Kaalia

Review By Kamal K

Superb movie. One of the most stylish and iconic blockbuster of Amitabh. Plot is not new but still movie is entertaining.

Kaalia - A name that spells terror in the minds of the people, and the police but Kaalia (Amitabh Batchchan) was not always like this.

Years ago he was a mere simpleton. Living simply in a shanty ch awl with his elder brother, Shyamtal (Kader Khan), Bhabhi (Sister-in-law), whom he adored and their daughter Munni. Apart from them there is no one else in Kallu's Little World until one day, an enemy in the guise of Shahani Seth (Amjad Khan) appears. Shahani shatters the happiness in Kallu's life.

That same day the young Kallu dies, and the dreaded Kaalia is born, Kaalia's main motive in life becomes wealth, and to destroy Shahani. This path of violence leads Kaalia to inspector Raghubir Singh's (Pran) jail. Outside of jail, Shahani starts reclaiming his power, and inside jail. Kaalia clashes with Raghubir Singh.

The 80's was a time when Amitabh Bachan's name alone would make a movie a complete sell out. Kaalia was released in 1981 and was a huge hit. After watching this movie I can only assume that audiences went to see this movie just for Amitabh Bachan and nothing else because Kaalia offers nothing in terms of plot. Kaalia was directed by Tinnu Anand, scripted by father Inder Raaj Anand and starred Amitabh, this combo would be repeated in the 1988 movie Shahenshah, another movie that is ridiculously overrated. It is basically the same gangster movie that had been told millions of times before with a mild mannered man turning into a gangster and coming in and out of jail. In jail he comes across an uncompromising jailer Pran. There is a poorly tacked plot about Pran having a daughter who was lost as a child(as far as I remember). That plot strand was probably only included because by the time Kaalia was released the lost and found formula was ever so popular,particularly in Amitabh Bachan movies,Amar Akbar Anthony,Naseeb,Laawaris,Suhaag,Ram Balram etc. The only highlight is RD Burman's phenomenal soundtrack, I would call it one of his top five best. My favourites being Jahan teri nazar or the Mohammed Rafi number that takes place in jail. Kaalia in my opinion is one of Mr Bachan's most overrated movie and the it's success is completely undeserved. There are far more better underrated Amitabh starrers, for instance Amitabh's 1982 starrer Shakti with Dilip Kumar.

Kaalia review:

As a kid, I just loved the poster of Kaalia which had an angry looking Amitabh Bachchan with handcuffs on. I used to persuade my dear late grandfather to take me to Badal Cinema, Matunga every evening just to see the huge hoarding there.

Kaalia, released at peak of Bachchan's superstardom, relied totally on the actor's solid charisma and swag. A simpleton weakling Kallu (Amitabh) is framed by his brother's (Kader Khan in a superb cameo) rich employer Shaani Seth (Amjad Khan) and sentenced to nine months jail. The moment where Bachchan steps out of prison as an angry young man with new identity Kaalia is simply clap-worthy. How he teaches Shaani Seth a lesson forms the rest of the movie..

The charming Parveen Babi was cast as Kaalia's love interest while legendary Pran Saahab was super effective as the tough jailor who likes to mock Kaalia at every instance. Amjad Khan as the villainous Shaani Seth, set new standard for the sophisticated baddie. Amitabh destroying Jagdeep's brand new car was lifted from Feroz Khan's Qurbani (1980).

R. D. Burman's music was another positive factor. 'Jahan teri yeh nazar hai..' has Amitabh swinging to the beats so effortlessly that it later became his signature dance step!

Kaalia is ever memorable for Amitabh's punchline "Hum jahan khade hote hai...line wahin se shuru hoti hai". It was oft repeated by many others through '80s and '90s Bollywood. But none could match Bachchan!!

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.

"Kalia" was disappointing--overlong, illogical and generally ham-handed. However, this doesn't necessarily mean that a movie is bad--after all most Indian films suffer from these problems. The star of this film, Amitabh Bachchan appeared in "Amar, Akbar, Anthony" (1977) which had similar problems but was still a wonderful film.

Bachchan is a charismatic actor but even he cannot save this film from its repetitious plot twists, insipid songs, laborious dialogue and bad acting.

Bachchan plays a good-natured fellow, who is forced to turn to a life of crime to support his family when his brother is injured at the unsafe mill where he works. The mill owner/criminal mastermind callously refuses to help with money for an operation, even though the injury is his fault. Kaalia seeks revenge for his brother and ends up in jail where he becomes a hardened criminal. Heists, fistfights, interminable chases flesh out this 3 hour film. None are particularly interesting. See "Amar, Akbar, Anthony" instead.