'''Kala Patthar'''


1979 176’ col Hindi d/p Yash Chopra pc Yashraj Films s Salim- Javed lyr Sahir Ludhianvi c Kay Gee m Rajesh Roshan, Salil Choudhury lp Shashi Kapoor, Raakhee Gulzar, Amitabh Bachchan, Shatrughan Sinha, Neetu Singh, Parveen Babi, Prem Chopra, Parikshit Sahni, Romesh Sharma, Poonam Dhillon, Manmohan Krishna, Iftikhar, Madan Puri


A coal-mining tale about three main characters who try to avert a mining disaster in a colliery owned by Seth Dhanraj (Chopra). Vijay (Bachchan) is a court-martialled merchant navy officer who abandoned his ship during a storm and is riddled with guilt. He works as a miner to forget his past. Mangal (S. Sinha) is a dacoit hiding from the police among the miners. Ravi Malhotra (S. Kapoor) is an engineer working for Seth Dhanraj. He discovers his greedy employer’s scheme that will endanger the lives of hundreds of miners in a coal-rich shaft. The men meet women who transform their lives. Vijay falls in love with Sudha (Raakhee), a doctor. Mangal flirts with a bangle seller (Singh) and then rescues her from rapists. Ravi meets his old flame Anita (Parveen Babi) who is now a journalist and has come to do a story about the mines. The wall of the mine shaft collapses and there is a deluge, leading to a long disaster-movie sequence as Mangal atones by sacrificing his life for his fellow miners. Vijay and Ravi survive after rescuing many workers. The film refers to several mining disasters in Dhanbad and Chasnala where organised criminal gangs, often masquerading as trade unions, had become major political issues in the pre-Emergency period. Despite these references, most of the script is largely subordinated to the necessity of providing each of the several stars with equal footage and a hand in the action.

[[Film]]