SLB at his very best !. Review on Black - Bollywood

I have just returned after watching “Black” and as I ruminated after watching an awesome movie, I tried to analyze why exactly I liked it.

For a movie with few characters (The movie revolves around the interactions between a Deaf/Blind Girl/Woman and her Teacher) it was quite gripping. (When you contrast it with Raincoat which revolved around Ajay Devgan & Ash and was quite a Y-A-W-N most of the time ) Black on the other hand keeps you riveted and before you know it, you have the Interval !

Sanjay Leela Bhansali has class. Class in execution. There can be no second thoughts on that. You saw it in Khamoshi and Devdas and you see it now. The “costumes” & the houses / school / college etc all reflect a certain culture ( In this case a typical upper Class Anglo Indian Family ) & Ravi.K.Chandran’s use of Filters is outstanding. The Blue Filter used to remarkable effect reminded me of Mani Ratnam & P.C.Sriram. In fact, at times I thought I was watching Mani Ratnam’s Anjali !

Rani Mukherjee has given a very convincing performance of the Deaf & Blind Woman (Michelle McNelly) who is goaded and egged on by her Private Tuition master (Amitabh Bachchan as “Debraj Sahai” ) to rise above her physical handicaps - to stand on her own feet (pun intended) and to achieve something in Life. Just as Debraj Sahai is about to be successful in his mission, he is struck by Alzheimer’s, loses his faculties one by one and it is Michelle’s mission now to “bring him back” from the clutches of a crippling and debilitating illness. Her portrayal should fetch a few awards.Vikram (in Pitamagan) has proved that if you have no dialogues, you can walk away with the National award for best actor ! Rani has no dialogues here. So you know…………! Jokes apart, it IS an award winning performance.

After a while, you tend to forget that it is Rani and Amitabh who are “acting” and you tend to believe in Michelle & Debraj’s struggles and their efforts to overcome them.

After a long time, the Big B has “acted” ! Don’t get me wrong. He is usually awesome but I feel that it required the class of Sanjay to bring out facets in Amitabh we have not seen for a long time. It does appear as if he has put in some “effort” into this role. Otherwise the class of the man ensures that he portrays various characters nonchalantly. What is even more pleasing is that he has acted his age. He is brilliant in that you see a frail man who has all the typical problems old men in real life have. This is a good trend. Even in Khakhee he was very “real” as the old cop who has asthma and is clearly out of breath (and out of sync) in the fast paced world of cops. This is a landmark film for him.

A special mention must be made of Ayesha Kapur – the “young” Michelle McNeely. She is brilliant and very believable and in the few scenes with the Big B, she eclipses him at times ! Hats off to her.

Another big plus of the movie is that you have no songs (which would have been a real distraction anyway )

Shernaz Patel (As Rani’s Mom) is superb and her mannerisms of a typical Anglo-Indian woman are perfect. Whats more, there is a resemblance between Rani & Shernaz !

Are there any negatives ? Yes. After the Interval, Sanjay appears a bit lost as the movie drags on for the first 15 minutes. However he gets a grip on it soon and draws the viewer in again. Secondly, the generous use of English (I know Anglo Indians do speak in English ! ) may affect its popularity in the B & C areas.

Would I recommend Black ? Of course I would. You get an opportunity to see a “different” movie (Bahut HATKE Hai !) by one of the most passionate directors of our time who is quickly mastering his craft. Go watch a very special movie. You will get an idea of the kind of struggles people with disabilities have and maybe you will be a little sympathetic towards them. Whats more - You might leave the Movie Hall with a song on your lips and hope in your heart - Remember the old Cerrone hit - BLACK IS BLACK ???!!!