''Lal Patthar'' is a 1971

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

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

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

, produced by F. C. Mehra, and directed by Sushil Majumdar. The film is a remake of the

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

film, ''Lal Pathar'' which released in 1964. The film stars

Raaj Kumar Raaj Kumar (born Kulbhushan Pandit; 8 October 1926 3 July 1996) was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi films. He appeared in the Oscar-nominated 1957 film '' Mother India'' and starred in over 70 Hindi films in a career that spanned over fo ...

Hema Malini Hema Malini (born 16 October 1948) is an Indian actress, director, producer, and politician. She is primarily known for her work in Hindi films. Known for starring in both comic and dramatic roles, she is one of the most popular and successful ...

Raakhee Raakhee Gulzar (born Rakhee Majumdar on 15 August 1947 and known as Raakhee) is an Indian actress who has appeared in many Hindi films and Bengali films as well. In four decades of acting, she has won three Filmfare Awards and one National Fil ...

Vinod Mehra Vinod Mehra (13 February 1945 – 30 October 1990) was an Indian actor in Indian films. He started out as a child actor in the late 1950s before starting his film career as an adult in 1971. He acted in over 100 films from the 1970s through to h ...

, Ajit. The film is one of the rare films where lead actress Hema Malini played a negative role, being a jealous mistress of a

zamindar A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as ...

who tries to frame his young wife as an adultress. Her performance received accolades. Joshi, p. 292 The music of the film was composed by

Shankar–Jaikishan Shankar–Jaikishan (also known as S-J), were an Indian composer duo of the Hindi film industry, working together from 1949 to 1971. They are widely considered to be one of the greatest ever music composers of the Hindi film industry. After Jaiki ...

. The film was shot on some minor outdoor locations and at

Mehboob Studio Mehboob Studio is an Indian film studio and recording studio in Bandra (W), Mumbai, founded in 1954 by director and producer Mehboob Khan, who previously owned Mehboob Productions (founded 1942), and is most known for films such as '' Mother In ...

s, as well as at Natraj Studios Bombay.

Plot

Raja Gyan Shankar Rai (

), also known as Kumar Bahadur, is a rich man who turns to drink after pursuing a young woman named Saudamani (

). Calling her Madhuri, he invites the lower-class woman to his rich home but refuses to marry her. He later meets a much younger woman, Sumita (

) and organises a financial deal with her parents and marries her. The discovery that Sumita had a childhood sweetheart, Shekhar (

), leads Saudamini and Kumar to plot the downfall of the pair.

Cast

as Kumar Bahadur Gyan Shankar Rai *

as Saudamani / Madhuri *

as Sumita *

as Shekhar * Ajit as Raja Raghav Shankar Rai * D. K. Sapru as Raja Ram Shankar Rai * Asit Sen as Haricharan * Paintal as Chhotu * Dulari as Mrs. Madhu Chakraborty *

Leela Mishra Leela Mishra (1 January 1908 – 17 January 1988) was an Indian actress. She worked as a character actor in over 200 Hindi films for five decades, and is best remembered for playing stock characters such as aunts (''Chachi'' or ''Mausi''). She ...

as Gokul's Mother *

Padma Khanna Padma Khanna is an Indian actress, dancer and director. She appeared mainly in Hindi and Bhojpuri films in the 1970s and 1980s. She is most remembered for her role in the film '' Saudagar'' with Amitabh Bachchan and also as Queen Kaikeyi in Ram ...

as Courtesan

Critical reception

Lal Patthar was one of the films featured in Avijit Ghosh's book, ''40 Retakes: Bollywood Classics You May Have Missed.''

Soundtrack

The film's music was given by

and lyrics were by Hasrat Jaipuri,

Neeraj Neeraj or Niraj (Devanagari: नीरज ) is a Hindu masculine given name. The Sanskrit word ' is a compound of ' 'water' and ' 'born' and has the primary meaning of 'lotus'. The same Sanskrit word can also be a compound of ' 'without' (which ...

and Dev Kohli. The song "Geet Gata Hoon Main", written by Dev Kohli and 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 ...

stood at number 18 on the Annual 1972 listing of

Binaca Geetmala ''Binaca Geetmala'' was a weekly countdown show of top filmi songs from Hindi cinema. It was popular and had millions of listeners. ''Binaca Geetmala'' was broadcast on Radio Ceylon from 1952 to 1988 and then shifted to the Vividh Bharati Servic ...

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 th ...

received a

Filmfare Award The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...

nomination for Best Female Playback Singer in 1973 for her rendition of "Sooni Sooni Saans Ki Sitar Par". Another memorable number in the film is the

Ghazal The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...

, "Unke Khayal Aaye To", a composition based on Bageshwari / Gara ably sung by Mohammed Rafi. The song "Re Man Sur Mein Ga" by Manna Dey won the "Sur Singar" Award for the year 1971.

Notes

References

* *

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0237395, Lal Patthar
Lal Patthar
at Eagle Films
"Aa Aaja, Dikhaoon Tujhe Jannat" song and dance by Asha Bhosle
1971 films 1970s Hindi-language films Films scored by Shankar–Jaikishan Films set in country houses Hindi remakes of Bengali films Indian drama films