What do you say when you get free passes to a movie that's everybody's been waiting for? Do you get all ecstatic and praise God?
You sure do!
Especially if the movie is titled BLACK and it happens to be the product of one of the most overindulgent movie moguls in recent times: our very own SLB (Sanjay Leela Bhansali, to the uninitiated). But that initial euphoria lasts only until the first five minutes.
It must be said that it is a very brave film. It also must be said that it is a different film from the mediocre ones being churned these days. One thing more, this movie is NOT an entertainer. So don't go harboring the idea that it's gonna be paisa-vasool.
By now, practically everybody and his brother has gone to town, with their ooh-aah opinions about BLACK. Its a good thing. Movies like BLACK need to be discussed; praised even. Movies like BLACK also need to be criticized. And therein, lies a chasm.
Very few people have something unsavoury to say about BLACK. This is because the majority have genuinely loved the movie, despite its faults and gaffes.
<u>WHAT I SAW</u>
Michelle McNally almost burns down the house. Michelle McNally almost kills her sister. Michelle McNally, a lonely, tempestuously adamant, and very violent child. And she's ten years, deafblind, and cut off from a world that seemingly has little to offer her, in any case. She's just a few more incidents away from being dumped in an asylum, because her parents simply cannot cope up.
Michelle's mother, who loves her. Michelle's mother who shields her. Michelle's mother who spoils her.
Michelle's father, who is cold and business-like. Michelle's father, who wants to forever be in control. Michelle's father, who wants to institutionalise her because he simply gives up.
Debraj Sahai, who wants to conjure an easier sign language for the blind. Debraj, who uses sign language to say ''bull-shit''. Debraj, who considers himself a failure, because his students said goodbye to him (but waved in the wrong direction). Debraj, who prefers being called a magician. Debraj, who decides to tutor the ten-year-old Michelle McNally.
Tempers flaring. The irreverent and smashingly incorrigible Debraj v/s the uptight, Victorian and boringly staid Mr. Paul McNally. Unconventional methods of teaching. Little Progress. Things come to a head, and Debraj is to be kicked out of the house.
But mother persists. Mother agrees to fifteen more days. Michelle transforms from ''that animal'' to a ''fine young lady'' after a dip in the courtyard fountain and her first words which include ''wa (water).., ma (mother).., pa(father)..''
INTERMISSION
Michelle is now a lovely young woman, who is finely attuned to her surroundings, a far cry from the Michelle we first saw. Her smile and effervescent charm permeates the usually dull parties. Michelle is at the heart of all activity.
Sara, who is Michelle's sibling. Sara, who feels unwanted. Sara, who feels unloved. Sara, the perfect child, who is not the center of her parent's universe. Sara, who harbors great jealousy to Michelle. Sara, who is, for the greater part, unusually mean to her elder sister, out of her own admission.
Debraj insists on a university education. Debraj and Michelle convince an unbelieving panel with a few witticisms.
Michelle has this really irritating Charlie Chaplin gait. For some stupid reason, we are blissfully unaware of the causes of her condition.
Debraj shows early signs of Alzheimer's. Debraj simply walks out of Michelle's life probably being unable to deal with being in a vulnerable position with his prodigious ward.
Debraj turns up at the same fountain, years later, where Michelle uttered her first words, himself incoherent and totally incapable of intelligent composure at age 80, nearly blind.
Debraj institutionalised and being chained. Michelle's insistence on making sure Debraj gets back his memories.
<u>WHAT I REALLY SAW</u>
Ayesha Kapoor, doing what few child artists have done in recent years - ACT. Act with conviction. Although, a few more movies up her platter should show us what she's really made of. From what I've read, she takes her acting pretty seriously. That is good news.
Shernaz Patel (Michelle's mother, Catharine) whose copious tears are a bit overdone. Nevertheless, she does a lot better than recent screen mothers.
Rani Mukherjee, looking prettier than her pictures. Looking like she could break a few hearts with those big, beady eyes. Acting with a maturity that's rarely seen in her generation. For the first time, I didn't just view, I saw. And what I saw, I wished it'd last a lot longer.
Amitabh Bachchan, trying hard not breaking into a ''Come on. Charlie!''. The Big B with the monkey cap from the last movie he acted in. AB trying to act older than he is. Brave man, this! Very few superstars in Bollywood can claim to have left their overbearing persona offscreen. So well is this done here, that you actually remember the character, rather than the actor. That, Mr. Bachchan is another laurel on your already laden mantlepiece.
A technically fluent film. The sets, however are so lavish, that you wonder why Mr. Paul McNally never made it to the world's richest list. The bench scene is beautifully done. Full marks to Ravi Chandran (DoP)!
Poetry in Michelle's journey from darkness to light. Poetry in her toast to her sister on her engagement. Poetry in the brief screen kiss Rani & the Big B share. Poetry in the two hands reaching out and feeling the first drops of the rain
But the story is stretched, longer than necessary. For example, we could have done without some of her years at college.
Amitabh Bachchan being chained like an animal is one of the most poignant scenes in modern-day Indian cinema.
And that's just it. Like SHWAAS, BLACK has those lump-in-the-throat moments. those tear-jerker superbly picturised, creatively directed scenes. But a lasting cinematic experience is not just composed of moments. And just like that, BLACK is a good movie, not a great one.
