Bachchan saheb left me speechless. He made me forget some of the minor glitches in the movie. Mr. Sahay was truly a magician just bcos of this 6’ 3’’ actor. His weird but genius portrayal of Mr. Sahay the magician made me again realize how pathetic our acting levels have gone in the new generation. It is Scary that except for this guy and a few notable exceptions like Amir Khan there is hardly anything to look up to.
I always wondered why we can’t have movies like Scent of a Woman or A few good men from this master. The wish is somewhat fulfilled by this movie. This movie goes as Amitabh’s best movie in my book. Bachchan sahab...my salute to you. This movie also affirms by belief which I have expressed several times: Although Amitabh impressed and has taken inspiration from Dilip Kumar’s work, has gone a mile or two further and according to me qualifies as the better one. Of course, Dilip Kumar has shown the path to the subsequent generations and the comparison is not as straightforward as one would like to believe. Everyone has got their own space in the industry!
The young girl is just fantastic! She has matched the great actor in front of her. Same with Rani, she has displayed the maturity and level of acting only Nootan was able to show in the previous generations and not even Meena Kumari would have been able to carry this out. The performances in the movie are match to most of what I have seen so far; Bolly-Holly, all the woods put together....! The factor that might affect their overall impact is the plot and the detailing which could have been better is many scenes say interview for admission in the school or her objection in the class to a sentence by teacher that ’we see dream by our eyes’ etc.
The scene where the little girl realizes her parents, you see a family re-union on the screen that is just superb and blows you away. The flow of emotions on everyone’s face is mind-boggling. A perfect 10 for that. Also, The itch of the girl to learn more and more is also shown in a great manner.
The scene where Amitabh is asked to kiss Rani is executed with brilliance! Both Amitabh and Rani have taken the scene to GREAT heights not seen too often in Indian movies. You got to back to Amitabh-Dilip interaction in Shakti or Sanjeev-Dilip or Ashok-Dilip.
Is Black perfect? Naah. Why Rani takes 20 years to graduate is not shown logically, her speed is on the lower side but that can’t be the only thing? Also the first time she learns what the water is and ten she starts picking up words, it is s very touching display but the way she is able to quickly accept her mother is ok but father too?
The direction is as good as it gets. I just think that more work should have been done on the detailing and the content to make some scenes more effective than they are currently.
Overall, I would recommend everyone to check this movie out. It is absolutely a must see. The music (whatever is there) is great and suits the scenes very well. If nothing else watch it for the acting of all the characters. It is a treat to watch every character in the movie.
The movie has a totally different effect on the audience, after Mughal-E-Azham I got to see such a quiet crowd trying to soak every word. Even after the movie, the audience continued the mood outside the theatre and that is the greatest success according to me any movie can have. Not many comments and words of praise but highly assured crowd with the sense of contentment.
Conclusion: A MUST watch. At least for the brilliance of all the actors and the directors. The length of the movie is just perfect for the type and you wouldn’t regret your money spent at all...thats a promise of a gentleman! (if you can call me that!) :)