K A A L A P A T T H A R
43 YEARS
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Kaala Patthar is Yash Chopra’s finest and most under rated film. It is undoubtedly the one "Different" script Salim-Javed have written.
Made on a huge canvas and budget, the film was deemed a failure and sadly while films like Kabhi Kabhi Deewar and Trishul ( from same team) are still talked about today, Kaala Patthar remains as one of the movies of those times.
Kaala Patthar was inspired by a real-life mining disaster that took place in India December 27, 1975 in the ‘Chasanala’ coal mine in Bihar. When the mine got flooded and over 500 workers were killed during the mishap.
There is nothing to share about the story as it is well known as over the years this has now got cult status.
Kaala Patthar’s cast in the film are all running away from each other. Vijay from himself, Ravi running for a trip that ultimately killed his innocence and Mangal is running away from the law,
The film is filled with greys, black and browns, bringing to life a start reality of the miners that highlights their hopelessness and susceptibility to injuries.
Socially conscious and visually brilliant, Kaala Patthar represents possibly one of the most gorgeous film in Yash Chopra’s repertoire, despite its canvas being much murkier and pale than his trademark lush mountainscapes of the Alps and Kashmir in Kabhie Kabhie or Silsila. The lighting of the film, especially in the mines, signals a strong sense of space, reminiscent more of tunnels and alleyways in noir cinema, which become really effective in the film’s exhilarating final thirty minutes. Chopra’s contrasts in color – the dust and clouded diffuse sunlight of the mines where workers toil away, with the bright gardens and clean whites of the callous billionaire mining magnate Seth Dhanraj’s office – is an unsubtle signaling of economic disparities in the two stratas.
There is a deep sense of betrayal of the people within Kaala Patthar that the mine labourers who were the backbone of the mining industry seeing the owners interests value profit over people. Like after Dhanraj’s (Prem Chopra) chief engineer says they can’t build a new mining tunnel without putting 400 workers’ lives on the line, Dhanraj asks about the financial implications. “We’ll lose 40 lakhs,” he’s informed. Dhanraj doesn’t miss a beat, condescendingly berating his engineer for being poor at math – “Don’t you know that 40 lakhs is much larger than 400?” And so the story goes…as expected the water bursts and floods the mine and that is when, the audience finds their cheeks wet, as Vijay,Ravi and Mangal entrall by coming together and rescuing the workers from the mines.
Everyone involved were at the top of their game. It seems incredible, then, that the film failed at the box-office. Take the acting: this was Amitabh's show all the way. Vijay is a decorated naval officer who, disgraced by his actions, dishonourably discharged from the navy, and disowned by his family, seeks oblivion in this dusty little town. His hatred is for self, and he lives with it. He volunteers for the most dangerous jobs, regardless of danger. All his actions are driven by a desire to prove he is not a kaayar, a buzdil (coward). And Yash Chopra channelised that anger in a way that seared the screen.
Vijay's romance with Raakhee's Sudha is very subtle and understated, very much like their romance in Trishul. In this film too, he plays a tortured character, carrying his demons with him, and trying to outrun them at the same time. In the scene where Dr Sudha first meets him - she is the newly-arrived doctor at the clinic - she is frustrated at his rejecting anaesthesia, choosing to bear the pain instead. When all her efforts fail, she bursts out, 'Why don't you understand?' and is stunned when he replies, in flawless English: 'Why don't you understand? My pain is in my destiny and I cannot avoid it.' Later, she asks 'Kahan ke ho?' It's a casual question, asked while she is changing the dressing. His answer (later) is, Bacha sawaal ke main kahaan ka hoon. Toh kuch log aise bhi hote hain jo kahin ke nahin hote. It is an unusual answer and it intrigues her.
Shatrughan Sinha exploded on screen with as much bluster as Amitabh's silence . His dialogues Teesre Baadshah Hum Hai and other one liners went on and turned out to be very famous.
Whether it is his crackling chemistry with Amitabh, or his rough and ready banter with Neetu's Channo, he burnt up the screen every time he put in an appearance. On the 'opposite' side of Amitabh, so to speak, he proves a worthy opponent. But Silence is always golden and deafening.
There is also Shashi Kapoor.
His Ravi is the stated voice of conscience, alerting the callous mine-owners to the disaster waiting to happen, and is competent enough in the dramatic scenes with the bosses. It is a supportive role, but a strong one. Anita (Parveen) as a journalist gives him company. The repartee between the two does evoke smiles.
Sanjeev Kumar, in a cameo, makes an impact with one line of dialogue. The pain and defeat on his face when he hands over charge to Rakhee, the incoming doctor, is killing. "Is aspataal mein mareez nahin, laashein aati hai... woh laashein jo abhi puri tarah mari nahin hai."
The unbeatable duo - Salim-Javed, through the script of Kaala Patthar have covered a number of subjects of the human heart. They have written a completely complex, layered and fine plot surrounding by the passion of human interest stories. The story lands in the hands of the legendary Yash Chopra, who films Kaala Patthar with incomparable sets, an impeccable cast and crew and peppered with emotions that define Indian cinema.
Music Director Rajesh Roshan does a beautiful job. Songs are melodious but it's the background score by Salil Chowdhury that stays with you.
Photography by Kay Gee is a totally class and with Hollywood special effects the entire climax sequence completely achieves the unmissed perfection of a thriller-disaster film, underground.
Despite its nominations in various categories such as Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Story in the 1980 Filmfare Awards, it never won any award.
Probably the film proved so dark for Yash Chopra that he decided to move on and stick to his bright and Sunny romantic films.
#Repost
Adapted from my own post of 2020.
