Kaala Patthar (1979)

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.

Director:

Yash Chopra

Writers:

Javed Akhtar, Salim Khan

Stars:

Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Shatrughan Sinha

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Amitabh Bachchan	...	Vijay Pal Singh
Shashi Kapoor	...	Ravi Malhotra, Engineer
Shatrughan Sinha	...	Mangal Singh
Rakhee Gulzar	...	Dr. Sudha Sen
Parveen Babi	...	Anita, Press Photographer
Neetu Singh	...	Channo, jewellery seller (as Neeto Singh)
Parikshat Sahni	...	Jagga
Prem Chopra	...	Dhanraj Puri, Owner of the Coal Mine
Romesh Sharma	...	Vikram
Poonam Dhillon	...	Raghunath's daughter
Manmohan Krishna	...	Crippled hotel owner
Madan Puri	...	Vikram's father
Iftekhar	...	Mr. Singh (as Iftikhar)
Sudha Chopra	...	Mrs. Singh (Vijay's mom)
Satyendra Kapoor	...	Raghunath - Miner (as Satyen Kappoo)

Storyline

Captain Vijay Pal Singh is branded a coward, disgraced, humiliated by society and disowned by his parents for abandoning his ship risking the lives of over 300 passengers. With guilt on his mind and low self-esteem Vijay takes up work as a miner in a coal mine owned by Dhanraj Puri. Puri is a self-senile man who thinks about himself, by endangering the lives of his workers to profit himself and with no benefits or medical facilities for them. Vijay attempts to get rid of his cowardice by saving the lives of his co-workers by the contended wrath of Puri. The same happens when water forces its way into one of the mining tunnel endangering the lives of hundreds of workers; this time Vijay hopes to make it big so that he can be able to put together his life again.

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Plot Keywords:

mine | miner | cowardice | coward | coal miner | 

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Genres:

Action | Drama | History | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Release Date:

24 August 1979 (India)

Also Known As:

Black Stone

Company Credits

Production Co:

Yash Raj Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

176 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Despite being nominated in various categories such as Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Story at the 1980 Filmfare Awards, it never won any award.

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Quotes

Mangal Singh: My little boy! I've been breaking locks since you were a kid.

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Connections

References Baazi (1951)

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Soundtracks

Bahoon Mein Teri
Performed by Lata Mangeshkar & Mohammad Rafi
Music by Rajesh Roshan

User Reviews

Kaala Patthar!!! An interesting masterpiece with a lot of entertainment

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.