Black & White is an attempt by Subhas Ghai to make a film on a real issue. Well
it is a case of "missed opportunity" for this popular director who needs to grow out of the usual "filmy" sensibilities to make realistic films on real issues.
MERITS of Black & White
1 – I like the idea of a murderer (in this case an Islamic terrorist) who is out on a mission to cause mayhem (bomb blast during Independence day) but changes his/her heart & mind when s/he comes in contact with people of the right kind.
DEMERITS of Black & White (unfortunately more Demerits than Merits)
1 – The story is very poorly presented by Subhas Ghai. It should have been as realistic, gripping and non-melodramatic like Satya or Company (two of the greatest films in Hindi cinema).
2 – Poor acting by the central character, Numair Qazi played by Anurag Sinha (in the role of an Afghan terrorist). He hardly injects fear or hatred in the audience. It is just plain ordinary acting. He also did not have the right looks.
Please compare this fellow's acting with J. D. Chakravarthy (of Satya), and you will know what I mean. Even Angad Bedi would have have been a better choice.
3 – Numair's men kill Anil Kapoor's wife in his house, but later when he discovers his murdered wife he behaves in a strange way. He cries in a very odd manner (in the presence of Numair). He does not even show any inclination to know WHO has murdered his wife and FOR WHAT (Numair knew who did it but stood silently still). He cremates her body without informing anyone.
Later we were informed in a rather casual and flimsy manner about the fact that Anil may've disposed of the body quietly in order to prevent Hindu-Muslim communal riot.
What infantile nonsense is this?
4 - Shefali Shah's (Anil Kapoor's wife) melodramatic acting "sticks out like a Sore Nose" in a 2-hour film based on a serious concept. Even in supposedly serious scenes she is melodramatic. Pathetic!
5 – It is strange that an established actor like Milind Gunaji is used very sparingly in the film.
6 – At the end of the film you may feel like it was "stretched" a bit too far than necessary, even though the film is just 2 hours long.
Even if you've not seen Black & White don't worry you have NOT missed or will not miss anything at all! Black & White is just a casual, bland and unconvincing attempt by Subhas Ghai to do something different from his usual masala films.
The fact is he is just not cut out to make the kind of realistic, to-the-point, and "non-filmy" films that a Ram Gopal Verma or a Vishal Bharadwaj can make.
