Black is White

I hate movies which make me cry. I usually find melodrama too hard to digest. And that's because I usually see movies to remove me from reality, to take me to a world of their own, which always make me feel good.

But Black was different.

And Black was wonderful.

And Black could make you cry.

And still i liked it.

There are some movies which flag off a new beginning, and the subsequent movies seem to follow them. After the Angry Young Man movies of the Eighties, came Hum Aapke Hain Kaun! (or perhaps Maine Pyaar Kiya) which started a whole new trend of movies. Black is as much an achievement. The no-song no-dance approach is a new beginning in Bollywood, a much needed rationalization.

Much has been written about Black, and much will be written. I am no epicure of Bollywood cinema, my vision is not as acute; I ignore many a things other people notice. I usually like to flow with the drift of the movie, see the big picture, try to see through the director's eyes - a world perhaps only he can see in many cases.

In Black, I saw grit, determination, optimisism, struggles paying off, integrity - qualities I long to see in real life but fail many a times. I saw wonderous performances, unmatched preparation for roles, round characters, heart splitting moments, a heart bouying feeling -- all very neatly packaged in two hours of cinematic wizardry.

I would like to write about a few things which I really liked about the movie - a few moments I would like to remember, a few thoughts I would like to share:

1. Grey Characters - Most movies have characters who can be branded as either "good" or "bad". Pardon me, but I do not think it is the case in reality. And I am glad SLB made sure this characters have those shades of grey, those strokes of reality, Sahay's drinking days, Michelle's longing to find her womanhood, Sarah's envious feelings towards Michelle's special care.
2. Ayesha's Child Performance - This would perhaps go down in Bollywood history as the Best child performance. Ayesha Kapur is just stunning, many grown ups would have found that role difficult - with those up-turned eyes and that rabid performance, the throwing the food, the anger and the obstinacy of a young girl who can not see, not hear, not understand the world around her.
3. Rani's portrayal - Kudos to her! After seeing the first half of the movie and Ayesha's performance, established actors would have refused to do the role, just like her role in Kuchh Kuchh Hota Hai, but Rani carried it off with elan, rather, gave a role deserving of the character.
4. Amitabh - He is a GOD ! His eye's dilating for the eye drops, his voice, his eccentricity, his determination, his acting is truly awesome. He is truly the best Bollywood has seen and will see for a long time.
   
5. Michelle is blind, so to say. But that makes her vision is clear. In life, we would see many a men conveniently turning blind in the face of adversity, ignoring glaring mistakes, clouded by their prejudices, their biases only making them see half the truth, the half they want to see. She takes things on their truth value, any other would have probably lashed out at Sarah after the outburst. She is truly blessed with a vision.
6. Communication is one high point of the movie. I usually maintain that lack of proper communication is the seed which turns into half the humankind's problems, and watching somebody blind and deaf like Michelle not wary of telling what she really feels really made me admire her - she asks Sahay to give her those moments which she probably would never experience all her life, she speaks her mind, walks her talk and only talks what she wants to walk. I would like to see real normal people match these qualities.

Black is everything a Bollywood movie isn't. Black is everything a Bollywood movie should aspire to be.

I had half expected to watch a sob-story, a story about weakness; I came out after a movie which talks of more strengths than I can think of.

Black is not a movie about blackness; Black is a movie about light.

Black is not a movie to be seen and heard; Black is a movie to be touched and felt.