‘Kati Patang’ is the title of a famous film of Rajesh Khanna which was released in the year 1970. The film was produced and directed by Shakti Samanta. It became a box office success. It stars Asha Parekh as a woman pretending to be a widow, and her ensuing trials and tribulations. The film is based on a 1948 published story by Cornell Woolrich titled ‘I Married a Dead Man’ that had been filmed before as ‘No Man of Her Own’ (1950) starring Barbara Stanwyck.
The movie ‘Kati Patang’ also stars Nasir Hussain, Bindu and Prem Chopra. The film was the second in a string of nine movies in which Samanta and Khanna collaborated.
The story of the movie goes like this:
Madhvi (Asha Parekh) is an orphan living with her maternal uncle, who arranges her marriage with someone she does not know, so she runs away to her lover, Kailash (Prem Chopra), only to find him in the arms of another woman, Shabnam (Bindu). She returns to her maternal uncle, only to find him dead. She then runs away from there, and meets with a friend Poonam, who is a widow and her child at a railway station. The three travel together by train to meet Poonam's in-laws, who have never seen her. Unfortunately, the train meets with an accident, killing the widow, who leaves the child in Madhvi's care. Madhvi assumes the identity of the dead woman, Poonam, and travels along with the child to her in-laws. She is welcomed with open arms. She finds out that her uncle had arranged her marriage with Kamal Sinha (Rajesh Khanna). Kamal is angry and bitter at the manner his to-be wife treated him, even without knowing him. Kamal is attracted to Poonam, but she tries to distance herself, fearing that he will find out the truth about her. Then Shabnam and Kailash re-enter her life, making her look like an imposter, turning her in-laws against her, and turning Kamal’s love into resentment.
I first came across the words ‘Kati Patang’ on a record cover in my grandfather’s common room when I was still a small boy growing up. On the record cover was also the picture of Rajesh Khana and Asha Parekh. I knew that these two words were Hindi words but for a long time, I really wondered what these words really mean. During my high school years, I even asked my Hindi teacher the meaning of the words ‘Kati Patang’. But he was unable to give me a satisfactory response.
It was while I was studying in Delhi that I came to know the actual meaning of these words through a lady friend of mine who hailed from Madhya Pradesh. In Hindi, kati means ‘cut’ and patang means ‘kite’. Therefore, ‘kati patang’ would mean a kite flying aimlessly in the air without any string or thread attached to it. After I came to know the meaning of these words, I realized how well it fitted the role of Madhvi (played by Asha Parekh) in the film.
As mentioned above, I had come across the words ‘Kati Patang’ on a record cover in my grandfather’s common room while I was still a young boy. However, I could not witness the movie for quite a long period of time. I think it was only sometime around the year 1999 that I was actually able to watch the movie when it was telecast on television. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the movie and it is one of those old Hindi movies which I continue to remember.
As the story of the film mentioned above clearly depicts, the story of the film revolves round the woman Madhvi played by Asha Parekh. In other words, it can be said that ‘Kati Patang’ is a woman centred movie and there is certainly no doubt that Madhvi (Asha Parekh) is the real heroin of the story.
However, ‘Kati Patang’ is known more as a film of Rajesh Khana. I believe this is because of the two songs ‘Pyar Deewana Hota Hain’ and ‘Yeh Shaam Mastani’ sung by Rajesh Khana in the film. These two songs went on to become two of the most memorable and unforgettable love songs ever sung on the screen of Indian cinema. In fact, it was these two songs picturised on Rajesh Khana in the film that made Rajesh Khana overshadow the role played by Asha Parekh in the film and in this way, Kati Patang came to be known not as a film of Asha Parekh but as a film of Rajesh Khana.
I had always thought that Rajesh Khana would be older than Amitabh Bhachan. But while reading about him after his death on the 18th of July 2012, I came to learn that he was actually younger to Amitabh Bhachan by about two and half months. (Mr. Bhachan was born on 11th October 1942 while Rajesh Khana was born on 29th December the same year).
Therefore, this means that even though he was younger than Amitabh Bhachan, he became a star earlier than Amitabh Bhachan because his films became superhits before Amitabh Bhachan could make it big in the industry.
It is said that during the period 1969-1972, Rajesh Khana delivered 15 consecutive solo superhits – a record unbeaten to this day even by the likes of Amitabh Bhachan. This also means that Rajesh Khana began to deliver superhit movies by the time he was around 27 years old. On the contrary, the first superhit movie of Amitabh Bhachan came with ‘Zanjeer’ in 1973 when Amitabh Bhachan was about 31 years old. It may also be mentioned that even though Amitabh Bhachan made his debut with ‘Saath Hindustani’ in 1969, his movies did not do well in the initial years and he had to struggle for some few years as an actor. And during the time when Amitabh Bhachan was a struggler in the industry, Rajesh was making it big with one hit after the other. This is why Rajesh Khana is called the first superstar of Indian cinema.
The fan following that Rajesh Khana commanded and the frenzy that he created during his prime years is now legendary. It is said that many young women were so fond of Rajesh Khana that they even married his photographs. Some women even wrote love letters to him written in blood. It is also said that some women committed suicide when he married Dimple Kapadia at the height of his fame and popularity. His close friend Jeetendra said that Rajesh Khana was every competitor’s nightmare and his competitors used to wonder how anybody could rise to such a level of popularity as was commanded by Rajesh Khana during his prime years.
For a certain scene of the film ‘Amar Prem’ (1972), shooting had to be done in the Howrah bridge in Calcutta. However, the film crew decided that this scene had to be shot in secrecy without letting the public coming to know about it. The film crew decided so because if the people of Calcutta came to know that Rajesh Khana would be shooting in the Howrah bridge, many people would come and throng the bridge. And if this happens, the film crew was afraid that the famous bridge might even collapse unable to bear the weight of the people. Such was the popularity and fame of Rajesh Khana during those years.
It is said that there used to be a big cinema hall called the Ruby cinema hall here in Kohima town. This hall had a sitting capacity for about 400 people. Some senior citizens of Koima have told me that in the 1970s many movies of Rajesh Khana were also screened here in this Ruby cinema hall situated in the heart of Kohima town where many people thronged to view these movies. Therefore, Rajesh Khana was certainly no stranger even to the people of Kohima even as early as the early 1970s. Some of his movies which captivated the viewers here in Kohima were ‘Aradhana’, ‘Kati Patang’ and ‘Hathi Mere Saathi’.
Then what led to the fall of this great artist? Rajesh Khana’s popularity probably waned by the mid 1970s. I think so because I am unaware of any great film of Rajesh Khana made and released during this time. Another reason could be that the mid 1970s also witnessed the rise of Amitabh Bhachan who would go on to become the biggest phenomenon of Indian cinema.
Now, one may be wondering why I am writing about Rajesh Khana. I am not a fan of Rajesh Khana. But I don’t dislike him either. For me, he is just another Indian actor. But there is a reason why I remember Rajesh Khana and write about him. I do so because I love the voice and songs of Kishore Kumar and some of the most memorable and unforgettable songs ever sung by Kishore Kumar were picturized on none other than Rajesh Khana. These songs include:
1) Yeh Sham Mastani (Kati Patang – 1970)
2) Pyar Deewana Hota Hain (Kati Patang – 1970)
3) Roop Tera Mastana (Aradhana – 1969)
4) Mere Sapno Ki Rani (Aradhana – 1969)
5) Kora Kagaaz Tha Yeh Maan Mera (Aradhana – 1969)
6) Zindagi Ek Safar Hain Suhana (Andaz – 1971)
7) Yeh Kya Hua (Amar Prem – 1972)
8) Karwate Badalte Rahain (Aap Ki Kasam – 1974)
9) Zindagi Ke Safar Main (Aap Ki Kasam – 1974)
10) Jai Jai Shiv Shankar (Aap Ki Kasam – 1974)
11) Chala Jata Hoon (Mere Jeevan Saathi – 1972)
12) O Mere Dil Ke Chain (Mere Jeevan Saathi – 1972)
I had heard all these songs by the time I was in high school. And even after all these years, these songs still make me fall in love all over again……
