B.L.A.C.K

In these 1.5 yrs in Cal, I’ve seen only 1 movie in theatre. It’s really surprising for me, cauz when I was in Madurai, the primary entertainment during college days is to go for movies then put a camp in one of the friends house and go for an never ending pattrai.


After Matrix Revolution (the 3rd part of matrix), yesterday we housemates went to the movie BLACK (Starring Big B and Rani Mukherjee). I hadn’t read any preview or comments or story anywhere, so I had gone with an open mind rather than expectations from reviews. Just I had heard that, the outline plot was Helen Keller’s story.

Plot:
The movie starts when Bachan gets a call for a job of a teacher of a physically challenged girl who can’t see, can’t hear and can’t speak. If you’ve not heard of Helen Keller (you’ve not committed any sin, actually you will enjoy the movie more), you are drawn to the tip of the seats. How can one teach a girl who can’t have the 3 basic skills for learning?


Photography:

The first thing that comes to my mind if I think about the movie is the photography. What a photography it was.

Each and every single frame of that movie could be made into a photograph and you can fill not only your drawing room, but also your entire house with those stills. The photography was excellent and so consistent through out the movie.

There is a scene where Rani spreads her arm to feel snow… and I felt as if I am standing just in front of her in the actual scene in snow, the photography was so good.


The Kid:
The girl when she feels Bachan by her touch, she senses that it is a stranger (small kid… she’s done a good job)

Then the first encounter between Bachan and the girl is when he tries to teach her to eat by spoon. That is really a good scene, he feels so bad seeing the way she is treated in the dinning table.

The next and the best part if the film is the scene, where the girl first learns (yeah the girl learns).

The girl has a fear towards water, but it’s the water, which opens her gate to knowledge. I’ve read about this incident in my school day English lessons, so an automatic curiosity, how have they captured the girl’s expression, when she starts identifying things, the teacher’s continuous efforts in teaching her.

Usually, when novels or true stories when captured as a movie, it looses the essence of the main incidents. But this scene has really come nice in the movie. The girls once she identifies water, she runs here and there in the garden and starts asking her teacher what are each of them called, that’s one touching scene.

Rani:

First 3 years after the exams when she calls her mother back to say she has failed that year too, Rani’s expression has come very casual without any overact, especially the shrilled voice saying Fail.

The place where Bachan gives her the stick and says thatz what gonna make you independent and Rani unable to reject, just hugging him back. Senti…

Big B:

Slowly as Bachan grows old he forgets himself, and one day when he forgets Rani on the way and searches her in house, after that he asks sorry to Rani. This may be a simple sentence explaining the scene, but too well.

When sister’s marriage is going on, Bachan gives her explanation for each and every ritual done during the marriage. Atlas is the kissing between the couples, better watch it rather than being read or heard about it.


Amitabh’s eyes have acted more than him, especially in the interview scene, when Rani says my Teacher is Knowledge.


Dialogues:

Slowly the girl grows up and wants to do her degree. She wants admittance in a normal school and she has to face an interview. Its this part of the movie where dialogues are really crisp and nice.

When they ask, why does she wants to learn and what is knowledge to her, her answers are the best.

The time when Rani’s sister announces her marriage and telling what she has felt about her elder sister. Rani’s reply back to it is another place where dialogues touch, and the immediate scene after the dialogue, very prompt.

Typical Bollywood Movie:

Obviously when it’s a movie there are few things that should not have been there also.

First are dialogues, at many places this is the strength. But at few places where silence is required, there are lots of dialogues, which don’t helps us, realize the impact of that scene.

The ending just turns out to be a bollywood ending. May be this kinda movie should have such an ending to have a descent enough collection? Or else sure it would financially break (thatz mera bharat mahan)


Star Value ?!

Same kinda effort Naasar had put few years back in Tamil Cinemas, Movie: Avatharam. Maybe not because of Star Value (like the Big B, Rani and the Director) or not because of technical perfection (like Ravi K Chandran), it didn’t run properly.


There is a too good scene in that movie too, a scene where Naasar talks to Revathy (she has lost her eyesight from childhood) about Colors. He is so excited to her talking about various colors but after everything Revathy simply puts a question, what is a color? (Have we ever thought of it?)

He is unable to answer, then comes the next question, how does a white look, how does a blue look. He says, blue is how sky looks and white is how clouds look. How could this explanation suit a person who has not seen sky or clouds, too good scene.

And Illayaraja’s mesmerizing voice in a song about colors is a plus to it.




B.L.A.C.K - One movie we should not miss, not only for its technical deliverance, but also for its emotional story and act.