Watched Black. Or rather, experienced it with all my senses. Till a few weeks back the word didn't mean anything other than a color which I usually wear to conceal the 'few' extra pounds I carry. And all of a sudden, the word got transformed into a movie that broke all rules of mainstream Indian cinema, a movie which gave Amitabh Bacchan a break from his usual cliché driven films, a movie that proved that Rani is indeed Bollywood's present queen bee. Sanjay Leela Bhansali presented the unorthodox Indian audience with a masterpiece, something that's so very rare.
Right from when the movie began, I could sense that I'm watching something different. The husky voice of Rani Mukherjee narrating the story of Michelle McNally, the continuous tap-tap-tap of a braille typewriter in the background, the interplay of light and shadow, Debraj Sahai trying desperately to find his bed, took me to a different world altogether. The movie starts with Michelle throwing a salute to The Almighty who has deprived her of all the sounds and sights of world at an age so tender. But she isn't complaining, for Michelle knows that in return He has given her the strength that'll take her forward, the self confidence that'll help her cross the highest of hurdles, and the never-say-die attitude that'll see her through the most grave of situations.
And Debraj .... perhaps a loser in life, a drunkard who can do miracles with his fingers, and change lives. Staring at a dying bulb, he tries to improvise a sign-language depiction of light. However he doesn't spell it out, for he knows that it's more than a word, it's an experience millions of people like Michelle have been denied.
Black is the story of how Michelle, a child who is more animal than human, is taught to live life with dignity, how to control her emotions, how to overcome her handicaps and grow up to be a 'fine young lady'. And Debraj, her teacher, is the only ray of light in Michelle's 'Black' world. With patience and skill he gradually changes Michelle's behaviors, and thus alters her fate. Alzheimer's disease, however, cuts short this process, and this time there's a reversal of roles ... Michelle takes up the responsibility of bringing Debraj's memory back, of putting his life back on track.
Amitabh Bacchan, as Debraj Sahai, has certainly given the best performance of his life. Every emotion is so well enacted out that at times one wonders if Amitabh was actually going through those emotions during the making of the movie. The scene, where after his first success of making Michelle understand the meaning of words, he tries to plan how to write his story of triumph to Mrs. Nair but fails for he is overcome by tears, is simply brilliant. I am doubtful whether any other actor could have done justice to the role.
Casting Rani as the deaf-blind Michelle has indeed paid off, the popular actress sheds her image of a glam doll, and plunges into the character. Minutest of details regarding her looks have been taken care of, examples being her irregularly cut nails and simply braided hair. During the scene in which she tries to express her sorrow of failure to her mother, but ends up uttering just a few animal-like noises, leaves the audience moist eyed.
Kudos to the director Sanjay Leela Bhansali. He has broken away from the genre of huge haveli and garish colors to create a work of art that's so different from his previous works. If in his previous films he has played with colors and sound and drama, in Black Sanjay has played with human emotions - pain, anger, failure and at last, success.
The overprotective mother (where was Shernaaz Patel all these days?), the sulky yet loving father (good acting by Dhritiman Chatterjee - a Satyajit Ray favorite), and the sister (Nandana Sen) who has everything in life except the attention one expects from one's parents, complete the scene. And, did I mention Ayesha Kapoor, the little Michelle whose level of acting prowess really defy her age and goes much, much beyond. This little beauty is certainly an USP of the film, and her contribution towards making the film turn out the way it has, is no less than the that of the established stars in the film.
This is perhaps the most technically sound piece of work Indian cinema has seen in recent times. Light and shadow play with each other in the background. The clothes (designed by the prince of Indian haute couture Sabyasachi Mukherjee) are in muted shades of black, brown and green. The McNally mansion is huge, replete with books and works of art, elaborate thinking by art director Omung Kumar has resulted in the authentic look and feel of an Anglo-Indian household in the mid-1900s. Ravi K. Chandran's cinematography excels as well, the opulence of the McNally family, the emotion on the faces of the actors have been captured brilliantly.
Black is the story of how Michelle achieves the almost impossible task of graduating, how Debraj takes up the mission of teaching her as a challenge, the complex relationship between two people most unlikely to be related in any way. But above all, Black is the story of triumph, it's the story of achievements, of never giving up. Awards or no awards, Black will continue to constitute an important chapter in the history of Indian cinema.
Right from when the movie began, I could sense that I'm watching something different. The husky voice of Rani Mukherjee narrating the story of Michelle McNally, the continuous tap-tap-tap of a braille typewriter in the background, the interplay of light and shadow, Debraj Sahai trying desperately to find his bed, took me to a different world altogether. The movie starts with Michelle throwing a salute to The Almighty who has deprived her of all the sounds and sights of world at an age so tender. But she isn't complaining, for Michelle knows that in return He has given her the strength that'll take her forward, the self confidence that'll help her cross the highest of hurdles, and the never-say-die attitude that'll see her through the most grave of situations.
And Debraj .... perhaps a loser in life, a drunkard who can do miracles with his fingers, and change lives. Staring at a dying bulb, he tries to improvise a sign-language depiction of light. However he doesn't spell it out, for he knows that it's more than a word, it's an experience millions of people like Michelle have been denied.
Black is the story of how Michelle, a child who is more animal than human, is taught to live life with dignity, how to control her emotions, how to overcome her handicaps and grow up to be a 'fine young lady'. And Debraj, her teacher, is the only ray of light in Michelle's 'Black' world. With patience and skill he gradually changes Michelle's behaviors, and thus alters her fate. Alzheimer's disease, however, cuts short this process, and this time there's a reversal of roles ... Michelle takes up the responsibility of bringing Debraj's memory back, of putting his life back on track.
Amitabh Bacchan, as Debraj Sahai, has certainly given the best performance of his life. Every emotion is so well enacted out that at times one wonders if Amitabh was actually going through those emotions during the making of the movie. The scene, where after his first success of making Michelle understand the meaning of words, he tries to plan how to write his story of triumph to Mrs. Nair but fails for he is overcome by tears, is simply brilliant. I am doubtful whether any other actor could have done justice to the role.
Casting Rani as the deaf-blind Michelle has indeed paid off, the popular actress sheds her image of a glam doll, and plunges into the character. Minutest of details regarding her looks have been taken care of, examples being her irregularly cut nails and simply braided hair. During the scene in which she tries to express her sorrow of failure to her mother, but ends up uttering just a few animal-like noises, leaves the audience moist eyed.
Kudos to the director Sanjay Leela Bhansali. He has broken away from the genre of huge haveli and garish colors to create a work of art that's so different from his previous works. If in his previous films he has played with colors and sound and drama, in Black Sanjay has played with human emotions - pain, anger, failure and at last, success.
The overprotective mother (where was Shernaaz Patel all these days?), the sulky yet loving father (good acting by Dhritiman Chatterjee - a Satyajit Ray favorite), and the sister (Nandana Sen) who has everything in life except the attention one expects from one's parents, complete the scene. And, did I mention Ayesha Kapoor, the little Michelle whose level of acting prowess really defy her age and goes much, much beyond. This little beauty is certainly an USP of the film, and her contribution towards making the film turn out the way it has, is no less than the that of the established stars in the film.
This is perhaps the most technically sound piece of work Indian cinema has seen in recent times. Light and shadow play with each other in the background. The clothes (designed by the prince of Indian haute couture Sabyasachi Mukherjee) are in muted shades of black, brown and green. The McNally mansion is huge, replete with books and works of art, elaborate thinking by art director Omung Kumar has resulted in the authentic look and feel of an Anglo-Indian household in the mid-1900s. Ravi K. Chandran's cinematography excels as well, the opulence of the McNally family, the emotion on the faces of the actors have been captured brilliantly.
Black is the story of how Michelle achieves the almost impossible task of graduating, how Debraj takes up the mission of teaching her as a challenge, the complex relationship between two people most unlikely to be related in any way. But above all, Black is the story of triumph, it's the story of achievements, of never giving up. Awards or no awards, Black will continue to constitute an important chapter in the history of Indian cinema.