Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.

Fluentiama Perfect cast and a good story

Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

morrison-dylan-fan Since "discovering" Bollywood cinema when I went to see the 2007 film Ta Ra Rum Pum with a friend,I have always heard about an actor called Amitabh Bachchan being one of the all time legendary actors of the industry.Having seen a few of Bachchan's most well known films (Don,Agneepath) over the last few years,I was happy to discover that the IMDb's Indian Cinema board,had chosen a Bachchan movie that I have never heard of before,which would also give me a chance to see one of his highly-praised 4 film collaboration with director Yash Chopra.The plot:Being the sole owner of a number of coal mine's,Seth Dhanraj is determined to get every single penny possible from the "black stone gold" contained within the mine.Keeping his eyes on the balance sheet,Dhanraj attempts to keep as much of the income as possible,by treating his hard working miners like slaves,who are given the cheapest equipment around and the lest amount of medical care possible.Learning that miner Vijay Pal Singh has become a hero for rescue a number of trapped miner's from one of his "smaller" mines,Dhanraj decides to send Vijay to his top priority project,so that he can have all the heroism in him completely beaten out.Ignoring a damming investigating journalist report,and multiple requests to stop the work taking place at the main mine,from chief engineer Ravi Malhotra,due to the miners getting nearer to a section filled with gallons of water that would wipe all of them out.Seth Dhanraj sticks to only caring about his balance sheet,and orders the miners to keep digging until not a single piece of coal is left in the mine.View on the film:Bassing the awful events that the miner's suffer in the movie on the tragic 1976 Chasnala Mining Disaster,screenwriter's Javed Akhtar and Salim Khan show the treatment and the problems that the miner's face in a way which is still sadly relevant today.From the moment that owner Seth Dhanraj (played by a great,nasty Prem Chopra) appears on screen,Akhtar and Khan show him to be someone whose sole purpose in life is to line his own pockets,despite seeing the rusty equipment and the poor health of his workers right before his eyes.Diapointingly,about an hour into the film,the writers switch their focus from the struggle of the miner's,to focusing on the blossoming romances of its main character's.Despite the commendable cast (led by a strong performance by Bachchan,who gives Vijay a brash confidence in front of his fellow workers,and a consuming side of regret,which he tries to keep hidden) best attempts,the middle section of the film feels rather plodding and mostly unconnected to the more realistic plot featured in the first half.Whilst he leaves the "gritty" approach behind for the final,director Yash Chopra does thankfully,for the films last 30 minutes, unleash an explosive,Disaster movie final.As Chopra uses fast moving whip-pans on the "surface" to increase the edge of the seat tension,Chopra uses tight,nail biting shots in the mines,to create a thrilling claustrophobic feel as the gallons of water start flowing in.

silvan-desouza Yash Chopra and Salim Javed gave great films in 1970s starting from DEEWAAR(1975), KABHIE KABHIE(1976), TRISHUL(1978) and KPKaala Patthar depicts a story about the people working in coal mines, the film starts off straight away in the mines. We are first introduced to Vijay(played by Bachchan, who else) who is a grim guy but very daredevilry, He saves the life of Satyen Kapuu and as all the people cheer for him, his face goes sad and he remembers his past wherein people want to stone him and call him a coward. This scene itself speaks brilliance of Yash Chopra, Big B and SJ. The film then introduces Shashi Kapoor a funloving guy who works in the mine for a high post of Engineer, His entry is with a Kishore classic song EK RAASTA HAI ZINDAGI on a bike. Then we are introduced to Shatrughan Sinha a thief/goon who runs from the jail and enters the mine. There are several interesting characters like Raakhee who comes as a women doctor, Sanjeev Kumar in a 1 scene role as the depressed doctor who resigns, Mcmohan who is fond of playing cards and cheats, Parikshit Sahini as the singing Jatt. Neetu Singh as Channo who sells women ornaments and many more. Parveen Babi the fierce journalist The villain played by Prem Chopra who doesn't care about the workers but only about profits. Amitabh's AYM persona too is used to the fullest and his scenes make a great impact The story moves gradually but picks up at a crescendo towards the climax. There are several subplots too and some few songs thrown in and some masala too The clash between Big B and Shatru(real life rivals of 70s) is superb especially their fight scene. The second half gets more absorbing, AB confronting Prem Chopra and his flashback is superb, while the entire climax is brilliantly filmed and is superb, The climax was actually based on a real coal mine tragedy Though it's depicted in a filmy manner with superificial sacrifices yet it's superb Direction by Yash Chopra is superb, after this film sadly he made mostly romantic films like SILSILA(1981) and his films never where like this anymore Writing by SJ is superb yet again Music is good, The best song is Ek Raasta, Dhoom Mache Dhoom and all songs, Again no song on Big B just one background love song sung by Parikshit Sahini showing Big B and Raakhee under an umbrella. Dialogues are awesome, esp those mouthed by Big B and Shatru Amitabh's dialogue PAIN IS MY DESTINY is superb while Shatru's teesre baadhshah hum hai aur The Onga Ponga waala dialogueAmitabh Bachchan is matchless as the angry, depressed Vijay yet again Yash chopra + SJ and Big B together work beautifully and his role is yet another memorable one His outbursts, his emotions are all simply outstanding. Shatrughan Sinha does well in his role in his own style. Shashi Kapoor is superb in his role though he does play second fiddle Sanjeev Kumar is wasted yet he does the most of it in just 1 scene Raakhee is superb, She starred in Yash Chopra's film before in Kabhie Kabhie and TRISHUL and here too does a great job Parveen Babi and Neetu Singh are superb in their roles, though PB does get sidelined towards the end Amongst rest Parikshit Sahini is superb, Sharat Saxena is superb, Prem Chopra is good as the villain, Macmohan is superb, Iftekar, Suresh Oberoi have guest roles Satyen Kapoo and rest lend good support

Selma Quazi Great movie! Wonderful performances from all the characters. It amazingly describes a coal miner's life. I do feel Yash Chopra could've made the movie a little more entertaining. Chopra's other movies are fantastic. Amitabh Bachchan has the best performance, but I feel that this movie belongs to Shatrughan Sinha. He did a marvelous job. The most sad part was when Shatrughan dies at the end.During these times Shatrughan had a rivalry with Amitabh which is why I think he was able to do such a great job in the movie. Shashi Kapoor and Parveen Babi were romantic as always.Wonderful songs with great lyrics. Everything else is just OK

abhilives Amazing movie, and quite surprising that this is not one of the most highly regarded movies of its time.The movie tells the story of a coal mine run by a greedy capitalist and the sufferings of the underpaid workers and the constant dangers they face in the depths of a coalmine. The script is extraordinarily strong, the romantic bits are kept at a minimum, and Amitabh Bachchan(AB)'s role of Vijay Pal Singh as the angry self-loathing hero fits like a T.This is without doubt one of AB's best performances and his dialogues really fire up the movie. Salim-Javed have to be credited for the dialogues, after all they have provided ammo for AB all along with their scripts. Shashi Kapoor(SK) and Shatrughan Sinha(SS) fit into their roles perfectly, and overall the movie is not dominated by a single character.This is all about the coal mine, and the risks and tragedies that the workers face every day. By the end of the movie, you almost feel like being one among the workers and demanding justice, alongside Vijay.The screenplay and direction is fantastic. The opening scene with the titles is absolutely brilliant. The ghetto is very well done. The incidents between AB and SS are well portrayed, and very stylish. Characterization is top class. The background score is brilliant.The bad? The music - i.e. the songs really break up the movie. None of the songs really make the grade and they only act as roadblocks to a free flowing movie. Most of the songs are pointless and not required.The script really fits the era, the unrest, the anguish, really suits the time the movie was made. Then you put AB in an angry young man - role and all you need to do is wait for the money to roll in. This movie was MADE for the masses.Amazingly that did not happen for this movie, it never reached the heights that it could have. We will never know why!! Overall... Brilliant. Don't miss it, est if you are an AB fan or a 70s movie buff.