Katha

Gone are those days when films were more about storytelling and that too simple stories that one can relate to.

Well Katha is one such film that grabs your soul right from the beginning and neither tries to impress nor amuse you randomly. It just shows the events as they could appear.

Performances are outstanding and the entire cast is too perfect with Naseer and Farooq being the perfect leads.

Overall a great experience and really worth watching!

The title Katha means story in Hindi. The movie is about two friends Rajaram (played by Naseeruddin Shah) and Basu (Farooq Shiekh)living in a Mumbai chawl. Rajaram is the tortoise, helpful and kind but "the silent type". Basu on the other hand is what we call as a "gas bag" who brags a lot but does nothing concrete. You need to see the film to find out who wins the race The film is a light hearted comedy. Most American/European readers may not be aware of what a chawl is. A chawl is a three to four storied building where each family has a single room to itself. Chawls in Mumbai and other Indian cities has their own culture and lifestyle. This movie captures the lifestyle in the chawl authentically without making it a documentary. The directors skill lies in creating humor out of everyday situations in a chawl.

Naseeruddin Shah is excellent (as always). Farooq Shaikh does the role of a "gas bag" beautifully. Sai Paranjpee's direction makes this movie a worthwhile watch

Good things come to those who wait but by that time all the better stuff is gone. The above quote is so true in concomitant world and the movie too gives the same message quite strongly. The movie is basically a satire on the Rabbit(Farookh) - Tortoise(Naseeruddin) story. Rajaram (Naseeruddin) successfully depicts the tortoise and Basudev (Farookh) doesn't disappoint either. But the real credit for this movie goes to the auteur- Sai Paranjpye. She builds the character so well that the story despite lack of any Indian movie spice flows smoothly. Both the protagonists have done their parts superbly. Rest of caste is used beautifully to develop the two main conflicting characters. In the end the Rabbit migrates and Tortoise wins and our story teller- Daadi Maa says "Ye bhi koi jeet hui bhala" As all tortoise gets is a bouquet of wilted flower (Used metaphorically).

I love this movie and I wish for more similar movies to be made in the future. This movie is worth watching and is so hilarious I simply adore it so much. I love the work of Farooq Shaikh, he is one of my favorite actors.

The natural acting of the actors and the simplicity is what makes this movie worth watching as compare to all the commercial films that are been made today. I will recommend this movie and many more such movies to the audience and encourage the directors to make more meaningful and quality films like Katha rather than making the peppy love stories.

I also recommenced the movie Chashme Buddoor featuring Farooq Shaikh and Deepti Naval which is one more hilarious movie from the same director.

Thumbs up to this movie!!!

Perfect casting, excellent performances, superb coverage of Mumbai's chawl life. Nasir, Farokh and Dipti, trio delivers the best performance that will be cherished by me forever.! The songs are subtle and gel well with the overall theme.

Attention to detail and mature handling of chawl life could be matched to another work on the subject by yet another able personality Pu La Desphande. I have watched this movie umpteen times, and encourage all of my friends to not miss it.