Black, Swades have some things common between them.
Both have got thumbs up from critics all over. But box-office success has partially eluded both. Why o why?! I know the answer. Both are different. Very different. Much too different for the masses to digest.
Swades was panned for being preachy and long. Black is being panned for being Loud, Artistic and Melodramatic. You people must have read my review about Swades. Let us take up Black.
Black is way beyond what I had imagined.
I heard/thought it was subdued and much unlike what Devdas was(loud, garish, opulent). Its not. Its definitely loud and opulent. The first half has Amitabh yelling out like a Freak! And the sets are absolutely luxurious and beautiful.
Black is 2 hours of slow moving, meticulously designed cinema. Its strength lies in the fact that its treatment does not fall prey to any of today’s formulae for success. Bhansali has thrown all the commercial parameters or requirements into the Trash Can and come up with something that can be called ’Direct Dil aur Dimaag Se’.
Thats where Black gets into trouble! Its pure Bhansali treatment and vision that reflects on the screen. Self-indulgence, if I may say so. Every scene, every moment in the film is sculpted the way Bhansali would like it to be. But what about the audience? In India, one cannot be successful by making movies according to his own liking. Audience taste also has to be considered. And its no hidden fact that the best have tumbled when they failed to overcome self-indulgence, and drive home the point effectively.
Black doesn’t tumble. It manages to walk through the razor sharp edge, but only just. I heard Bhansali saying that all his movies will convey a sense of opulence, loudness simply because that is his Style. We saw that in HDDCS and Devdas. Liked it, beared it. Now with Black he goes ahead and repeats the same combo. For the first time in my life, I saw SO MANY scenes that concentrated squarely on the face of the characters. It was different.
Black is a very Delicate topic. And thankfully, Bhansali hasn’t messed up. The scenes range from the indulgent(opulent and loud), to deeply moving, even tear inducing. I couldn’t control myself on atleast a couple of occasions, such was the impact of the scenes. It deals with the bringing up of Michelle, a deaf-blind child played Extraordinarily Well by Ayesha. Her parents don;t know how to take care of her. They tie a bell around her neck to make sure they know if they can’t see her.
When they run out of options, they call for Debraj(Amitabh). Debraj is a deaf-blind teacher who feels sad and mad that he wasn’t able to train his students properly. He tries to train Michelle to eat food like others, to behave properly. But her father is not too happy with Debraj’s behaviour and attitude. He orders him to leave and leaves for a tour. Debraj stays on and trains her to some extent. Time’s up....her father returns from his trip and tells him to get out. Just then, Debraj spots Michelle returning to her old habits...gets enraged and takes her out and throws her into the fountain. Thats when Michelle starts speaking and reciprocating. That was a Superb Scene. The moment she said Ma and Da....tears rolled down my eyes.
The second half concentrates on events that take place in ’grown up’ Michelle’s life. All I can say is, Rani Mukherjee has proved her worth to one and all with this GEM of a performance. Its a Mighty Difficult role, but she goes about it with Elan and Shines! Amitabh’s role, in contrast, comes across as a little Over-the-Top and Freaky (quite like Aankhen). But Amitabh too scores a Home Run..just watch out for his introduction scene, and the scene where he acts as her eyes and ears in college, and tries to pep her up after saying that she failed.
The most poignant moments in the second half are Michelle’s Graduation Speech, where almost everyone is in Tears....and the scene next to that, the Climax...where EVERYONE is Crying. The climax just doesn’t leave your heart for some time. You feel heavy in ur heart....you really feel the Intensity, the Emotions...just OUTSTANDING.
Coming to the controversial scene, when Michelle tells the ailing Debraj(he gets Alzheimer’s disease) to kiss her on the lips after realizing she may never get married or have a child is also very sensitively directed. Kudo’s to SLB for doing a Fantastic Job in these scenes.
The Technical crew has done a Magnificent Job.
Cinematography by Ravi Chandran. Check the scene when Michelle’s father goes into the bathroom to tell his wife about Michelle. Or the scenes at the Church...or the first scene. Almost every scene in the movie is worth framing. I would say its SLB’s effort coupled with Ravi’s expertise that has resulted in this Visual Masterpiece.
Background Score by Monty. SUPERB. Simply SUPERB. Just OUT OF THIS WORLD. I can go on and on....its comparable to the Best in the West. Its the tune of the music that sets it apart from one and ALL. If you thought Swades, Ab Tak 56 had Gr8 Background Score, here comes BLACK.
Sets by Omung Kumar. The sets are, as I mentioned before are Opulent, Rich in Color and Design. They also convey a lot of meaning. I don’t know how many metaphors SLB has hidden in those sets, but I definitely spotted some!!
Dialogues were mostly good...nothing Out of the Blue. In fact I would say they played more of a supporting Role while the Visuals took the frontseat. That is in one way good. But excessive use of the word BLACK instead of Kaala (or somethin better) was a hindrance. Rani’s voice over too wasn’t very impressive....the word Teacher kept creeping up now and again. Can’t find a better word guys?!
Story and Screenplay. Hmm. I have some reservations here. Somehow, I felt that the scenes showing us how Debraj gets her to understand words, meanings and objects were not so well written or directed. They could have gone into some more detail. Also, why she is not able to speak inspite of not being dumb is something, either not explained, or I didn’t understand. Apart from that, its Good.
Direction by SLB. Full marks to him for having ventured into quite an Alien territory and come out trumps. He is Bollywood’s version of Mani Rathnam(plus all the opulence and loudness...Mani’s movies mostly have characters whispering!). But pray why make the Church scene look and feel so similar to Khamoshi? Ran out of ideas? And why make the characters move like snails in some of the scenes(the kissing scene for example....Debraj takes almost 10 seconds to get up and go near Michelle!)
All in All, BLACK is an Experience not to be missed. Few blemishes apart, its not Often that we have cried at the movies. And one last thing, the movie is best enjoyed with Family or people close to u. Do not watch with friends and make fun of the emotions.