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Katha

  • 1983
  • 2h 21m
IMDb RATING
7.7/10
1.4K
YOUR RATING
Katha (1983)
ComedyDrama

Secretly in love with his neighbor, a mild-mannered clerk is heartbroken when his much bolder, more charming friend wins her heart instead.Secretly in love with his neighbor, a mild-mannered clerk is heartbroken when his much bolder, more charming friend wins her heart instead.Secretly in love with his neighbor, a mild-mannered clerk is heartbroken when his much bolder, more charming friend wins her heart instead.

  • Director
    • Sai Paranjpye
  • Writer
    • Sai Paranjpye
  • Stars
    • Naseeruddin Shah
    • Farooq Shaikh
    • Deepti Naval
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.7/10
    1.4K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Sai Paranjpye
    • Writer
      • Sai Paranjpye
    • Stars
      • Naseeruddin Shah
      • Farooq Shaikh
      • Deepti Naval
    • 18User reviews
    • 3Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 1 nomination total

    Photos1

    View Poster

    Top cast21

    Edit
    Naseeruddin Shah
    Naseeruddin Shah
    • Rajaram Purshotam Joshi
    Farooq Shaikh
    Farooq Shaikh
    • Bashudev (Bashu)
    Deepti Naval
    Deepti Naval
    • Sandhya Sabnis
    Hemu Adhikari
    Hemu Adhikari
    Jalal Agha
    Jalal Agha
    • Self
    Valerie Agha
    Valerie Agha
    • Self - Model
    Tinnu Anand
    Tinnu Anand
    Sudha Chopra
    Sudha Chopra
    • Club Singer
    Girish Deshmukh
    • Child in a chawl
    Suhasini Deshpande
    Suhasini Deshpande
    • Mrs. Sabnis
    Arun Joglekar
    • Sabnis Bhau
    Veeni Paranjape Joglekar
    • Jaijaiwanti 'Jojo' Dhindoria
    Bal Karve
    Bal Karve
    Yatin Karyekar
    Yatin Karyekar
    • Dancer
    Rita Rani Kaul
    Rita Rani Kaul
    • Rajaram's colleague
    Leela Mishra
    Leela Mishra
    • Dadi Amma
    Vasudev Pallande
    • Ajoba
    Shriram Ranade
    Shriram Ranade
    • Kaka
    • (as Sriram Ranade)
    • Director
      • Sai Paranjpye
    • Writer
      • Sai Paranjpye
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews18

    7.71.4K
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    Featured reviews

    10abhijitsavarkar-1

    A masterpiece

    Perfect casting, excellent performances, superb coverage of Mumbai's chawl life. Nasir, Farokh and Dipti, trio delivers the best performance that will be cherished by me forever.! The songs are subtle and gel well with the overall theme.

    Attention to detail and mature handling of chawl life could be matched to another work on the subject by yet another able personality Pu La Desphande. I have watched this movie umpteen times, and encourage all of my friends to not miss it.
    10warrierajit

    Old but very well done satire

    One of the best, but not very well known satires to come out in the 80s. The comedy is very subtle, repeated viewings sometimes brought out some hidden gems. Naseeruddin Shah as Rajaram is amazing, but it is Farooq Shaikh who steals the show as a twisted charmer. Usually he excels in films as a helpless onlooker type of character, but here he tries out a completely different type of role. Set in a chawl in Mumbai, the atmosphere is brought out perfectly, notice the constant background "chawl noise" throughout the film. Watch it !!
    8dwnpiyush-336-40603

    It is a light-hearted comedy with a simple narrative that shows the daily hustles and bustles of a Mumbai 'chawl'

    This 1983 Naseeruddin Shah- Deepti Naval- Farookh Sheikh starer is a take on the popular children's tale- 'The Hare and the Tortoise'. It is a light-hearted comedy with a simple narrative that shows the daily hustles and bustles of a Mumbai 'chawl', and how the life of the simple- helpful-naive-idealistic Rajaram (Naseeruddin Shah as the Tortoise) changes when the confident-clever-manipulative-complacent Bashu (Farookh Shiekh as the Hare) re-enters his life. The sequence of events brings out a stark contrast between the two characters and how they approach each and every situation and life in general. Very subtly the film also paints a comparative picture between the 'high society' and the 'chawl class people'. The unity that binds the 'chawl' people and the way they enjoy simple joys of life is shown in a very adept manner. Although this is an ensemble cast film, there are almost no sub-plots or distractions and the movie sticks to its core idea. The end is beautifully done and is really thought provoking. The old story has it that the tortoise always wins. But in today's times, as a character rightly sums up- 'yeh jeet bi koi jeet Hui?'

    A very little known classic by Sai Paranjpaye movie- this certainly deserves a watch. No big budget- no foreign locales- no big stars- no popular songs- no thrills and action- just a simple engaging story that will make you smile a lot. Farookh Shiekh plays the brat really well and Naseer excels as the simpleton. In a way this a role reversal of sorts as Farookh Sheikh was known to play simple sad characters and Naseer would be thought of as more suitable for what his anti-thesis in the movie is.

    For my views on more such lesser known movies from the world of Hindi cinema, do check moviesandnomore. blogspot. com
    7agrawalmannu

    Why no one makes movies like these anymore?

    Why do all directors have to make an "epic" these days? What happened to the good old 'story telling' without making too much about it? Why no one makes movies like these anymore?

    Simply told, it is a story of Rajaram, a modern day tortoise and his friend Basu, a modern day Hare and their race against each other. As the simile suggests, Rajaram is a simple and honest clerk who doesn't let go off any opportunity to help others, even absolute strangers whereas Basu is a smooth talker and a conman who doesn't have any qualms in stealing from his own friend. Even Sandhya, Rajaram's neighbor whom he fancies for a long time gets dazzled by Basu's glitter leaving Rajaram heartbroken. Just like the classic story, will Tortoise win against Hare in these modern times? This is a satire, a tragi-comedy and character analysis at its best.

    The movie was actually shot in a chawl and the real residents played their parts as the neighbors of Rajaram and Sandhya. Naseer as Rajaram, Farooq Sheikh as Basu and Deepti Naval as Sandhya fit their parts like hand in a glove. Normally you would expect Naseer to play Basu's role and Farooq to play Rajaram's role but the accomplished actors that they are they disappeared into their characters.

    No gimmicks, no technical wizardry, just plain old simple art of story telling.
    10ankurkrazyy

    One of the best films you will ever come across!

    Gone are those days when films were more about storytelling and that too simple stories that one can relate to.

    Well Katha is one such film that grabs your soul right from the beginning and neither tries to impress nor amuse you randomly. It just shows the events as they could appear.

    Performances are outstanding and the entire cast is too perfect with Naseer and Farooq being the perfect leads.

    Overall a great experience and really worth watching!

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    Related interests

    Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
    Comedy
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Sai Paranjpaye had a real hatred for director Basu Bhattacharya. This was due to Basu being on the the censor board and not passing Sparsh. So to get even with Basu,she named a fraud character named Basu in the film. Basu Bhattacharya argued that Katha was not passed by the censor board for 6 months. It was his vote that passed the film eventually. So he had no problem with Sai.
    • Connections
      Remade as Mukunthetta Sumitra Vilikkunnu (1988)

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    FAQ14

    • How long is Katha?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • 1983 (India)
    • Country of origin
      • India
    • Language
      • Hindi
    • Also known as
      • The Tale
    • Production company
      • Devki Chitra
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 2h 21m(141 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono

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