Black is the colour of life. Life beings in the darkness of the woman’s womb, before exploding into light. Black is also the colour of that endless eternity, which we call “space”. And as the protagonist of the movie “Black” puts it, “Black is the colour of knowledge, education and ceremonies. Like the graduation ceremony, where every student is in the black garb. And nothing is deeper and stronger than knowledge”.
Inspired from the real-life experiences of Helen Keller and her teacher Annie Sullivan, ‘Black’ details the relationship between the blind and deaf Michelle McNally and her teacher Debraj Sahay. Michelle (Ayesha Kapur/Rani Mukherjee) will never see the beauty of what so many of us are blessed to see. In her childhood, Michelle is rendered blind and deaf through an illness. The silent world in which she lives, without any means of communication turns her into a violent and explosive child. Enter Debraj (Amitabh Bachhan), a failed teacher, to lead her to the word of senses. He tries to tame her by paying back in the same coin – through aggression. After initial obstacles, he succeeds – Michelle learns her first words. But the triumph is not over. Debraj dreams of Michelle going to college, and becoming a graduate. However, fate has something more in store – Debraj falls into the grip of Alzheimer’s Disease, and slowly starts to forget everything – even Michelle. Now, the student has to become the teacher.
Amitabh Bachhan and Rani Mukherjee carry the film on their shoulders. This is perhaps Rani’s best performance till date. For those who believe Amitabh has already tried all kinds of roles, the eccentric Debraj Sahay is a revelation. This is his film. Your heart goes out to Shernaz Patel (of UTV fame – remember her?) who plays Michelle’s mother. Nandana Sen passes off fairly as Sarah, Michelle’s sister. However, it is Ayesha Kapur as the little Michelle who steals the show.
Black is a visual treat to watch – the cinematography by Ravi K Chandran is just splendid. The scenes shown in semi-dark conditions, with predominance to black-blue shades add to the beauty of the film. The background music and art direction are excellent – especially the huge sprawling McNally household. Some scenes do stand out – young Michelle’s first lessons on table manners, the incident with the “cake” (“Sometimes having eyes is not of much help” quotes Debraj), the scene where Michelle recognizes her dad and mom, the first signs of Debraj’s encounter with Alzheimer’s Disease, Michelle’s outburst at Sarah’s engagement and her speech at the graduation ceremony. And thankfully, there are no songs to spoil the situations.
So is ‘Black’ the perfect Hindi film that we have dreamed for? Far from it. Rani Mukherjee tends to go a little overboard at times (of course, Helen Keller did not have that cute Charlie Chaplin gait). After a brilliant first half, where the focus is on Michelle’s childhood, the film’s pace slackens considerably in the second half. Perhaps more attention could have been given at Debraj Sahay’s condition. The final scene where Michelle meets her teacher in her graduation robes, does not create the desired effect. I’ve heard that Alzheimer’s Disease does not have a cure. There’s no miraculous “Maa, main dekh sakti hoon” dialogues for Michelle(thanks!). Then why take a different view of Debraj’s disease alone?
Ah! Did I say “Hindi movie” at the start of that paragraph? Most of the characters use predominantly English. “Black” may not appeal to the masses in India, due to it’s sparing use of the national language. Does Sanjay Leela Bhansali believe that movies should be made only for the “Dil-Chahta-Hai” crowd in India? Or is he, through this movie, targeting a specific award that is given every year at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles? An Oscar dream might be a trifle too much for “Black”.
All said and done, Black is definitely a path-breaking effort in Indian cinema – a treat to watch for everyone who needs a break from the run-of-the-mill stuff dished out in the name of hindi films
