Kaala Patthar (1979)

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.

Kaala Patthar is a meaningful movie with a good theme as well as entertainment.The plot of Kaala Patthar is hard to describe, because the whole story is molded through strong characters. The three center characters are Vijay Pal Singh (Amitabh Bachchan), Ravi Malhotra (Shashi Kapoor), and Mangal Singh (Shatrugan Sinha). All of these men work in the same coal mine company which is owned by Seth Dhanraj (Prem Chopra).Everyday, workers are treated with injustice. Seth Dhanraj is only interested in making his own money, and he could care less about the welfare of the thousands of people that work at his mine.Vijay Pal Singh is known for his bravery around the mine. He saves people that are in trouble, and is always for justice. But Vijay himself believes that he is a coward, because he has a past that he does not share with anyone. Anyone except for a new doctor in town, Dr. Sudha Sen (Rakhee), who Vijay communicates well with. She also has a past, and both of them are broad-minded. Hmmnn, we all know what that means! :-D Ravi Malhotra is hired as the engineer for Seth Dhanraj. He isn't heartless like Seth Dhanraj though, he cares about the needs and wants of the people who work at the mine. Ravi can basically be called a leader for the workers. On the job, he is reacquainted with an old friend and now-turned journalist, Anita (Parveen Babi). She also cares about the people, even though she is the rich daughter of Seth Dhanraj's friend.Mangal Singh is a criminal who escapes from jail and ends up at the mine. He is very egotistical and likes to cause trouble. But through the tough times and the events surrounding the coal mine, he changes, and he becomes one of the many members who are in the battle against Seth Dhanraj for justice. He also saves a and falls in love with Channo (Neetu Singh), who is a jewelery seller who is liked by everyone.So with so many wonderful people, will the fight for justice end? Or will it all end up in tragedy? Watch Kaala Patthar to find out.Actingwise, everyone did a great job, and that's mostly what held the whole movie together. The star cast was well-chosen by Yash Chopra. Of course as usual, Amitabh Bachchan steals the show. His intensity mixed up with his coal-covered look make him light up the screen and he is a delight to watch. Shashi Kapoor and Shatrugan Sinha were wonderful. Both of them were funny in many scenes, and they played their characters perfectly.The heroines, though none of them have too much of a role, make a big impact on the film. Rakhee is flawlessly beautiful, and she acts very well. She even made me cry in a few scenes. Neetu Singh plays her innocent, funny character well. She also dances good. Parveen Babi spoke her dialogs with much emotion and she suited the fashionable type role.The music is not exactly the highlight of the film. The background music was directed by Salil Chowdary, and it was quite effective during the movie. Especially the music that's given when Amitabh stands up when he's mad hehehe. Anyway, Rajesh Roshan songs were average and aren't really worth listening to (in my opinion), except one song that I enjoyed, "Dhoom Mache Dhoom" by Lata and Rafi. Lata, Rafi, Kishore, and Mehendra Kapoor (who is given many meaningful lines to sing) all sing very nicely...it was just the tunes that were not that great.And last but not least, Yash Chopra's direction. It was very professional. He could have easily made it a boring movie, but he didn't. He made good choices for dialog writers (good old Salim-Javed) and the art director (Sudhendu Roy). It was nice of Yashji to choose an important topic so the audience would have a taste of what goes on in the coal mines, and how rich people can deceive the poor. The story itself is based on the Chasnala Coal Mine tragedy in Bihar. The only mistake Yash Chopra makes is his ending, and you'll have to see for yourself to know what I mean.So basically, Kaala Patthar is a movie worth watching, you'll be entertained and you'll be touched. Great movie!

An ambitious film that suffers, unfortunately, from what might be the worst cinematography in the history of film. Even an American special effects team could not save the film from somtimes sloppy editing and shoddy camera work. However, the film is worth seeing for the issues it brings up regarding worker/management relations. A good story and great acting soften the blow of the weak cinematography. Yash Chopra is a very good director, but this film makes him seem like a hack.

One of the better Yash Chopra films which alongside The Burning Train is among the rare disaster films in India. The film was made in the wake of the Chasnala mining disaster in Dhanbad in which hundreds of miner were killed in an underground flood. Set in a small mining town, the film does a quick description of various characters in the mix -- an idealistic engineer Ravi(Shashi Kapoor), a lonely medic Sudha (Rakhee), an exploitative mine owner Dhanraj (Prem Chopra) and several colorful miners including an escaped convict Mangal (Shatrughan). The film quickly centers on brooding court martialled officer Vijay (Amitabh) who works as a coal miner as an escape / self-flagellation for an act of cowardice several years ago. The engineer's warnings to cease underground operations is rejected by the greedy owners, leading to the protracted climax of the actual disaster. As the disaster unfolds, the three protagonists - Ravi, Mangal, and Vijay seek their own redemption in the rescue operations. An entertainingly hammy Shatrughan Sinha and Amitabh in his angry young man element made the film a cult classic despite being a failure at the box office.