Katha (1983) User Reviews

Why no one makes movies like these anymore?

[agrawalmannu · 7/10 · 26 August 2005]

Why do all directors have to make an "epic" these days? What happened to the good old 'story telling' without making too much about it? Why no one makes movies like these anymore?

Simply told, it is a story of Rajaram, a modern day tortoise and his friend Basu, a modern day Hare and their race against each other. As the simile suggests, Rajaram is a simple and honest clerk who doesn't let go off any opportunity to help others, even absolute strangers whereas Basu is a smooth talker and a conman who doesn't have any qualms in stealing from his own friend. Even Sandhya, Rajaram's neighbor whom he fancies for a long time gets dazzled by Basu's glitter leaving Rajaram heartbroken. Just like the classic story, will Tortoise win against Hare in these modern times? This is a satire, a tragi-comedy and character analysis at its best.

The movie was actually shot in a chawl and the real residents played their parts as the neighbors of Rajaram and Sandhya. Naseer as Rajaram, Farooq Sheikh as Basu and Deepti Naval as Sandhya fit their parts like hand in a glove. Normally you would expect Naseer to play Basu's role and Farooq to play Rajaram's role but the accomplished actors that they are they disappeared into their characters.

No gimmicks, no technical wizardry, just plain old simple art of story telling.

The true Indian masterpiece

[ashish-alexander · 9/10 · 4 July 2008]

The movie brilliantly captures the nuances of Indian middle class in the eighties. After the political turmoil of seventies there was a need to go back to larger issues of our common lives. How should we live together? And how basic human goodness will help us overcome any setback? Rajaram, even though a malleable character, is a true hero. The character is amazingly envisaged by Sai Pranjpe and masterfully depicted by Naseeruddin Shah. I think his agitation on hearing about the need of O -ve blood group for a young boy must go down in the history of Indian cinema as one of the most powerful scenes. His sequences with invalid Bapu are razor sharp, both in conception as well as execution. He will take care of every little need of the week before he lays claim to his right. Self-sacrifice is the hallmark of this unlikely hero of new emerging India. Youcan't miss the fact that Rajaram is modelled on god Rama. Rama is the hero and it's not coincidental that Naseer is Rajaram. Sai Pranjape takes a dig at the ideal man though, who asked his wife to go through a trial by fire. New avatar of Rama goes beyond this qualm. In the same way, Farooq, Vasudev, is modelled on god Krishna. Farooq for me was outstanding. Period. Grreat performance. The way he plays on the insecurities of people is so subtle. Sandhya (Deepti Naval) surrenders it all the moment she's led by Vasudev to say, I'm liberated.

The movie touches on all aspects of life. many layers of man-woman relationship (think about all the different couples in the movie, one by one), social satire (parties, clandestine affairs), celebration of simple life style (parathas, borrowing milk), no glossing over hard realities of our daily lives (water problem and common toilets, for instance). In all this we find life is indeed beautiful. We don't need an overdose of foreign location to be convinced of that fact.

Sai Pranjpe wrote a new epic for the modern India.

A class act by auteur

[dashing-samson · 7/10 · 19 January 2009]

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).

Piece of Art!

[wetNdry · 10/10 · 5 March 2005]

I remember, talking my father with his friend about this movie when I was a teen. Who likes Naseer and Farooq at that age, so I never watched it. I watched it first time when I was around 27, during my post-grad yrs and simply fell in love with this movie. Dir Sai Paranjape's details to the atmosphere in chawl, people's attitude, and mostly the facial expression of each characters in the movie is mesmerizing. A brilliant piece of work. It's very difficult to say who was the best in this movie besides Paranjape, but I think it was Naseer who steals the show. Movie starts with Naseer and his "main permanent ho gaya hu" which is very well directed. After that Farooq enters with his magical personality. The treatment given by director for a cup of tea reveals the diff between both characters. Basu gets tea without even moving from his chair, while Rajaram kills himself to get a cup of tea. Then comes the restaurant scene which shows brilliant command of Ms Paranjape. The way Rajaram acts by looking at the waiter, his expressions of his visit to such a restaurant first time are beyond any words. The way he tells Basu to order for him and finally the way Rajaram orders egg curry under the loads of his shyness is brilliant. I can not forget the scene where Rajaram is standing at a bus stop, he hears on radio someone need's blood in hosp, and he goes to hosp right away in a TAXI. After giving blood to a totally unknown person he gets tea and biscuits from hosp and he replies happily "is ki kya jaroorat thi?". That happiness was not from tea/biscuits, it was the satisfaction he gets after giving blood. The whole presentation of his character suffering for himself(standing at a bus stop for himself but going in a taxi for unknown person) was very satisfying for someone like me who loves to watch this kind of very human nature in a movie. Bashu's character also got the director's genius touch. His correction to pronounce GOLF with Naseer, his trying to impress his boss's wife, daughter and boss himself by talking abt his recent love for golf, and his affair with his boss's wife, it was just beautiful! Overall this movie portraits beautifully two totally opposite sides of human nature. Those who love real art must not miss this perfect movie.

A masterpiece

[abhijitsavarkar-1 · 10/10 · 14 August 2004]

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.

An Underrated simple film

[silvan-desouza · 7/10 · 6 July 2014]

Katha is one of the underrated films made, It stars Farooque Sheikh and Naseeruddin Shah both known for ART Films, while in 1983 when films like Coolie were being made, such films were mostly unnoticed but yet it's a great film. The film is very simple and realistic, based on the folklore of the race between Hare and Tortoise, but here they have twisted it, showing it in modern times(circa 1983) but yet it holds true even today. The characters are well etched,Naseeruddin Shah plays a simple man who doesn't have guts to profess his love to his neighbour Deepti Naval. While his friend Farooque Sheikh is a swindler who tells people his fake stories and dupes them. The film is well handled, it has it's moments of fun, emotions and it's all well handled.

Direction is good Music is okay

Farooque Sheikh is simply outstanding, normally known for his romantic and simple roles here he plays a cunning guy to perfection Naseeruddin Shah is equally convincing as the simple guy Rajaram Deepti Naval is good too Leela Mishra is superb, others are all good too

In today's world, the hare wins, not the tortoise

[jmathur_swayamprabha · 8/10 · 28 April 2010]

Talented lady director, Sai Paranjpye had carved a niche for herself through her maiden venture itself which was Sparsh, a highly sensitive movie which can justifiably be considered a landmark of Hindi cinema. Thereafter she directed a hilarious comedy, Chashm-e-Baddoor starring Farrooq Sheikh and Deepti Naval. In 1983 she came up with Katha which is not a pure comedy like Chashm-e-Baddoor and in fact, a satirical comment upon today's work culture, social system and values (especially in India).

We, as children, had been told (or made to read) the classic story of a race between the hare and the tortoise which was won by the tortoise because he was slow but steady and went ahead, marching non-stop towards his destination whereas the hare lost because of his overconfidence and complacence prompting him to take a nap in between the race. Katha is a modern take on this ancient story underscoring the reality of the world which belongs to the smart and flashy hare and not the slow and steady, sincere, simple, honest tortoise.

The hare of the story is Basudev Bhattacharya played by Farooq Sheikh (for some reasons not known to me, Sai used the name of the famous Hindi movie director Basu Bhattacharya for this villaineous character of her satirical movie) and the tortoise is Rajaram played by Nasiruddin Shah. The backdrop of the story is a chawl of Mumbai in which Farooq arrives to live with his old mate Nasiruddin who loves his Padosan, Deepti but always hesitant to speak out his feelings. Since the very outset of their togetherness, Farooq, the hare starts getting the better of the tortoise, Nasiruddin everywhere - in the office and the job, in the bid of getting the love of Deepti and where not. The smart talker Farooq who is, in fact, a bluffmaster, is always able to get the best of everything by his sheer smart talk and showing off. He is exposed in the end and Nasiruddin is able to win the love of Deepti but Sai has very skillfully demonstrated the fact that virgin Deepti is no longer virgin because of her intimate relationship with Farooq, through the ending scene in which the tortoise gets the bouquet after winning the race but that bouquet contains withered flowers. Anyway the perseverance and sincerity of the tortoise pays in the end whereas the hare flees away to befool somebody else now.

Katha manages to make the viewers laugh every now and then throughout the movie but remember, it is not a comedy but a satire. Hence alongwith the laughters, it conveys the serious message in a subtle manner. It is very difficult to find flaws in the movie or the narrative. Several scenes showing the race between the hare (Farooq) and the tortoise (Nasiruddin) with the win of the hare are highly impressive, underscoring the fact that in today's world smart talk is given more weightage than genuine performance or virtues. You show off in an impressive manner, boast your false achievements and talk in a sugar-coated, subtly flattering way and you will get what you want whether or not you deserve it. A low profile, straightforward, good-hearted performer has to end up as a loser howsoever deserving he might be. The reason is simple. Sales talk matters more than the real stuff.

Katha was in many ways, ahead of its time because the marketing era started in India since the late eighties when fancy, colourful packaging started getting more weightage than the quality of the product. The same thing is applicable to human beings also in the work culture of today's India. Smartness counts (in appearance and talking) more than the ability and the performance. I can vouch for it after spending more than two decades in the working life, having served in both the private sector as well as the public sector. Good things do come to the patient and perseverant deserving ones but only when the better ones have already been grabbed by the smart and hollow talkers. It happens to Nasiruddin in the movie, our tortoise. Farooq has no regrets even in the end as he has grabbed enough and also availed the intimacy of Deepti without marriage. There is no dearth of supporters or opportunities for such people in the world. He will find newer ones ready to buy his smart talks and oblige him with favours.

The performances are great. The movie is a male-oriented one and this is the only movie of Farooq and Deepti in which Deepti gets another hero in the end. Farooq Sheikh, in the only role of his life having grey shades, has delivered a towering performance and Nasiruddin Shah in the role of the low profile tortoise is not far behind in the race of acting. The supporting cast alongwith Deepti Naval has lent an excellent support to the our hare and tortoise duo. Even the smallest character of the movie is able to make an impact and that's the identification of a good movie in the first place.

The music is according to the mood of the movie. The cameraman and the art director have been able to present a true glimpse of the chawl life of Mumbai (Bombay) three decades back. In fact, this is an outstanding movie where everything has been put in its right perspective and the mood of the movie has nowhere been disturbed throughout.

Katha is a treat to watch for all - the entertainment seekers as well as the message seekers. It is a glaring example of the excellence in Indian cinema. I always surprise why such purely Indian movies with original concept and superfine execution are not sent as Indian entry for the Oscars. Katha is a timeless classic, for sure.

One of the best films you will ever come across!

[ankurkrazyy · 10/10 · 18 December 2018]

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!

Authentic portrayal of a chawl life

[santvishal · 8/10 · 24 November 2008]

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

The bad must punished at the end, but not in this movie

[Insane_Man · 4/10 · 15 June 2020]

Very simple low middle class life, lifestyle, living are the main elements of this movie. Two side of the society, bad and good. Bad is pretending good as well as gorgeous and the good is simple. Everyone loves gorgeous and the outside goodness. No one search for the inner honesty. But at the end, the honestly gets a second hand wife and the bad one enjoys life the local and goes to abroad to lead a better life then the honest man in the society. It could end up with another ending, the pretender one must be punished at the end and the honest must be honored with promotion and another girl, not the girl already slept with the pretender. Hare and tortoise. Tortoise wins, hare loses. But here in this movie tortoise wins and gets an old prize, hare loses but get more expensive prize, an abroad luxurious and better future life. Thus, this movie is overrated.

The tortoise and hare of modern days...

[shailu_nonstop · 10/10 · 27 May 2009]

During school days everyone would remember the old story of the race between Tortoise and Hare. Sai Paranjape here depicts the same story but using male characters as Rajaram (Naseeruddin Shah) for Tortoise and Bashudev (Farooq Sheikh) for Hare. The story is based on the background of the chawls in Mumbai where there are day to day common issues of common toilets, filling water early in the morning, residents acting as one family, the social and cultural meetings for various occasions etc. We see Rajaram suffering each day in order to help others but his happiness for helping others supersedes the pain in suffering. In perfect contrast, Bashudev acts to help others and this way fulfills his own wish, without even the other person realizing that he/she is actually getting used by him…Rajaram believes in the aspects of truthfulness and honesty. But for Bashudev conman ship is the act of life. Bashudev believes until you get caught enjoy your way out and once caught or fulfilled the wish, time to say 'Alvida' (Good bye)…

Both the actors have marvelously done their part. I don't think Farooq exceeded himself in any of his other movies. Sir Naseer is of course a gem of an actor. The more we appreciate the less said it is for his caliber in acting. In between the two male actors, Dipti Naval as Sandhya (read the prize for the race) also does a splendid job. The supporting casts do play their roles properly. But hats-off to the director Sai Paranjape for making one of the masterpiece in Hindi cinema.

With repeated viewings, I could find a lot of scenes which depict the genius in both direction and acting, e.g.

1. Rajaram repeating his "Main permanent ho gaya hu"(I am confirmed in my job) quote to neighboring Bapu, but Bapu only concerned about fulfilling his own small needs. When Bapu is done with his demands, Rajaram modestly asks him "Aur kuch kaam Bapu..."(Anything else?) and leaves Bapu's room… 2. Rajaram asking his love Sandhya to not call him Rajaramji (Ji stands for Sir) but Rajaram….and she replies "Aapke personality main hi 'Ji' hain" (Your personality reflects Ji)… 3. When Rajaram is asked by his boss as how he liked the new ad-movie about their product(Footprint Shoes), he is the only person in the audience who honestly replies that movie is waste and such an ad-movie would make their product appear funny…As what happens with such lone opinions(despite of being honest) the boss humiliates him "Obviously you know more about office files then about Art" 4. Bashudev flattering the owner of 'Footprint Shoes' and getting a precious job for himself…Rajaram is in grave surprise that Bashudev neither has any qualification nor any experience but still has a better job than him… 5. Bashudev flirting with his boss's wife in the party thrown by the boss himself… 6. Nearing climax when after listening the whole story by Sandhya…Rajaram still claims honestly that his decision and love haven't changed…

One scene which stands out and shows Sir Naseer's caliber is,

When Sandhya's parents come to Rajaram's place to talk about Sandhya's marriage, Rajaram blushes to the maximum but when he realizes that they(Sandhya as well) expect groom as Bashudev…his expression changes from vast happiness to severe sadness…

This movie is a rare combination of entertainment on offbeat ground. This is was a rare occurrence in those days. In whatever way, this movie can be watched on either view viz. to see pure Art or to get entertained. On the concept of real human philosophy, this is not a cinematic grandeur worth missing.

Old but very well done satire

[warrierajit · 10/10 · 12 February 2004]

One of the best, but not very well known satires to come out in the 80s. The comedy is very subtle, repeated viewings sometimes brought out some hidden gems. Naseeruddin Shah as Rajaram is amazing, but it is Farooq Shaikh who steals the show as a twisted charmer. Usually he excels in films as a helpless onlooker type of character, but here he tries out a completely different type of role. Set in a chawl in Mumbai, the atmosphere is brought out perfectly, notice the constant background "chawl noise" throughout the film. Watch it !!

It is a light-hearted comedy with a simple narrative that shows the daily hustles and bustles of a Mumbai 'chawl'

[dwnpiyush-336-40603 · 8/10 · 5 April 2012]

This 1983 Naseeruddin Shah- Deepti Naval- Farookh Sheikh starer is a take on the popular children's tale- 'The Hare and the Tortoise'. It is a light-hearted comedy with a simple narrative that shows the daily hustles and bustles of a Mumbai 'chawl', and how the life of the simple- helpful-naive-idealistic Rajaram (Naseeruddin Shah as the Tortoise) changes when the confident-clever-manipulative-complacent Bashu (Farookh Shiekh as the Hare) re-enters his life. The sequence of events brings out a stark contrast between the two characters and how they approach each and every situation and life in general. Very subtly the film also paints a comparative picture between the 'high society' and the 'chawl class people'. The unity that binds the 'chawl' people and the way they enjoy simple joys of life is shown in a very adept manner. Although this is an ensemble cast film, there are almost no sub-plots or distractions and the movie sticks to its core idea. The end is beautifully done and is really thought provoking. The old story has it that the tortoise always wins. But in today's times, as a character rightly sums up- 'yeh jeet bi koi jeet Hui?'

A very little known classic by Sai Paranjpaye movie- this certainly deserves a watch. No big budget- no foreign locales- no big stars- no popular songs- no thrills and action- just a simple engaging story that will make you smile a lot. Farookh Shiekh plays the brat really well and Naseer excels as the simpleton. In a way this a role reversal of sorts as Farookh Sheikh was known to play simple sad characters and Naseer would be thought of as more suitable for what his anti-thesis in the movie is.

For my views on more such lesser known movies from the world of Hindi cinema, do check moviesandnomore. blogspot. com

Katha

[preety-takkar · 8/10 · 1 December 2007]

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!!!

The Hare Always Wins

[jacobj-46918 · 10/10 · 1 September 2018]

Jmathur_swayamprabha

The hare always wins! be it yesterday or today's world.

Simple Folk..

[nikhil7179 · 9/10 · 30 October 2006]

Few Indian movies have achieved such a true sense of their environment and characters as Sai Paranjape's Katha has.

The film perfects recreates the allegory of the hare and the tortoise in a Tenement Building in Urban Bombay.

The film plays out in the old folktale tradition as a world-weary old woman narrates the story to her grandson.

The tortoise is the kind-hearted but incredibly naïve Rajaram Purushotam Joshi – a clerk at a reputed shoe company and the epitome of the middle-class.

His polar opposite, the suave con artist Basu is the hare, who enters Rajaram's life and completely dishevels it.

Paranjape's use of the children's movie format (the folktale, the animated title sequence) to deconstruct her protagonist Rajaram is inspired - he is for all practical purposes a child himself – honest, obedient and loyal – the archetypal Boy Scout.

He owns several sets of the exact same clothes, which he wears to work - like a school uniform.

He keeps to himself at the office and is petrified of his female colleagues and their advances. They seem to enjoy teasing and tempting him. A rather obvious example of this plays out via the apple - a colleague offers one to him after taking a bite out of it. He refuses vehemently and pulls a face like a child who's just been scolded.

The apple motif recurs in a dream sequence in the film where several female co-workers band together and molest Rajaram. The office has now been replaced by the Garden of Eden – but this version of paradise is a highly artificial set with cheap theatrical props, not unlike those of a School Play.

His nightmare ends with the young neighbor girl, dressed in traditional garb and armed with broom jumping to the rescue.

Her resemblance to Rajaram's mother is more than just mere coincidence. It is quite clear that he is only comfortable with women in a nurturing maternal role. Any kind of sexual assertiveness on their part is highly unacceptable to him.

It is interesting to note that Paranjpae inverts the ending of the folktale – making it an ambiguous victory rather a happily-ever-after-winner-takes-all triumph.

It's especially interesting as Rajaram's middle-class is now a dying breed – a group that is being quickly replaced by aggressive, self-driven individuals like Basu.

Similarly, the target audience for movies with such characters is in rapid decline as well.

Most films revolve around the trials and tribulations of the super-rich or at best(or is it worst?), yuppies with large disposable incomes.

Product placement, sequels, line extensions, endorsements have taken precedence over storytelling.

The recent passing of the great director Hrishikesh Mukherjee, who was for over four decades the voice of the middle-class, is one more nail in the coffin.

To paraphrase the wise old woman's words to her grandson, the tortoise may have won the battle, but he's losing the war.

Masterclass

[mmraueters · 10/10 · 17 March 2018]

True depiction of "India Middle Class Mentality of 1980's".

Bollywood gem of 80s

[sawseema · 8/10 · 3 July 2016]

A picturesque journey through Mumbai 'chawl' living. Contrary to general 80's Bollywood cinema this film brings a story of realistic characters, situations of the time - with a decent dose of entertainment via characters, dialogues and events as they unfold.

The story may have a love triangle at it's heart but it is anything ordinary. Rajaram (Nasiruddin Shah) one day hopes to achieve Sandhaya (Deepti Naval), his love interest but he is probably too dull or mundane in her eyes. She's the eligible Bachelorette of the 'chawl' and sub-consciously hopes to 'climb the ladder' through her marriage and ultimately favors two-faced Vasu (Faarooq Sheikh) over truthful Rajaram, interestingly with encouragement from her parents.

The drama balances the contrasting lifestyle of upper and lower-middle class Mumbai and opposing reactions of overly ambitious Vasu and confidence lacking Rajaram in corporate and social settings, making the movie quite appetizing at times. Subtly, the movie highlights the 'social pressures' of the 80's, and interestingly shows how characters from both segments fall prey to Vasu's lies and deceit, until it's late.

You may find watching this movie over and over again and find it strangely uplifting, although Vasu succeeds in his intent and takes 'zing' from Rajaram's victory. The ultimate draw of the movie may be its character portrayal and situations the movie unfolds into, doubled with spot on acting and flawless editing, making it an 8/10.