gavin_coolhgr 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.

mail_mujahid Vijay Pal Singh(Amitabh Bachchan) is a Merchant Navy officer,one who stands by his principles.A sea-storm one night has him and colleagues saving their own lives rather than those of the passengers.Later they come to know the ship survived the storm and all passengers were safe.Vijay was court-martialled and left to live a disgraced life.Even his parents left him.Vijay starts working as a coal-mine worker leaving his unpleasant past behind him.There he meets Ravi Malhotra(Shashi Kapoor),a young,dashing,romantic engineer. Both make good friends. There is Anita(Parveen Babi),a journalist who wants to write about the plight of the mine workers,who falls in love with Ravi.A very important character is that of Dr.Sudha(Rakhee)who awakens Vijay of his past and urges him to fight his inner self,to come to terms with reality.Vijay falls in love with Dr.Sudha but they cannot meet each other due to the difference in their social standing.Seth Dhanraj(Prem Chopra)wants to dig the mine deeper and deeper to make more profits,in the process risking the lives of numerous workers as water level is very close to the point of digging.Vijay,Ravi and Mangal rescue the workers from the mines in the end.Another significant character is that of Mangal(Shatrughan Sinha). His fight sequences with Vijay are beautifully shot and executed.Actually,at the time of shooting,AB and Shatrughan were not even on talking terms.Their real-life enmity passed on to the big screen,so to say.Prem Chopra does not convince as Seth Dhanraj.I think Amrish Puri would have done justice to the baddie's role.Parikshit Sahni as the Punjabi truck driver is fabulous.You can catch a glimpse of the two-film old and former Miss India Poonam Dhillon towards the end if you don't blink. The songs are quite good.One of my favourites is 'Ek Raasta Hai Zindagi Jo Tham Gaye To Kuch Nahin' by Kishore Kumar. The song by Mahendra Kapoor picturised on Parikshit Sahni in the rain is also good. All in all, a complete entertainer.I watched this movie in December 2003,24 years after its release.Pity,they don't make films like that anymore.

MuzikJunky An ambitious film that suffers, unfortunately, from what might be the worst cinematography in the history of film. Even an American special effects team could not save the film from somtimes sloppy editing and shoddy camera work. However, the film is worth seeing for the issues it brings up regarding worker/management relations. A good story and great acting soften the blow of the weak cinematography. Yash Chopra is a very good director, but this film makes him seem like a hack.

Kaaliyaa One of the better Yash Chopra films which alongside The Burning Train is among the rare disaster films in India. The film was made in the wake of the Chasnala mining disaster in Dhanbad in which hundreds of miner were killed in an underground flood. Set in a small mining town, the film does a quick description of various characters in the mix -- an idealistic engineer Ravi(Shashi Kapoor), a lonely medic Sudha (Rakhee), an exploitative mine owner Dhanraj (Prem Chopra) and several colorful miners including an escaped convict Mangal (Shatrughan). The film quickly centers on brooding court martialled officer Vijay (Amitabh) who works as a coal miner as an escape / self-flagellation for an act of cowardice several years ago. The engineer's warnings to cease underground operations is rejected by the greedy owners, leading to the protracted climax of the actual disaster. As the disaster unfolds, the three protagonists - Ravi, Mangal, and Vijay seek their own redemption in the rescue operations. An entertainingly hammy Shatrughan Sinha and Amitabh in his angry young man element made the film a cult classic despite being a failure at the box office.