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IMDbPro

Kaala Patthar

  • 19791979
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 2h 56m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
2.6K
YOUR RATING
Kaala Patthar (1979)
Watch Trailer
Play trailer2:30
1 Video
23 Photos
ActionDramaHistory
Inspired by a true mining tragedy the film is about people from all walks of life showing courage and character to fight the forces of nature.Inspired by a true mining tragedy the film is about people from all walks of life showing courage and character to fight the forces of nature.Inspired by a true mining tragedy the film is about people from all walks of life showing courage and character to fight the forces of nature.
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
2.6K
YOUR RATING
    • Yash Chopra
    • Javed Akhtar
    • Salim Khan
  • Stars
    • Amitabh Bachchan
    • Shashi Kapoor
    • Shatrughan Sinha
    • Yash Chopra
    • Javed Akhtar
    • Salim Khan
  • Stars
    • Amitabh Bachchan
    • Shashi Kapoor
    • Shatrughan Sinha
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 18User reviews
    • 5Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 2:30
    Watch Trailer

    Photos23

    Shashi Kapoor in Kaala Patthar (1979)
    Amitabh Bachchan and Rakhee Gulzar in Kaala Patthar (1979)
    Amitabh Bachchan and Rakhee Gulzar in Kaala Patthar (1979)
    Kaala Patthar (1979)
    Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Parveen Babi, Rakhee Gulzar, Neetu Singh, and Shatrughan Sinha in Kaala Patthar (1979)
    Kaala Patthar (1979)
    Kaala Patthar (1979)
    Kaala Patthar (1979)
    Kaala Patthar (1979)
    Kaala Patthar (1979)
    Kaala Patthar (1979)
    Kaala Patthar (1979)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Amitabh Bachchan
    Amitabh Bachchan
    • Vijay Pal Singh
    Shashi Kapoor
    Shashi Kapoor
    • Ravi Malhotra, Engineer
    Shatrughan Sinha
    Shatrughan Sinha
    • Mangal Singh
    Rakhee Gulzar
    Rakhee Gulzar
    • Dr. Sudha Sen
    Parveen Babi
    Parveen Babi
    • Anita, Press Photographer
    Neetu Singh
    Neetu Singh
    • Channo, jewellery seller
    • (as Neeto Singh)
    Parikshit Sahni
    Parikshit Sahni
    • Jagga
    Prem Chopra
    Prem Chopra
    • Dhanraj Puri, Owner of the Coal Mine
    Romesh Sharma
    Romesh Sharma
    • Vikram
    Poonam Dhillon
    Poonam Dhillon
    • Raghunath's daughter
    Manmohan Krishna
    Manmohan Krishna
    • Crippled hotel owner
    Madan Puri
    Madan Puri
    • Vikram's father
    Iftekhar
    Iftekhar
    • Mr. Singh
    • (as Iftikhar)
    Sudha Chopra
    Sudha Chopra
    • Mrs. Singh (Vijay's mom)
    Satyendra Kapoor
    Satyendra Kapoor
    • Raghunath - Miner
    • (as Satyen Kappoo)
    Geeta Kak
    Geeta Kak
    • Mrs. Raghunath
    • (as Gita Sidharth)
    Sharat Saxena
    Sharat Saxena
    • Dhanna
    Mohan Sherry
    Mohan Sherry
    • Shanker
      • Yash Chopra
      • Javed Akhtar
      • Salim Khan
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Inspired by a real coal mine disaster known as Chasnala Mining Disaster happened on 27th December 1975 near Dhanbad, Jharkhand that killed 372 miners.
    • Quotes

      Vijay Pal Singh: Yes, I am a coward!

    • Connections
      Featured in Raees (2017)
    • Soundtracks
      Ek Raasta Hai Zindagi
      Performed by Kishore Kumar & Lata Mangeshkar

      Music by Rajesh Roshan

    User reviews18

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    Ek Raasta Hai Zindagi, Jo Tham Gaye To Kuchh Nahin
    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.
    helpful•2
    0
    • jmathur_swayamprabha
    • Oct 16, 2012

    Details

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    • Release date
      • March 29, 2020 (United States)
      • India
      • Hindi
    • Also known as
    • Production company
      • Yash Raj Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 2 hours 56 minutes
      • Color
      • Mono

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