I am one of the few people who feels Black to be unworthy of all the over the top praises it has been receiving. Anyone seen the miracle worker?
I totally agree with the rediff reviewer of the movie who as usual has hit the nail on the head with her review.
I was never a fan of SLB. I find his movies way over the top. Devdas was like a screeching fest, the only redeeming qualities about Devdas were the songs/dances and the last scene with the haunting music.
I have this theory about the Austin Powers movies - when an Austin powers movie is planned, the scenes are first detailed out and then a story is formed to connect the scenes. For e.g in Austin Powers 2 the story is just a filler to connect scenes like a. Austin Powers full monty, b. Austin powers disco appearence c. Dr. Evil’s fight with son, assistant, austin powers etc c. austin powers in a shadow play with things coming out from his bums et all. Humorous scenes are planned first and a story is woven to connect it and it works in austin powers coz we expect the same.
Seeing Black, I got the same impression of the scenes being planned first followed by the Story.
So we have this scene in which when the mom learns about her daughter’s disability the setting is a lone tub in a big room with imposing paintings.
Then there is the scene in which Amitabh extends his hand alongwith Rani’s.
The young Rani’s moment of comprehension.
The kissing scene
The graduation scene
The ending scene
As a result certain scenes of the movie really stand out, but the movie as a whole leaves a lot to be desired.
With both his Devdas and Black, I have noticed a certain pattern in SLB’s movies he tries to impart an an operatic feel to it. The background music soars and falls with every scene to convey the mood of the scene. Somehow in Black it acts like a discordant note. Because the story as such leaves a lot to be desired.
Black could have been a very sensitive movie chronicling the rise of an individual against all odds. Instead all it manages to convey are some good scenes and the ego puffing of a director who is desperate to get international acclaim. Till the last I really couldn’t figure out Rani’s achievements.
Yes she learnt the sign language but besides that? She graduated when she was 40. Till then she led a very sheltered and protected life with her parents and for all purposes still continued to do so after attaining graduation. She never faced some of the harsh discrimination and realities which are usually faced by people with diabilities. Her triumph somehow comes across as very hollow.
The only redeeming factor about the movie were the acting which was surprisingly good across. Amitabh did go overboard in certain scenes but one couldn’t help noticing his charismatic prescence, some haunting background scores and some heartwrenching scenes.
This movie is as much an oscar contender as Veer Zaara being classified as an Epic.
For me till date Munnabhai MBBS continues to remain one of the truly entertaining film to come out of Bollywood. The movie never proclaimed itself as an epic or an oscar contender. But compared with all the other movies, not only did Munnabhai have a credible story with some intelligent humour but also a message, excellent acting and very Indian setting. A very good example of a bollywood movie.
BTW I didn’t understand why Rani would launch into a detailed hindi dialogue describing her feelings and then end it with meri Duniya mere Liye BLack hey. Whatever happened to Kaala