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Black. Interesting. Involving. Refreshing (change-wise). Definitely a cut above the rest. Probably SLBs magnum opus, though it would be a disappointment were it to turn out so. Very, very good performances by Amitabh Bachchan, Rani Mukherjee and (my pick) Shernaz Patel. But (and it's a fairly large but too) it falls just short of even an iota more than that. It's not brilliant. Or outstanding. Or even super. Why? Here's why... The plot- The focus of the story, for me, would have to be the relationship between the master and the pupil. It's ups and downs. The blind-deaf-mute girl all at sea and at odds to understand her condition, let alone a rationale. The firm, tenacious and commited master. The underlying tenderness in him that shows through with a glimmer, on accasion. The very special bond of understanding, and dependance (mutual, of course) that grows between them. Building a film around a plot is a lot like building a photograph around a moment. Once you have the 'defining factor' you only add as much as is strictly neccesary to make it whole. Any less, and there's a chance it won't seem believable. Any more and you run the risk of diluting the compellingness of the narrative. The latter, is what I think has happened with Black. The performances- As I said, all three principle actors have put in very good performances. But none of them are compelling enough. Anyone who's heard Amitabh's rendering of kabhi kabhi mere dil mein khayaal aataa hai would agree that he has a lot more on tap than he's ever offered so far. Rani's performance, on occasion, stoops down the awkward, the clumsy and the comical. These bits jar with the rest of the film. To give examples of character performances that were compelling- Russel Crowe in A Beautiful Mind, Sean Penn in I Am Sam, Geoffery Rush in Shine. And the make-up. What's with it? I couldn't get it out of my mind throughout the second half of the film... Maybe I ask too much of a film. I don't know. But, generally speaking, there have been films that have given me what I've been looking for. So... Post a comment in response: |
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