REVIEW OF "BLACK", THE HINDI MOVIE
My wife and I saw "Black", the Hindi movie today. It is a moving film, which is a director's showpiece all the way through. I am an Amitabh fan and this is one of his best performances as an alcoholic teacher Devraj Sahai to the deaf-blind Michelle McNealy, played by a deglamourised Rani Mukherji.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali likes playing with light, shade and the elements. A case in point is the scene where Aishwariya Rai runs towards the gate in search of Devdas in that movie. The white sari that blows in the wind behind her, in my view, represents both wind and water when I see the sary billowing like the waves of the sea. The elements of light, water and wind are always present in all of Bhansali's movies.
"Black", despite its name, is no exception. The movie starts predictably with the screen in darkness and Michelle introducing us to her world of blindness and silence. It is later that the elements of water and light manifest their appearance. Water helps the blind Michelle understand the significance of words and light is present as a goal for her - and as a symbol of "normalcy" that her teacher would want to return to.
Michelle is is a blind girl, whose father wants to admit her into an asylum. Her mother is torn between her love for her daughter and the apparently practical wisdom of her husband to send away her deaf and blind daughter.
Into this situation enters Devraj Sahai, an alcoholic teacher whose sister has been, in his own words, similarly "swallowed" by a mental asylum, despite her mother's desire to not do so. Devraj sees redemption in Michelle and immediately gets to work. He throws the bell that has been put around Michelle's neck and tells the senior Mr. McNealy that so long as the parents regard her as an animal, there would be no way that Michelle could become "human".
From that point begins the slow learning of Michelle. Sahai teaches her the alphabet in sign language so that she can communicate - and water plays no small part in it ! Michelle is terrified of water. When she deliberately spills one jugful of water on Sahai, he retaliates furiously, dragging her to the fountain and immersing her in the cold water. While Michelle knows other words like spoon and napkin, she has not yet learnt to associate words with meanings. The experience of being immersed in water makes her realise association. From Sahai, she learns that the feeling she has experienced is that of "wat-er" and as she clumsily articulates the word, the elation that Sahai feels is one that the audience also joins in. The other words follow immediately : grass, mother, father and of course, teacher.
Over the years, Sahai teaches her not only words, but independence. He begins her education by saying that her alphabet would be B, L, A, C and K rather than A, B and C; but he shows her that it need not end with that ! Thus begins an intense relationship between the two of them. The intimacy between the two deepens and one can see that this is no ordinary teacher-student relationship.
Soon, Michelle takes up an interview to join a "regular" Arts course. She narrates one memorable answer when asked what is knowledge. After describing it in various ways, she ends by pointing to her teacher and the interpreter translates : "Knowledge is my teacher". Sahai's eyes are full of tears and it is a moving moment that illustrates the power and strength of the bond between the two protagonists in the movie. The movie continues in the same vein and has to be seen to be experienced.
In the end, I realised that the meaning of "Black" has changed over the course of the movie. While it represented darkness and blindness at the beginning of the movie, by the time the movie ends, it has become a symbol of hope, exemplified by the black robe of graduation. Michelle graduates from her Arts course after many, many years of attempting the exams. The black robe she wears on her graduation day becomes the symbol of a goal achieved and a dream shared with her teacher fulfilled. She goes to him in that robe and the Alzheimer afflicted patient who does not recognise anybody or remember anything suddenly remembers a past from long ago.
This leads to the climax, where water again reappears as a heavy rain outside Sahai's hospital window. He dances a small jig as the young Michelle used to on seeing her in the black graduation robe and feels the rain on his hand, taking along Michelle's hand also. As she recognises that he is recalling an old memory, he puts his hands on her lips and mouths the syllable "wat-er" : the word that he introduced to ther long years ago !
The cycle is complete and so is the movie !
Of course, as I have described, water plays an important part in the movie. So does light, in the dialogue between Sahai and McNealy. Just before the interval is a visual irony that Sanjay Leela Bhansali has crafted. In a clean, antiseptic, bright, white hospital room, the Alzheimer afflicted Sahai gropes towards the window. Admist all the whiteness and light, he is, in a way "unaware" and "in the dark". To restore him to be the man that he was, is what Michelle wants to do - a blind girl showing the light to a "sighted" man ! It is a delicious irony that needs to be savoured !
Rani Mukherji has turned in a first rate performance as the deaf blind girl. Her half grunts and her frustration with her disability, particularly when she fails year after year in the art course, is well done. The reviewers and critics have also praised the performance of the young Michelle, played by Ayesha Kapur. In my view, while the child has acted well, the director deserves more credit. The frustration and innocent rage at her condition is brought out by the director, rather than the actor, in my opinion.
I also feel that Shehnaz Patel as Michelle's mother is a character who deserves more credit than I have read in reviews of the movie. In the scene when she learns that Michelle is a deaf-blind girl, she is brilliant. Similarly, when Michelle mouths "mot-her", her joy is spontaneous.
The "normal" sibling played by Nandana Sen also is a realistic character. She describes how she felt neglected due to the attention that Michelle naturally gets.
However, if there is one reason why I will go to this movie again, it would be for the performance of Amitabh. In one word, he is unmatched in terms of emoting ability. There are various scenes where his class shows. For one, it is in the scene when he shows Mr. McNealy how one's fingers can communicate a wealth of meaning. Another instance : he buys two ice-creams for him and Michelle and forgets who he has bought them for. Alzheimer's disease is beginning to set in. He goes home and it is the principal of Michelle's college who finally brings her home. The flash of recognition on his face as a concerned principal re-introduces himself has to be seen in the movie.
As a movie that tells the story of how a person can overcome odds and as a movie that serves to illustrate a director's craft and as a movie with two high quality performances, "Black" deserves to be seen in the movie theatre.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
NOTE:
I had originally written this blog in another site. Since that site is no longer accessible, I am uploading it in this blog at http://fewidlethoughts.blogspot.in/ using the same date as the original blog dates.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
===== COMMON TEXT FOR ALL BLOGS =====
++++++ BEGINS ++++++
When I created my first blog, I thought I was
being clever by being "anonymous" and let my
opinions speak for themselves (see the archive !)
Imagine my embarrassment when I saw my name
displayed ! So now, while I still retain the blog
name as "Anonymous Expressions", I will only
request you to ignore my name and concentrate on
my opinions instead !
ALL COPYRIGHTS AND TRADEMARKS ARE ACKNOWLEDGED
AS THE PROPERTIES OF THEIR OWNERS.
The opinions expressed in the Weblogs are my
personal opinions. Please tell me if you spot any
factual mistakes or don't like the way I have
expressed a view. If I can see your point, I will
correct the mistake. You can email me at
kiran.suma@gmail.com.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
My wife and I saw "Black", the Hindi movie today. It is a moving film, which is a director's showpiece all the way through. I am an Amitabh fan and this is one of his best performances as an alcoholic teacher Devraj Sahai to the deaf-blind Michelle McNealy, played by a deglamourised Rani Mukherji.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali likes playing with light, shade and the elements. A case in point is the scene where Aishwariya Rai runs towards the gate in search of Devdas in that movie. The white sari that blows in the wind behind her, in my view, represents both wind and water when I see the sary billowing like the waves of the sea. The elements of light, water and wind are always present in all of Bhansali's movies.
"Black", despite its name, is no exception. The movie starts predictably with the screen in darkness and Michelle introducing us to her world of blindness and silence. It is later that the elements of water and light manifest their appearance. Water helps the blind Michelle understand the significance of words and light is present as a goal for her - and as a symbol of "normalcy" that her teacher would want to return to.
Michelle is is a blind girl, whose father wants to admit her into an asylum. Her mother is torn between her love for her daughter and the apparently practical wisdom of her husband to send away her deaf and blind daughter.
Into this situation enters Devraj Sahai, an alcoholic teacher whose sister has been, in his own words, similarly "swallowed" by a mental asylum, despite her mother's desire to not do so. Devraj sees redemption in Michelle and immediately gets to work. He throws the bell that has been put around Michelle's neck and tells the senior Mr. McNealy that so long as the parents regard her as an animal, there would be no way that Michelle could become "human".
From that point begins the slow learning of Michelle. Sahai teaches her the alphabet in sign language so that she can communicate - and water plays no small part in it ! Michelle is terrified of water. When she deliberately spills one jugful of water on Sahai, he retaliates furiously, dragging her to the fountain and immersing her in the cold water. While Michelle knows other words like spoon and napkin, she has not yet learnt to associate words with meanings. The experience of being immersed in water makes her realise association. From Sahai, she learns that the feeling she has experienced is that of "wat-er" and as she clumsily articulates the word, the elation that Sahai feels is one that the audience also joins in. The other words follow immediately : grass, mother, father and of course, teacher.
Over the years, Sahai teaches her not only words, but independence. He begins her education by saying that her alphabet would be B, L, A, C and K rather than A, B and C; but he shows her that it need not end with that ! Thus begins an intense relationship between the two of them. The intimacy between the two deepens and one can see that this is no ordinary teacher-student relationship.
Soon, Michelle takes up an interview to join a "regular" Arts course. She narrates one memorable answer when asked what is knowledge. After describing it in various ways, she ends by pointing to her teacher and the interpreter translates : "Knowledge is my teacher". Sahai's eyes are full of tears and it is a moving moment that illustrates the power and strength of the bond between the two protagonists in the movie. The movie continues in the same vein and has to be seen to be experienced.
In the end, I realised that the meaning of "Black" has changed over the course of the movie. While it represented darkness and blindness at the beginning of the movie, by the time the movie ends, it has become a symbol of hope, exemplified by the black robe of graduation. Michelle graduates from her Arts course after many, many years of attempting the exams. The black robe she wears on her graduation day becomes the symbol of a goal achieved and a dream shared with her teacher fulfilled. She goes to him in that robe and the Alzheimer afflicted patient who does not recognise anybody or remember anything suddenly remembers a past from long ago.
This leads to the climax, where water again reappears as a heavy rain outside Sahai's hospital window. He dances a small jig as the young Michelle used to on seeing her in the black graduation robe and feels the rain on his hand, taking along Michelle's hand also. As she recognises that he is recalling an old memory, he puts his hands on her lips and mouths the syllable "wat-er" : the word that he introduced to ther long years ago !
The cycle is complete and so is the movie !
Of course, as I have described, water plays an important part in the movie. So does light, in the dialogue between Sahai and McNealy. Just before the interval is a visual irony that Sanjay Leela Bhansali has crafted. In a clean, antiseptic, bright, white hospital room, the Alzheimer afflicted Sahai gropes towards the window. Admist all the whiteness and light, he is, in a way "unaware" and "in the dark". To restore him to be the man that he was, is what Michelle wants to do - a blind girl showing the light to a "sighted" man ! It is a delicious irony that needs to be savoured !
Rani Mukherji has turned in a first rate performance as the deaf blind girl. Her half grunts and her frustration with her disability, particularly when she fails year after year in the art course, is well done. The reviewers and critics have also praised the performance of the young Michelle, played by Ayesha Kapur. In my view, while the child has acted well, the director deserves more credit. The frustration and innocent rage at her condition is brought out by the director, rather than the actor, in my opinion.
I also feel that Shehnaz Patel as Michelle's mother is a character who deserves more credit than I have read in reviews of the movie. In the scene when she learns that Michelle is a deaf-blind girl, she is brilliant. Similarly, when Michelle mouths "mot-her", her joy is spontaneous.
The "normal" sibling played by Nandana Sen also is a realistic character. She describes how she felt neglected due to the attention that Michelle naturally gets.
However, if there is one reason why I will go to this movie again, it would be for the performance of Amitabh. In one word, he is unmatched in terms of emoting ability. There are various scenes where his class shows. For one, it is in the scene when he shows Mr. McNealy how one's fingers can communicate a wealth of meaning. Another instance : he buys two ice-creams for him and Michelle and forgets who he has bought them for. Alzheimer's disease is beginning to set in. He goes home and it is the principal of Michelle's college who finally brings her home. The flash of recognition on his face as a concerned principal re-introduces himself has to be seen in the movie.
As a movie that tells the story of how a person can overcome odds and as a movie that serves to illustrate a director's craft and as a movie with two high quality performances, "Black" deserves to be seen in the movie theatre.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
NOTE:
I had originally written this blog in another site. Since that site is no longer accessible, I am uploading it in this blog at http://fewidlethoughts.blogspot.in/ using the same date as the original blog dates.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
===== COMMON TEXT FOR ALL BLOGS =====
++++++ BEGINS ++++++
When I created my first blog, I thought I was
being clever by being "anonymous" and let my
opinions speak for themselves (see the archive !)
Imagine my embarrassment when I saw my name
displayed ! So now, while I still retain the blog
name as "Anonymous Expressions", I will only
request you to ignore my name and concentrate on
my opinions instead !
ALL COPYRIGHTS AND TRADEMARKS ARE ACKNOWLEDGED
AS THE PROPERTIES OF THEIR OWNERS.
The opinions expressed in the Weblogs are my
personal opinions. Please tell me if you spot any
factual mistakes or don't like the way I have
expressed a view. If I can see your point, I will
correct the mistake. You can email me at
kiran.suma@gmail.com.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Nice detailed review Kiran and Suma ! It was a superb movie and I was hoping it would get recognised in the Oscars . One of Amitabh's best ever performances
ReplyDeletePlease accept my apologies for the late response, Arun. It is only now when I logged into blogger.com that I saw there comments awaiting moderation.
DeleteYes, I agree that this is one of Amitabh's best performances. The other actors have excelled, as has the director. The only down side that I can think of is the dark look at times, for the movie !