Jun 21, 2005 05:13 AM
2609 Views
(Updated Jun 21, 2005 06:31 PM)
Black revolves around the story of Michelle McNally. Michelle (Ayesha Kapoor and Rani Mukherjee) becomes deaf and blind a few months (?) after birth and spends 8 troubled years without any understanding of the world around her. Being deaf and blind renders her dumb as well. As a result of having absolutely no method of communicating with the people around her she is an excessively troubled and problem child to her parents. Enter Debraj Sahni (Amitabh Bachchan) a teacher in a deaf and blind school. Debraj is facing a career crisis and when he hears of the young Michelle's problems he snatches at the opportunity of helping her like a lifeline that has been extended to him. He starts teaching her to understand the world around her and as a result we see Michelle years later, self sufficient and confident enough to gain admission into a college to earn an Arts degree after passing through a gruelling entrance interview. Michelle is a naturally curious young woman and college lets her experience a whole variety of experiences. Her attempts to experiment with her sexuality drive away her teacher and she has to again rearrange her life without him. But some chance brings him back to her life years later when she is pushing 40 and he is the victim of the dreaded Alzheimer's disease. So Michelle no stranger to trials in life and no quitter, decides that SHE will use her beloved teacher's methods in order to teach HIM how to exist.
The above is a synopsis of the plot of the movie. Now for my opinions, of which there are plenty :) There might be spoilers ahead so if you just wanted the plot dont read on. First of all, let me say that this is an extremely brave attempt on the part of Sanjay Leela Bhansali to tackle a subject the likes of which has almost never been atempted in Hindi cinema. Bhansali was inspired by the book the Miracle Worker which is based on the story of Helen Keller and her teacher Anne Sullivan. While all this is admirable, my grouse is with the acting of .... guess who? .... Amitabh Bachchan. Ok, I can hear a couple of jaws hitting the floor, but let me explain why. I know Amitabh is an iconic figure in Hindi cinema but I didnt watch Hindi movies for a lot of my childhood which is why I have never felt like he is the greatest star in the movies today like some people do. I like to give an actor his due depending on how his/her performance in the movie struck me at the time I was watching the movie. And AB in the first half of the movie is absolutely overbearing and irritating to watch. His attempts at teaching the young Michelle border on being abusive. I dont understand why his character has to slap or beat the young girl around to get her to understand and pay attention to him. He is supposed to be an eccentric character but the way he portrays the eccentricities are over-the-top and irritating. I feel in the first part of the movie AB has overacted beyond what any script could have called for. And check out his acting when he's supposed to be an old man with Alzheimer's, the head shaking feels so contrived, like he is trying so hard to remember he is old and thus must shake, shake, shake his head !! aargh!
Another thing I want to gripe about is why the child was portrayed as being so undisciplined and scary looking. I know she is blind, deaf etc and doesnt understand but human beings understand routine so during eating, for example, it would have been trivial to have her mother feed her right from the beginning so she would settle down and not go on like they showed in the movie. And I would think someone would comb her hair too. Maybe this is an extremely stupid statement given that I wouldnt even come close to understanding how a person in such a situation would behave, but that's my two cents (and my review :)). But I feel the little girls attempts to keep her eyes rolled back in her head were simply amazing. I mean she did it for one entire half of the movie. WOW!
Ok, with all my complaining why the 4 stars? There are a few reasons not least of which is the plot, storyline and dialogues. All of them are guaranteed to keep you interested and watching even though a few characters might be off-base. The look of the movie is simply mind-blowing. Watch it to see what a wizard Bhansali is with his sets, cinematography etc. And watch it for Rani Mukherjee. The girl is simply amazing and CAN she act !! Even without makeup or too many fancy costumes she brings such a simple charm to her role while portraying the hidden strength that is Michelle. She is wonderful. Some of the secondary characters are good too, like Sarah (Nandana Sen) and Shernaz Patel as the mother. And not the least, what Bhansali should be MOST commended for is the entire ABSENCE of songs in a commercial mainstream Hindi movie. That required guts and it paid off since the inclusion of songs would have made a mockery of the movie. I cant speak for the soundtrack since I dont pay much attention, but it wasnt intrusive and seemed to pick up the moods of the movie nicely. So, all in all Black is an entertaining time at the movies and there are no great flaws that a little more attention to the story wouldnt fix. But, Oscar material ... hardly!!!
