Kaala Patthar

Producer-director Yash Chopra is known in Bollywood as the 'King of Romance' because he has made certain classic romantic movies. However he had made some different movies too. One of them is Kaala Patthar (1979).

The story of Kaala Patthar (black stone) has been set in the a coal mine whose owner is a greedy businessman - Dhanraaj (Prem Chopra). Dhanraaj compels the coal mine workers to work in potentially dangerous conditions. He does not care for their welfare or health or even security of life and interested only in making maximum money out of that coal mine. He hires the services of an engineer - Ravi (Shashi Kapoor) who while working in his mine, is stunned to see that due to the excessive mining, one tunnel is about to go for water-logging and the lives of some 400 workers are in danger. Ravi also happens to see the poor condition of the workers and the lack of even the basic amenities for them which are the minimum requirement not only under the labour laws but also on humanitarian grounds. The doctor in the hospital maintained just for the sake of a legal formality - Sudha (Raakhee) keeps on complaining for medicines and a compounder but her calls fall on deaf ears of the management.

Among the workers, there are some goons too who extort money from the weak and hapless workers. Besides, there are two unique workers also. One is an escaped jailbird Mangal (Shatrughan Sinha) and the other is a courtmartialled naval ship captain Vijay (Amitabh Bachchan) who was labelled a coward when fled away from his ship endangering the lives of 300 passengers and abandoned by his family. Vijay comes closer to Sudha who is able to sniff out that Vijay is actually not what he is visible to the world. Two parallel love stories also run. The first one is a hilarious love story of Ravi with Dhanjraaj's niece - Anita (Parveen Baabi) who is a journalist and the second one is the love story of Mangal with a village girl - Chhanno (Neetu Singh) who sells toys and the things used by married women as a symbol of their marital status (being SUHAAGIN).

As we can easily guess that the continuous extraction of coal from the potentially dangerous tunnel, finally leads to its collapse and lethal water-logging in the climax of the movie. Vijay, Ravi and Mangal do their best to save as many lives as possible but still many lives are lost including that of Mangal.

The movie is less realistic and more formulaic because the script-writers and the director have nowhere compromised on the entertainment front. The movie is damn interesting and the writer-director team should get full marks for not allowing even an ounce of boredom in this movie which is in a league of its own.

The movie starts in a very impressive way when the young engineer Ravi heads towards his destination by riding a motorbike and singing a very very inspiring song - Ek Raasta Hai Zindagi, Jo Tham Gaye To Kuchh Nahin (the life is a path and if you stop somewhere, it's nothing for you). The song runs with the credits and the drama begins soon after the song.

The art director - Sudhendu Roy is the unsung hero of this movie who has done a splendid job by bringing a coal mine area, tunnels, tea stall cum Dhaaba (small restaurant), workers' homes etc. everything as alive on the screen. The complete look of this movie is realistic (though the script is formula-based).

Rajesh Roshan's music is not great but the song mentioned above as well as in the title of this review is a memorable one which Kishore has sung (with Lata also contributing). The other song that stands out is Dhoom Mache Dhoom Aaj Ki Raina sung jointly by Lata, Rafi, Mahendra Kapoor, S.K. Mahan and chorus. Lyrics have come from Saahir's pen.

In the author-backed role, Amitabh Bachchan has portrayed his guilt-complex, anguish and stuffiness with utmost proficiency. The role is apparently subdued but actually a highly emphatic one. Despite being a multi-starrer movie, Kaala Patthar allows Amitabh Bachchan with his soot-stained face, to stand out from the high profile cast.

Among others, Shatrughan Sinha is there with all his theatricals and Shashi Kapoor with all his jolly gimmicks. Prem Chopra has done villainy in his typical style. Ladies did not have much to do but Raakhee has delivered a very mature performance and her chemistry with Amitabh Bachchan is also touching. The emotion in the relationship of Vijay and Sudha is subtle and remains as undercurrent in their interaction. Both Amitabh and Raakhee have performed this part with perfection. The director has not done any injustice to any actor in this multi-starrer movie and all have got ample screen-space and scope to show their mettle. Sanjeev Kumar also impresses in his cameo of the outgoing doctor.

Kaala Patthar was commercially not successful when released. May be because the people were expecting something different from the maker of feelgood movies. However it can be considered a classic now.

I thought it was an Indianized version of Lord Jim, which was itself based on the true story of the abandonment of a ship called PATNA! In Lord Jim too the protagonist lives with the fact of his own cowardice and eventually redeems himself by taking on ugly forces that prey on the poor and weak. Kaala Paththar had two other men in the story - and followed the usual 70s/80s cliché of the man with the criminal background having to die in the end. But it was also quite uncliched in having no overt romantic track between Shashi and Parveen Babi, and a very quiet connection between Amitabh and Rakhi. Rakhi never enunciated well in Hindi and it got worse in moments of agitation. Here she did not have to speak much and was OK. I always liked Neetu Singh and she was good in this one too. Shatru was never a favorite but he was quite restrained here IMO. For a film from the 70s, this was indeed quite a different one and I enjoyed it. Amitabh was excellent as the coward, then the slowly burning up with self-disgust man, and finally as the hero. The mine disaster was well shot and the dark and claustrophobic kind of picturization made is seem realistic. There were not really many songs to disrupt the narrative - another unique feature for a film of its time. Fr instance, no sad number with wailing violins as the hero sits and stares at the stars and broods over his past! I gave it 8/10.

Kaala Patthar review :

A lesser celebrated film of director Yash Chopra; Kaala Patthar was loosely based on the real life Chasnala mining disaster with some wonderful characters written by the legendary Salim Javed.

Amitabh Bachchan is Vijay, an ex army officer who is working as a mine worker in order to forget his past guilt. Shatrughan Sinha in his career best act played Mangal, an escaped convict who takes a job in the mine to evade the cops while Shashi Kapoor is the honest and 'dil ka achcha' engineer who warns the greedy mine owner (Prem Chopra) against the impending flood in the mine.

The performances were universally first rate. Amitabh Bachchan spoke through his eyes and his simmering intensity reaches a crescendo when he yells at Prem Chopra in a superbly executed scene. Shatru's "Teesre baadshah hum hai" is still memorable and oft repeated catchphrase. Prem Chopra was apt as Dhanraj Puri, the loathesome mine owner who treats his employees like slaves. Rakhee, Parveen Babi and Neetu Singh provided the romantic angle to the three heroes.

Kaala Patthar was a technically slick and well executed disaster drama but despite all its positives, didn't work that well with the audience. Maybe, it was the grim subject and lack of comedy which kept them away.

Nevertheless, this is one of Bachchan's finest performance. Whether it is the scene where he grabs a knife from Sharat Saxena or the rescue operation in the climax, Amitabh was simply extraordinary. He as well as Shatrughan Sinha were nominated for the Best actor and best supporting actor at the Filmfare awards that year. Unfortunately, they didnt win the honours. Just like the film!!

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.

Kaala Pathar is the story of Vijay (Amitabh Bachchan) an ex-naval officer who is court-martial ed and dismissed from the navy for his role in as captain of a ship that sank and many lives were lost. Vijay is looking for a place so dark that even the hideous demons inside him that taunt him so terribly will get scared and go away. He finds that darkness in the depths of the coal mines where he now works as a coal miner, where he welcomes every danger, every threatening rumble of disaster as a chance to pay for his past Ravi (Shashi Kapoor), the engineer in-charge of these doomed mines. Doomed because the greed and mindless exploitation by its owners have made the mines into potential death traps. Ravi, seeing the terrible danger looming ahead, tries to alert the management but with little use. He is paid for his alertness by being fired from his job which is when he joins forces with the workers and Vijay in order to save the lives of the minors and fight the establishment. Mangal (Shatrughan Sinha), an escaped convict who is also looking for a place to hide, but unlike Vijay, not from himself but from the eyes of the law. And discovers that under his boisterous and egoistic exterior is a compassionate human being for whom the law of justice is more important than the law of the jungle. He ends up joining Ravi and Vijay in their fight for right. As these three men set off on their crusade, each of them also find love. From the trusting, simple miners and their families who see these men as messiahs and from three women. Sudha (Raakhee), a doctor who is as kind and caring as she is beautiful and sees Vijay's bleeding, repenting heart behind his stone-hard exterior, Anita (Parveen Babi) a reporter who falls in love with Ravi's fearless, clear-eyed belief in justice and in himself and Shanno (Neetu Singh), a gypsy whose sparkling eyes and racy sales pitch snares even the hardened heart of Mangal. Kaala Patthar is inspired by a real-life mining disaster that happened in India in the history of mining industry. On 27th Dec'75, the 'Chasanala' charcoal mine got flooded with water in which 572 workers were caught. It is an intensely dramatic film about the human heart. That as long as it beats with love and with hope, there will always be a dawn waiting at end of the blackest of nights. With a multi-star cast, a lively musical score and a nail-biting climax, Yash Chopra has made Kaala Patthar a memorable exception to the exquisitely soft, glamorous love stories that have become his hallmark. The technical side of the movie was good. The sets & make-up helped the film to become more realistic. Amitabh Bachchan's withdrawal into solitude was impressive. With a flame of anger in his eyes & confidence in his actions, he delivers minimum words and still makes an impact. Shatrughna Sinha is also good with his own style. Shashi Kapoor with his smart look is charming. Remaining Rakhi, Neetu Singh etc. are okay. The tea-stall confrontation between Bachchan and Sinha is probably the most explosive encounter between two heroes ever in Indian cinema; and Bachchan comes out with a subdued, yet strong performance.

Amazing movie, and quite surprising that this is not one of the most highly regarded movies of its time.

The movie tells the story of a coal mine run by a greedy capitalist and the sufferings of the underpaid workers and the constant dangers they face in the depths of a coalmine. The script is extraordinarily strong, the romantic bits are kept at a minimum, and Amitabh Bachchan(AB)'s role of Vijay Pal Singh as the angry self-loathing hero fits like a T.

This is without doubt one of AB's best performances and his dialogues really fire up the movie. Salim-Javed have to be credited for the dialogues, after all they have provided ammo for AB all along with their scripts. Shashi Kapoor(SK) and Shatrughan Sinha(SS) fit into their roles perfectly, and overall the movie is not dominated by a single character.

This is all about the coal mine, and the risks and tragedies that the workers face every day. By the end of the movie, you almost feel like being one among the workers and demanding justice, alongside Vijay.

The screenplay and direction is fantastic. The opening scene with the titles is absolutely brilliant. The ghetto is very well done. The incidents between AB and SS are well portrayed, and very stylish. Characterization is top class. The background score is brilliant.

The bad? The music - i.e. the songs really break up the movie. None of the songs really make the grade and they only act as roadblocks to a free flowing movie. Most of the songs are pointless and not required.

The script really fits the era, the unrest, the anguish, really suits the time the movie was made. Then you put AB in an angry young man - role and all you need to do is wait for the money to roll in. This movie was MADE for the masses.

Amazingly that did not happen for this movie, it never reached the heights that it could have. We will never know why!! Overall... Brilliant. Don't miss it, est if you are an AB fan or a 70s movie buff.