In one word: Outstanding
In two words: Simply Superb
In three words: Remarkable, unparalleled, awe-inspiring!
In more words: a brilliantly shot film that deserves commercial success and critical acclaim in all of its spheres.
Set in the backdrop of beautiful, spotless Simla is this touching story portraying two of life?s harsh realities which are conveniently taken for granted more often than not. The ?BLACK? life of a blind and deaf person and the ?BLACK? life of a person suffering from Alzheimer?s. This is the story of Michelle McNealy (rani) and her teacher Debashish Sahay (Amitabh). This poignant well-spun tale is narrated by Michelle herself and advances from a mere depiction of a painful fact to a moving tale of triumph.
Story:
Begins with a narrative account of the life of Michelle McNealy, a visually impaired and hearing impaired girl whose uncouth life is touched only by her mother.
She has no account of anything in its right sense and is living an almost animal like existence until there comes a teacher Mr. Sahay. This teacher is determined to civilize her ways and show her the light. He brings hope to the McNealys when they are actually on the verge of sending her away to a help-home. This heart-warming learning experience turns tables when after 20 years; Mr. Sahay becomes a victim of Alzheimer?s.
What happens then? Who dwells in the BLACK world and who shows light to whom?
I urge you to go watch this inspirational account on celluloid.
Performances:
Amitabh gives his career best performance, fitting the role of a teacher Mr. Sahay to the tee. At his age, learning the sign language and playing an alcoholic with a rather outrageous means of dealing with situations who calls himself a ?magician? is applaudable.
The run of the mill, girl next door looking Rani takes us all by surprise, putting up a brilliant show. Her greatness lies in her simplicity. She seems so ordinary and that?s probably what moulds her into any role she takes up and this one will undoubtedly be her career best performance.
It is hard to decide which was a greater treat? Watching Mr. Sahay or Michelle...
Ayesha, the little girl who plays the early years of Michelle emerges an impressive thespian. Just watching her perform will leave you speechless. Little Michelle is a complete show stealer in the first half of the movie. It is hard to take your eyes off of her. The depiction of the torment in her dark world and being oblivious of everything under the sun is soul-stirring.
For a kid that young to act in there, direction would not have been a piece of cake. This brings us to the director, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, a master story teller!
What makes Sanjay Bhansali stand out among his counterparts is his portrayal of each character. The wrath, pain and anguish of each of his protagonists are almost colossal, you can feel it!!! Only he can excel in eliciting that sentiment so explicitly.
Be it Nana Patekar in Khamoshi, Ajay Devagan in Hum dil de chuke sanam, Devdas and now, Rani in BLACK.
Direction is above reproach. He has astonishingly managed to seize the audience?s attention on his characters and the plot and not the elaborate sets and costumes. (as in his previous 2 ventures!) Although, he has lived up to his ?big-budget? name. There is surely a dearth of movie makers like him.
Despite being ?BLACK? the movie is a treat to the eye. It carries an underlying, redefining message. ?BLACK?, typically synonymous with blankness and void is daunting and seems like the end. The movie makes a statement that ?BLACK? is not the end and certainly not discouraging, in fact it is a way of life for a few people. A new connotation of faith and triumph and courage is associated with ?BLACK?
Special mention:
Cinematography by Ravi K Chandran is splendid. The intelligent use of colours (and by colours I mean black!) is skillful.
Dialogues by Bhawani Iyer will remain with you for quite a while.
BLACK derives its inspiration from the movie on the life of Hellen Keller and her teacher Anne Sullivan.
Everyone has a different connotation of the movies they like to watch. People surely like to have a breath of fresh air, a break from the monotone in one?s routine life this might me manifested in different ways. Some like to watch people getting their backs beaten black and blue. Some like to fantasize about their future in foreign locales, romancing the beautiful, some prefer a few laughs with slap-stick comedy and a few others just get out to the movie halls to see something different, something they don?t see everyday.
So, if you haven?t already watched the movie, it is time you did.
Why???
A director who captivates audiences without song and dance, without grandeur (which was becoming second nature to him),
An actor who has had a distinguished acting career transcends his own achievements,
Another actress strikes at her acting best catching us off guard and
A little kid makes you go week in the knees and they all come together in BLACK!
Go get awed!