Black is beautiful!

Today after a long time, I stepped into the famous cineplex of Chennai - Sathyam to watch Black.Black is the latest movie that has created a flutter in the bollywood mainstream which has proved with ease that a good storyline, impeccable direction, excellent camerawork and a cast whose acting talent is par perfection can make a great movie without songs.

I went along with Ananth, Shivi, KR, Thanshyam Raj and Another Guy Whose Name I Don't Remember ( AGWNIDR ) to Sathyam after about three months, that is to say after I last watched The Bourne Supremacy with Venki.I just enjoyed a Hindi movie after a long time.It was no usual song and dance romance coupled with treacherous villains, or ruthless fathers or handsome heroes or ravishing heroines or any of that kind of bullshit.The movie didn't even have a song, which is what I have been praying for any Indian director to realize in their lifetime and give a movie without it.The reason is simply because song and dance doesn't happen so well planned in life with hero chasing heroine behind trees, showing platonic romantic scenes and having a great voice with lovely lyrics and all.So that in my opinion makes a good movie.It is positive step in that direction.Its not that I am against song and dance, but that we've all seen enough, and now is the time to come to reality and bring change in the cliched pattern.So there it is - Black that takes care of all that and much more.



The story is of a blind, deaf and mute girl named Michelle McNally, who struggles to find the light in her life that is covered with darkness.The man who helps her discover this is Debraj Sahai, who has had a history of working with blind as well as deaf & mute kids.Debraj first comes to know of Michelle through this Mrs.Nair, whose husband is someone( most probably Mr.Nair ) not shown and not important to the story.She is Debraj's confidante.Anyways when Debraj, first meets young Michelle he finds her treated as an animal with a bell put around her by her family to know where she moves, and that she is all petted and spoilt child who is kept under further darkness to the real outside world, thereby making her inept to take care of herself.Her family, particularly her father, considers that Michelle be put into an assylum.But they aver to the decision of leaving her to the care of her new teacher, Debraj, when he arrives.Debraj tries to suppress the brat in young Michelle by letting her trip and fall, and make her eat in an orderly manner and by not showing her sympathy, but the ways of the world.But too soon, Mr.Paul McNally, Michelle's father, loses patience and hope and curtly asks Debraj to get out.The next day Paul goes on a 20 day tour to some place, within which Debraj is supposed to have left the house.But Debraj stays and convinces Mrs.Catherrine McNally, Michelle's mom that he can make a difference by working with Michelle for those twenty days.Then he begins his days of training which would be hard and dispiriting at first, for twenty days is too short a period to see miracles.On the return of Paul, Debraj is left with no choice, other than to leave the house.But as he leaves he teaches Michelle the meaning and feel of what water is and sees that she quickly understands.To his excitement, he also sees that she learns what grass and flowers are.He immediately alerts her parents who are both only too very delighted to learn this.Debraj is then given permission to carry on with his unsusual teaching methods.Michelle grows to be a fine young lady, who would then try to graduate from a normal university.She slowly does it with a lot of endurance, and sees herself become a graduate at the age of forty.By then Debraj is ailed by Alzheimer's.Michelle on learning this, is quite determined not to leave Debraj to his own destiny, and that she would instead teach her own teacher to gain back his self.The movie ends on that note of hope.





The movie is quite beautifully crafted, and actors all grooved into their roles with great responsibility and knowledge that it is an important movie, by the famed director Sanjay Leela Bansali a.k.a. SLB.Clearly it is his most important and special movie, as he has stated in many interviews.The next aspect of the movie is the cinematography by Ravi K. Chandran who works wonders with the camera.It makes one wonder if it was really possible to capture a scene with so much poise blended with beauty.He makes a mark in Indian film history with such a sincere and magical work.He also has stated that the movie is among his most important movies and that it is one of his favourites too.Prakash Kapadia does fine with the dialogues, with Resul Pookutty resonating well for Michelle's sounds.Monty does a great jo with the background score that holds the audience in a trance.



Amitabh Bachchan, the Big B proves that he really is the Big B of Bollywood with another cameo from this movie.He plays his charcter so well that you are left to believe that the man playing Debraj, really cares for Michelle and that he really has Alzheimer's.You'd once again fall for his performance and talk about it for days to come, if you had seen his earlier movies and are a fan.Rani Mukherji plays Michelle McNally with great dedication and sincereity that is well reflected on screen.She hasn't fooled around or made us drool over her beauty by sizzling on silver screen, but has imbued herself into the life of Michelle McNally, making her mark into the coveted list of great actresses in Indian cinema.Its upto her to hold on to the respect she has earned here, through this movie.Dhritiman Chaterjee plays Paul who is anything but impressive with his acting skills.Shernaz Patel plays the role of Catherine with great elegance and teary-eyed melancholic expressiveness.She is really beautiful and one wonders if she is a Patel belonging to the likes of Amisha Patel.Whether or not one wonders, I do.Anyways then there is Nandana Sen who plays Michelle's younger sister, Sara, who is a babe and a mood changer in the movie.She is quite dazzling in the white dress she wears, with the exception of shots where she wears a lipstick.Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal plays Mrs.Nair, who cannot be possibly commented upon as her on-screen time is negligible.But perhaps the greates among all of the cast of Black is that of Ayesha kapur who lives through the scenes as the young and adamant Michelle.This acting debutant is just 10 years of age and does her role so well as to demand everyone's attention and make them ask "Is she a really special child or is her acting such?" Truly, I was compelled to ask this question by her on-screen cameo.She does it with such great involvement.I simply don't have any more words for her talent.You have to see the movie to empathize with me on this regard, and I'm quite sure we won't differ.I must say that I was quite moved and my eyes glistened at two or three places in the movie.

The story portrayed is based on the life of Helen Keller, who was blind, deaf and mute and went on to become one of the most influential writers, speakers and activists of the 20th century with her motivational and inspirational views on life.Her life itself is an example to this testimony.She really showed what hope could do.There was struggle behind every achievement of her's and behind every fall there was hope of revival and success.Many of writings still continue to inspire millions across the globe.If you do get some books authored by her please try reading to get a different viewpoint on life.Even I haven't so far got the opportunity to lay hands on any of her works.Besides, her teacher was Anne Sullivan, who through the Tadoma method taught Helen to learn and communicate with others.The rest is a story of tremendous will power and will to succeed.



I'll leave you with some of the quotes of Helen Keller -

Tolerance is the first principal of community; it is the spirit which conserves the best that all men think.

Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement; nothing can be done without hope.

A happy life consists not in the absence, but in the mastery of hardships.

I can not do everything, but I can do something. I must not fail to do the something that I can do.

I do not want the peace that passeth understanding. I want the understanding which bringeth peace.

One can never consent to creep when one feels the impulse to soar.