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Katha (1983 film)

Katha
Katha, 1983 Hindi film.jpg
Directed by Sai Paranjpye
Produced by Suresh Jindal
Starring Naseeruddin Shah
Farooq Shaikh
Deepti Naval
Music by Raj Kamal
Release date
  • 22-12-1982 (22-12-1982)
Running time
141 min
Country India
Language Hindi

Katha (English: Story) (Hindi: कथा ) is a 1983 Hindi film by Sai Paranjpye featuring Naseeruddin Shah, Farooq Shaikh and Deepti Naval in the main roles. The film is about the daily lives of people living in a Mumbai chawl.

It was shot on location at Salunke Chawl near Churchgate. Jalal Agha and Sarika made guest appearances in the movie. Apparently, one of the principal characters, played by Faroukh Sheikh, was named Basu Bhatt after filmmaker Basu Bhattacharya.

The film is loosely based on the classical Indian folktale of the hare and the tortoise, providing a modern interpretation of the same. Even though the good (tortoise) may win in the end, is it worth the wait? It is based on S.G.Sathye's Marathi play 'Sasa aani Kasav' (Hare and Tortoise).

The tortoise — Rajaram P. Joshi (Naseeruddin Shah) — is a middle-class clerk living in a chawl (middle-class apartment complex) in Bombay. He is secretly in love with his neighbor, Sandhya Sabnis (Deepti Naval) but is unable to disclose his love for her, mainly due to his timidity. Rajaram is a very goodnatured and hardworking man. Most of his neighbors and colleagues take advantage of his goodness.

One day Rajaram's fast-talking friend Bashudev (Farooq Shaikh) — the hare — comes for a visit and makes himself at home. Bashudev generally impresses people by his false success stories and his over-the-top attitude.

Bashudev starts wooing Sandhya, and she falls in love with him. He then joins Rajaram's company, Footprint Shoes, by impressing the owner, Mr. Dhindhoria, with false stories about his work experience and love of golf. He also starts flirting with Dhindhoria's beautiful wife Anuradha (Mallika Sarabhai) and daughter Jojo (Winnie Paranjape) at the same time.

In the chawl, the Sabnis family decides to get Sandhya married to Bashudev, much to the misery of Rajaram. But on the day of the engagement, Bashudev disappears after being caught red-handed, romancing Anuradha, by Jojo. The engagement is called off. Rajaram then offers to marry the devastated Sandhya, but she tells him that she has been very intimate with Bashudev and is perhaps pregnant. Rajaram shows his greatness by accepting her in spite of all this and expressing his long hidden love towards her.


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