done a fantastic job here. In the original film, the villain is shot dead, while this one has the villain as a murderer. There are a few more changes in the screenplay that make it very colourful, especially all the songs and their situations. For instance, "Yeh Shaam Mastani" feels so romantic, and that Holi song, "Aaj Na Chodenge," is so apt for the situation and two different mindsets (the hero is happy, so the mukhada of the song is happy, and the heroine is sad, so the antara is filled with a sad tune). We don't make situational and meaningful songs like this anymore. "Na Koi Umang Hai" has become a "widow song" over the years, and "Pyaar Deewana Hota Hai" is forever melodious. With enough drama in his hands and such a great music album, Samanta easily manages to turn a woman-centric Hollywood melodrama into an audience-friendly Indian drama. Rajesh Khanna's charm hits well, and Asha Parekh proves why she was the best choice to replace someone like Barbara Stanwyck. In short, this is how you remake a Hollywood film with Indian flavour.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest.