''Kati Patang'' () is a 1971 Indian

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

-language

musical drama film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

produced and directed by

Shakti Samanta Shakti Samanta (13 January 1926 – 9 April 2009) was an Indian film director and producer, who founded Shakti Films in 1957, which is most known for films such as ''Anand Ashram'' (1977), Anusandhan /'' Barsaat Ki Ek Raat'' (1981), ''anay abhi ...

. It was a box office success. The film stars

Asha Parekh Asha Parekh (born 2 October 1942) is a retired Indian actress, film director, and producer who appeared in many commercially successful films throughout her career. She was the highest paid actress of her time and was one of the most successful ...

as a woman pretending to be a widow, and her ensuing trials and tribulations opposite her charming neighbour, played by

Rajesh Khanna Rajesh Khanna () (; born Jatin Khanna; 29 December 1942 – 18 July 2012) was an Indian actor, film producer and politician who worked in Hindi films. He is called as the "First Superstar of Hindi cinema", he consecutively starred in a record ...

. Parekh's performance as Madhavi was critically acclaimed and earned her a

Filmfare Award for Best Actress The Filmfare Award for Best Actress is given by ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Bollywood, Hindi films, to recognise the female actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role. The award was first gi ...

. The movie also stars

Nazir Hussain Nazir Hussain (15 May 1922 – 16 October 1987) was an Indian actor, director and screenwriter. He was famous as a character actor in Hindi cinema and acted in almost 500 films. Dev Anand starred in a large proportion of the films he acted in ...

, Bindu,

Prem Chopra Prem Chopra (born 23 September 1935) is an Indian actor in Hindi and Punjabi films. He has acted in 380 films over a span of over 60 years. He has a soft-spoken diction despite being a villain in most films. His 19 films, with him as antagonist ...

Daisy Irani Daisy Irani is an Indian television actress, director and producer from Singapore. Biography She was born to Gujarati film actress Padmarani and stage director Namdar Irani in Bombay, India. She is best known for appearing in the role of Daisy ...

and

Sulochana Latkar Sulochana Latkar (born 30 July 1928) known by her screen name Sulochana, is a well-known actress of Marathi and Hindi cinema and has acted in 50 films in Marathi and around 250 films in Hindi. She is most known for her performances in Marathi ...

. The film was the second in a string of nine movies on which Samanta and Khanna collaborated. The music was composed by

R.D. Burman Rahul Dev Burman (27 June 1939 – 4 January 1994) was an Indian music director who is considered one of the most influential composers of India. From the 1960s to the 1990s, Burman composed musical scores for 331 films. Burman did major work ...

and was a huge hit. "Ye Shaam Mastani" and "Pyar Deewana Hota Hai", sung by

Kishore Kumar Kishore Kumar (born as Abhas Kumar Ganguly (); 4 August 1929 – 13 October 1987) was an Indian playback singer and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest, most influential and dynamic singers in the history of Indian music. He ...

were particularly famous. The performances from Parekh and Khanna were praised by the audience and critics alike. The film was among the 17 consecutive hits of Khanna between 1969 and 1971 and was the second of four films in which he was paired with Parekh. The film was later remade in Tamil as ''Nenjil Oru Mul'' (1981) and in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

as ''Punnami Chandrudu'' (1987). It is based on

Cornell Woolrich Cornell George Hopley Woolrich ( ; December 4, 1903 – September 25, 1968) was an American novelist and short story writer. He sometimes used the pseudonyms William Irish and George Hopley. His biographer, Francis Nevins Jr., rated Woolrich th ...

's 1948 novel ''

I Married a Dead Man ''I Married a Dead Man'' is a 1948 novel by American crime writer Cornell Woolrich under the pseudonym William Irish. Plot Eight months pregnant and alone, Helen Georgesson's only hope is the five dollar bill and the train ticket back to her ...

'' which had earlier been adapted as the 1950 film '' No Man of Her Own''.

Plot

Madhavi "Madhu" is an orphan living with her maternal uncle, who arranges her marriage with someone she does not know. Blinded in love with Kailash, she runs away on the day of the marriage. She discovers Kailash with another woman, Shabnam. Heartbroken and dejected, she returns to her uncle, who had committed suicide from the humiliation. Realising that she has no one in life, Madhavi decides to leave town and head somewhere. She meets her childhood friend Poonam, who tells her about her husband's untimely demise in an accident and that she is on her way, along with her baby boy Munna, to stay with her in-laws whom she has never met before. Poonam manages to compel Madhu to accompany her as her plight is pitiful. ''En route'', Poonam and Madhu catch up until the train derails and end up in a government hospital. Poonam has lost her limbs. She knows that her end is near, so she makes Madhu promise that she will assume Poonam's identity, bring Munna up and continue life in Poonam's in-law's house. Madhu has no choice but to give in to a dying mother's wish. In the downpour on the way, the cabbie attempts to rob her but Kamal, a forest ranger, rescues her and gives her shelter until the sky is clear the next day. She learns that Kamal is the very man with whom her marriage was arranged. Madhu leaves Kamal's home in shame and reaches Poonam's in-laws. Her father-in-law, Dinanath and mother-in-law accept her and let her stay there. Kamal keeps visiting the house as he was the son of Dinanath's best friend. Soon, he realises that he is in love with "Poonam". Madhu's ill fate brings Kailash to Dinanath's house. He is after their money and is very close to revealing Madhu's identity. To be successful, he impresses all the members of the house, but Poonam takes a resentment to him. Dinanath soon realises Poonam's true identity and asks for the truth. When he realises what the matter really is, he accepts Madhavi and makes her the guardian of the Dinanath property which will be inherited by Munna. That night, Dinanath is poisoned by Kailash. Mrs. Dinanath accuses Poonam for what has happened and she is imprisoned. Now Shabnam enters the life of the Dinanaths claiming that she is the real Poonam. Mrs. Dinanath, in rage, sends her away and is ready for no story. Kamal takes a dislike towards Madhu, learning the truth. However, he eventually realises the truth and gets Shabnam and Kailash arrested for their evil intentions and Madhavi is freed. When Kamal searches for Madhu, he realises that she has left without any notice, but a letter for Kamal, stating that she is going out of his life and so, he should not try to find her out. Kamal starts searching for her and finds her trying to jump from a cliff and stops her by singing a song. They hug.

Cast

as Madhavi "Madhu" / Fake Poonam *

as Kamal Sinha *

as Kailash * Bindu as Shabnam "Shaboo" *

as Diwan Dinanath *

Madan Puri Madan Puri (30 September 1915 – 13 January 1985) was an Indian actor of Hindi and Punjabi films. His brothers were actors Chaman Puri and Amrish Puri. As a character actor mainly in negative roles (villain), he acted in about 430 films in a ca ...

as Kamal's Father *

Kumari Naaz Salma Baig (20 August 1944 - 19 October 1995) popularly known as Kumari Naaz or Baby Naaz was an Indian actress in Hindi language films. Career She started her career as a child actor in films. Her best remembered role as a child artiste was i ...

as Real Poonam (uncredited) *

as Mrs. Dinanath *

Chandrashekhar Chandrasekhar, Chandrashekhar or Chandra Shekhar is an Indian name and may refer to a number of individuals. The name comes from the name of an incarnation of the Hindu god Shiva. In this form he married the goddess Parvati. Etymologically, the nam ...

as Police Inspector Tiwari *

Satyen Kappu Satyendra Kappu (born Satyendra Sharma; also credited as Satyen Kappu; 7 February 1931 – 27 October 2007), was an Indian character actor in Bollywood films. He has acted in 390 films. His most remembered role is Ramlal in the movie ''Sholay'' ...

as Dr. Kashinath *

as Ramaya *

Mehmood Jr. Naeem Sayyed (born 15 November 1956) popularly known as Mehmood Junior is an Indian actor, singer and Marathi film director. The name Junior Mehmood was given to him by Mehmood Ali. Career Mehmood Junior has acted in 265 movies in 7 different ...

as Sheetu, Ramaya's brother

Production

''Kati Patang'' was adapted from the novel of the same name by

Gulshan Nanda Gulshan Nanda (1929 – 16 November 1985) was an Indian novelist and screenwriter. Many of his novels were adapted into Hindi films in the 1960s and 1970s, including more than a dozen big hits of the period — ''Kaajal'' (1965), ''Kati Patang'' ( ...

. The film's story, also written by Nanda, was also based on the novel ''I Married a Dead Man'', by

and had been previously made into a picture titled '' No Man of Her Own'' (1950) starring

Barbara Stanwyck Barbara Stanwyck (; born Ruby Catherine Stevens; July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990) was an American actress, model and dancer. A stage, film, and television star, during her 60-year professional career she was known for her strong, realistic sc ...

. The novel was also later filmed in Japanese as ''Shisha to no Kekkon'' (1960), in Brazilian as the TV miniseries ''A Intrusa'' (1962), in French as ''J'ai épousé une ombre (I Married a Shadow)'' (1983) and by Hollywood as ''

Mrs. Winterbourne ''Mrs. Winterbourne'' is a 1996 American romantic comedy-drama (film and television), drama film starring Shirley MacLaine, Ricki Lake, and Brendan Fraser. It is loosely based on Cornell Woolrich's novel ''I Married a Dead Man'', which had already ...

'' (1996). Shakti Samanta has stated that he cast Asha Parekh, because he was "confident" that he could extract a "convincing performance from her." He had cast her in his earlier film, ''

Pagla Kahin Ka ''Pagla Kahin Ka'' (''Such a Fool'') is a 1970 Indian Hindi-language romance film directed by Shakti Samanta. It stars Shammi Kapoor, Asha Parekh, Helen and Prem Chopra, all of whom had earlier starred in the huge hit Teesri Manzil (1966). The f ...

''.

Music

The music was composed by

Rahul Dev Burman Rahul Dev Burman (27 June 1939 – 4 January 1994) was an Indian music director who is considered one of the most influential composers of India. From the 1960s to the 1990s, Burman composed musical scores for 331 films. Burman did major work w ...

and the lyrics were penned by

Anand Bakshi Anand Bakshi (21 July 1930 – 30 March 2002) was an Indian poet and lyricist. He was nominated for the Filmfare award for Best lyricist a total of 40 times, resulting in 4 wins. Early life Anand Bakshi (Bakshi Anand Prakash Vaid) was born ...

. The songs sung by Kishore Kumar for Rajesh Khanna were the reason of film success, while

Mukesh Mukesh is an epithet for the Hindu god Shiva, and literally means "conqueror of the Muka demon". It also means god of 3 worlds, heaven, hell & earth, which in turn represents Hindu god Shiva. It is commonly used as a male given name in India. Peopl ...

got to sing a number for the latter – a rare combination.

Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; Mangeshkar; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur and occasional actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian Cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in the ...

performed "Mera Naam Hai Shabnam" in the talk-sung style of

Rex Harrison Sir Reginald Carey "Rex" Harrison (5 March 1908 – 2 June 1990) was an English actor. Harrison began his career on the stage in 1924. He made his West End debut in 1936 appearing in the Terence Rattigan play ''French Without Tears'', in what ...

in ''

My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons f ...

'' (and thus often incorrectly dubbed "the first Hindi rap number").

Soundtrack

Box office

The film was successful at the box office, becoming the sixth highest-grossing Bollywood film of 1971. According to ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

'', "On screen, Rajesh Khanna never appeared to be lip-syncing. So convincing were his expressions. His presence, backed by the music, remained the main source of strength for a movie's success".

Awards and nominations

;

19th Filmfare Awards The 19th Filmfare Awards were held in 1972, honoring the best in Hindi films in the year 1971. ''Anand (1971 film), Anand'' and ''Mera Naam Joker'' led the ceremony with 7 nominations, followed by ''Kati Patang'' with 6 nominations. ''Anand' ...

: Won *

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress awar ...

–

Nominated *

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...

–

* Best Actor –

* Best Lyricist –

– "Na Koi Umang Hai" * Best Male Playback Singer –

– "Yeh Jo Mohabbat Hai"1st Filmfare Awards 1953
/ref> * Best Story –

References

*http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/blast-from-the-past-kati-patang-1971/article6506448.ece

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0065936, Kati Patang 1971 films 1970s Hindi-language films Indian family films Indian drama films Films scored by R. D. Burman Films directed by Shakti Samanta Films based on American novels Films about widowhood in India Hindi films remade in other languages Films shot in Uttarakhand 1971 drama films Hindi-language drama films