The Magic . Review on Black - Bollywood

Sanjay Leela Bhansali has taken us to a different world. A world that is so unfamiliar. A room in the darkness …a mystic blue light is piercing through the closed-windows. A lone sound …sound of a typewriter. Like a sharp needle stitching on the white clothes the brail-type writer is creating every letter on the white sheet. Michel is writing a story …her own story…the extraordinary story of Michel McNeal (Ayesha Kapoor/Rani Mukherjee.)

The Anglo-Indian family settled at Shimla…Shimla of late 40’s so that the colours, costumes and props blend with the era to make everything look delectably quaint. Michel’s father (we last saw Dhritiman Chatterjee in his famous encounter with Utpall Dutta in Satyajit Ray’s “Aguntak”) is an established lawyer. A man of temper and owner of a huge property decorates his study room with Michelangelo’s “mojesh’ and “madona” and a beautiful fountain at the green garden. The parents come to know sixteen day’s old Michele is deaf and blind. Sharnez Patel and Chatterjee brilliantly portrayed the trauma of the parents with the child who is totally uncontrollable. None of the “teachers” were able to cope up with the eccentric child. Who, indeed, will digest a sudden slap on the face from a little child?

Except one. He is Debraj Sahay. Debraj who used to run a center for handicapped people at Dheradun, presently confined himself at a wooden dark room with wines and at the mercy of Mrs. Nair. In sharp contrast to the atmosphere of the room we saw Robert Frost at the wooden wall –“stopping by the woods on a snowy evening.” A long way to go before I sleep…we hear this sentence number of times through the movie. “Paid servant” Debraj who wanted to become a “paid Teacher” hurts the proud lawyer’s ego in the very first day and consequently the termination of job. As the father went out on a case for twenty days Debraj stayed on. 'Michelle is deaf and blind, Mrs. McNally. She's not mentally retarded'' was enough to convince the sensitive mother…. and next as we here Debraj and Michele in closed room we found the same unfamiliarity strikes us again…a world with mystic atmosphere…a conversation with no meaning…and ‘the magic beings”

As the “teacher” took his un-obedient “student” at the fountain to teach “the touch of life” our unconscious mind remind us about the little Helen keller in “The story of My Life”.

''Suddenly the signals crossed Helen’s consciousness with a meaning. She knew that w-a-t-e-r meant the cool something flowing over her hand.'' (From Keller’s biography)

Black, indeed, is a magic created by Sanjay. We can expect a similar masterpiece from a Jane Kampion or a Arnesto Subiela at Hollywood but from an Indian Director at the Indian circumstances this work of a truly international standard is quite unthinkable.

I don’t know how it will fare at Box – office but after long time a genuine Oscar nominee. Words can’t describe the height in acting that these actors have achieved. What I can only say Amitabh Bacchan and Rani Mukherjee have given their best ever performance (I am afraid of an understatement.) Thank you Sanjay for your masterpiece and long live the welcome change in the Bollywood from masala box office oriented movies to good movies...movies that make you think long after you leave your seat.