Three men become unlikely heroes in the midst of a disaster in this grand-scale drama from India. Vijay (Amitabh Bachchan) is a former Naval officer who, after a deadly episode at sea, was forced to leave the military in disgrace; humiliated and suicidal, Vijay has taken a job in a coal mine, relishing the dangerous work with an attitude that borders on the suicidal. Mangal (Shatrughan Sinha) is a convicted felon who escaped from custody and found work in the mine along side Vijay. And Ravi (Shashi Kapoor) is an engineer who is attempting to improve the deplorable conditions of the coal mines, but runs into severe interference from the mercenary owners of the facility. When disaster strikes at the mine, trapping hundreds of men below the surface, Ravi must devote all his strength, imagination, and courage to find a way to bring the men back to safety, while Vijay and Mangal struggle to help rescue their co-workers and find redemption under trying and perilous circumstances. Kaala Patthar was inspired by a real-life mining catastrophe, and director Yash Chopra brought in top-rank special-effects men from the United States to give the mine sequences the necessary realism. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Kaala Patthar (English: Black Stone) is a 1979 Indian Bollywood action/drama film. It was produced and directed by Yash Chopra. The story was written by Salim-Javed. This film is the fourth collaboration between Amitabh Bachchan and director Yash Chopra after the hugely successful Deewaar (1975), Kabhie Kabhie (1976) and Trishul (1978). However, this film did average business at the box office, but did good business in the big cities.[1] Despite its many Filmfare nominations, it failed to win any awards.[2]
Vijay Pal Singh (Amitabh Bachchan) is a disgraced Merchant Navy captain who is branded a coward, humiliated by society and disowned by his parents for abandoning ship risking the lives of over 300 passengers (perhaps inspired by Joseph Conrad's Lord Jim). Feeling guilty over his cowardice and with low self-esteem, he starts working as a coal miner to forget his past. He meets and becomes friends with Ravi (Shashi Kapoor), an engineer incharge of the mine. He also makes an enemy in another co-worker named Mangal (Shatrughan Sinha) who is an escaped criminal working in the mine to avoid the police. Vijay's past comes to haunt him as he sees Mangal causing trouble for the coal miners and angry over his cowardice over what happened when he was in the navy, Vijay tries to defend the miners against Mangal. Ravi eventually gets Vijay and Mangal to be friends after circumstances surrounding the mine force Mangal to change himself. The one person who supports Vijay him in his life is Dr Sudha Sen (Raakhee Gulzar) who tries to make Vijay face up to his past and move on. Ravi and Mangal also get involved in their own romances with Anita (Parveen Babi) and Channo (Neetu Singh) respectively.
When Seth Dhanraj (Prem Chopra) makes lives difficult for the coal miners by giving them poor equipment, less than sufficient medical supplies and lack of facilities, Vijay, Ravi and Mangal forcefully come together to fight for justice against Dhanraj when water floods the mines endangering the lives of hundreds of workers. The disaster actually took place at a place called Chasnala in erswhile Bihar(now Jharkand).
Dialogues
"Teesre Baadshah hum hain" (I am the third King) legendary dialogue spoken in style by Shatru bhaiya, after a card game, pure machismo. "ek angoothi main bhi le loonga" "My pain is my destiny and I can't avoid it."
