Looking back at ‘Kala Patthar’, Amitabh Bachchan recalls association with coal mines

By IANS

MUMBAI: Remembering Yash Chopra’s 1979 film ‘Kala Patthar’, Amitabh Bachchan shared a poster of the iconic film on Instagram and revealed that he had worked in the coal department of a company based out of Kolkata.

That, he said, was his first job before he got his break in films. In the caption to the picture, the Big B exclaimed: “42 years of KALA PATTHAR .. !!! phew !!!”

The Big B’s famous line in the film – “My pain is my destiny and I can’t avoid it” – is counted among Hindi cinema’s unforgettables. ‘Kala Patthar’ was believed to be inspired by the coal mine disaster that claimed 375 lives at Chasnala near Dhanbad (Jharkhand’s coal district) on December 27, 1975.

Apart from the Big B, the film’s star cast included Shashi Kapoor, Shatrughan Sinha, Rakhee, Parveen Babi and Neetu Singh.

Writing on Instagram, the Big B said: “Been a while … and so many incidents in the film from my personal experiences when I worked in the Coal Dept of my Calcutta Company, my first job before joining the movies … actually working in the coal mines in Dhanbad and Asansol.”

The film narrates the tale of Vijay Singh, a disgraced former navy officer who had been branded a coward and had chosen to work at a coal mine out of guilt. When the mine gets flooded, Vijay is among the miners who get trapped.

The iconic actor awaits the release of his forthcoming film ‘Chehre’, a thriller, also starring Krystle D’Souza, Rhea Chakraborty, Siddhanth Kapoor, Annu Kapoor, Dhritiman Chatterjee and Raghubir Yadav.

The film, which is slated for an August 27 theatrical release, has the Big B playing a lawyer and Emraan, a business tycoon.