BLACK

We watched Black with a bunch of friends this Sunday. I was in no frame of mind to watch a serious movie but everyone insisted that we see this one. And I'm glad I did. It was worth every Re. spent and much more. Truly, a masterpiece by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and his best. This one cannot even be compared with his 'so-called' brilliant works like Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam or Devdas.

Black, a namesake Hindi movie, as 75% of the dialogues is in English. Starring Amitabh Bachchan and Rani Mukherjee, and spanning a lil over 2 hours, this movie is directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. The movie is a first person narration by Rani Mukherjee. It is the story of the life of a blind girl and her teacher who suffers from Alzheimer's disease and how both of them stand for each other when they need support the most. Rani Mukherjee plays the role of Michelle McNally, the blind woman and Amitabh plays the character of Debraj Sahai, her teacher. The first half of the movie revolves around how the McNally household copes with the eccentricities of the blind girl (I forgot the name of the kid that plays this character) and all their futile attempts in disciplining the kid. Michelle's mom makes one last attempt and they hire Debraj Sahai to discipline the arrogant kid. The portrayal of Debraj's character and how he transforms the kid is brilliant. His voice is powerful as always. I think this was the best part of the movie - when he spends 20 days teaching the kid to make sense of everything in life, with his fingers. It is amazing how he teaches her to mouth the word 'water' with his fingers. This movie though it lacks the dashing colors of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and the extravagant costumes of Devdas, it is colorful in its own way - shot in the picturesque Shimla in a huge villa.

The latter half is how Debraj wishes to see Michelle successful by making her an arts graduate. There were times when I felt the movie was just dragging and he wasn't coming to the point- but that's Bhansali, the story teller for you. The much talked about kiss between Amitabh and Rani that was doing the rounds even before the promos started, was not obscene at all. Infact this was one scene that didn't seem out of context and was dignified with a meaning attached! Debraj goes away after the k* and makes a reappearance after 12 (was it 12? Well I can't remember. I forget the numbers) years and
Michelle realizes that he has lost his memory to Alzheimer's. She graduates when she is 40 years and this event brings back some of his old memories.. and the movie ends.

I think Bhansali did a very good job by not repeating the mistake he did with Khamoshi - placing high profile artistes for the roles of mother and father - one of the reasons for the movie's failure. His casting this time has been superb. Seeing Rani without makeup and yet appealing, lack of an item number and a wowed audience at the end of the movie was something that I liked!

I don't know if this movie would be a commercial success or not but it definitely is going to sweep thr all the Filmfare awards and probably find a berth in the Foreign Film category at next year's Oscar.

My favorite dialogue: Life is like an icecream. Have it before it melts.