Black & White (2008)

Director:

Subhash Ghai

Writers:

Sachin Bhowmick (screenplay)
Subhash Ghai (screenplay)

Release Date:

7 March 2008 (India)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

In search of harmony

Plot:

A spy living in the house in disguise, who has a heart transformation.

Plot Keywords:

Hindu | Muslim | Jihad | Terrorist | Rain

Cast

Anil Kapoor	...	Prof. Rajan Mathur Sen Gupta
Anurag Sinha	...	Numair Qazi / Mahmood Albak
Shefali Shetty	...	Roma
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Arun Bakshi	...	Naeem Shaikh
Milind Gunaji	...	Hamid
Mushtaq Khan	...	Mohanlal Agarwal - MLA
Akash Khurana	...	Wazir Shah - Rajya Sabha Member
Aditi Sharma	...	Shagufta
Manmeet Singh	...	Kirtan Singh
Sai Tamhankar	...	Nimmo Kirtan Singh
Habib Tanvir	...	Quazi Saab

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi | Urdu | Bengali

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Filming Locations:

Delhi, India

Company:

Mukta Arts

Soundtrack:

Yeh Hindustan Hai

Still missing the good old Midas Touch of Subhash Ghai in this movie.

Black & White – Subhash Ghai returns after the debacle of "Kisna". But unfortunately I was again disappointed and found the Ghai spark missing in the movie. In fact, I am quite surprised why the filmmakers keep on using the same plot again & again even when they know that it has been exploited before by others in the industry. We all have seen the plot of "Inviting a new person to live in your house which in disguise is a terrorist and a suicide bomber" used many time before also. The main source behind the inspiration is "The Devil's Own" which came in 1997 starring Harrison Ford as the house owner & Brad Pitt as the guest. It was followed by Raj Kanwar's "Baadal" released in 2000, in which Amrish Puri played the host and Bobby Deol was the terrorist. We also witnessed the similar kind of thing in the second half of Maniratnam's "Dil Se" (1998) which had Manisha Koirala, staying in Shahrukh's house. And now again it is repeated in "Black & White".

Subhash Ghai surely moves ahead with an offbeat and an unusual track for Mukta Arts and he has broken his own old pattern of film-making with this venture. But its quite questionable why he chose a story which has similarities with many other movies. The film lacks the grip from the first half hour itself and then the only engrossing aspect is the music which comes as a background theme in many scenes. The screenplay is predictable from the first scene and the viewer also cannot relate to the secular them in a big way.

The only impressive elements in the film are : 1. The unmatchable act by well know theater activist Habeeb Tanvir as the old poet. 2. And the Soul Stirring music by Sukhwinder Singh. In fact this is the first time I am impressed with this music for a film soundtrack. Way to go Sukhwinder…Keep it up.. Subhash Ghai undoubtedly has a gifted ear for good music which he has proved again with this latest offering.

Anil Kapoor is impressive and establishes himself as veteran actor in the industry who can be a strong pillar for any project. The debutant Anurag Sinha is a good find, but he has got not much to do and only has to give the starring looks according to the his role most of the times. So he can be judged better when he emotes, fights and dances in his next movie. Shifali Chhaya is loud at some places and the rest of the cast just OK.

The climax is the major letdown. The similar kind of climax you may recall in "Dil Se" and "Hu Tu Tu" when the suicide bomber is heading towards a national meeting place on 15th August or 26th January. Chandni Chowk and Heritage Sites in Delhi are the new craze in Hindi Films now a days. The best part remains the music by Sukhwinder Singh, though he borrows a lot from the Punjabi Traditional Music Treasure, still I will rate it as his best work for a film soundtrack till date.

In simple words, its Subhash Ghai's attempt towards a different kind of cinema. He excels in parts no doubt, but I wish he had chosen a virgin topic for this move. Watch it for Habib Tanveer…and do listen to its complete soundtrack…

Rating : 2 / 5