Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Black Is Ready To Release On Ott After 19 Years (Picture Credit: IMDb)
Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s gem, Black, is ready to release digitally after 19 years of release, and Amitabh Bachchan informed about the same, expressing his happiness on social media. The film that changed the course of Hindi Cinema was way ahead of its time and one of the major reasons why it could not work well figuratively despite getting critical acclaim.
While the film was available on various streaming platforms outside India, it wasn’t available on any to date. But now, it is ready to release on Ott, and we thought we would brush up on your memories about the film.
Black won four major awards – Best Film, Best Actor, Best Actress & Best Director at the Filmfare Awards and was the fifth film to do so after Guide, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai,...
Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s gem, Black, is ready to release digitally after 19 years of release, and Amitabh Bachchan informed about the same, expressing his happiness on social media. The film that changed the course of Hindi Cinema was way ahead of its time and one of the major reasons why it could not work well figuratively despite getting critical acclaim.
While the film was available on various streaming platforms outside India, it wasn’t available on any to date. But now, it is ready to release on Ott, and we thought we would brush up on your memories about the film.
Black won four major awards – Best Film, Best Actor, Best Actress & Best Director at the Filmfare Awards and was the fifth film to do so after Guide, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai,...
- 2/5/2024
- by Trisha Gaur
- KoiMoi
New Delhi, Sep 22 (Ians) As many as 20 teams, featuring some of the city’s best golfing talent will vie for top honours at the second edition of the Delhi Golf Club League, beginning on September 29 at the historic Delhi Golf Club, here.
The League, which will feature 13 days of hard-fought golf, will conclude with finals on October 22.
The 20 teams at Dgc League 2022 are two more than the inaugural season. Each team will comprise 20 players, supported by one mentor and one coach. The tournament will be played on a “Four-ball better-ball Matchplay” format.
”The Lloyd Dgc League prides itself for having incorporated the best practices in the format to make it fair, competitive and enjoyable for the entire golfing ecosystem at Dgc. The mentoring programme of the League has some of the finest golfers in India sharing their knowledge and expertise with all the members, a fantastic learning opportunity, especially the Juniors,...
The League, which will feature 13 days of hard-fought golf, will conclude with finals on October 22.
The 20 teams at Dgc League 2022 are two more than the inaugural season. Each team will comprise 20 players, supported by one mentor and one coach. The tournament will be played on a “Four-ball better-ball Matchplay” format.
”The Lloyd Dgc League prides itself for having incorporated the best practices in the format to make it fair, competitive and enjoyable for the entire golfing ecosystem at Dgc. The mentoring programme of the League has some of the finest golfers in India sharing their knowledge and expertise with all the members, a fantastic learning opportunity, especially the Juniors,...
- 9/22/2022
- by Glamsham Bureau
- GlamSham
Actress Ayesha Kapur, who played the younger version of Rani Mukerji’s character in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Black’, is all set to make her debut as a lead in Bollywood with the upcoming film ‘Hari-Om’.
The 28-year-old actress, who went to study at Columbia in New York, has been working on her Hindi diction for nearly 6 months with Kulvinder Bakshish (The language coach who also trained Aamir Khan in Punjabi for ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’).
She has also been doing workshops together with the film’s actor Anshuman Jha.
Talking about the film being her vehicle as a leading lady, Ayesha said in a statement: “I am excited about getting back into acting and shooting for Hari Om. It’s a sweet, family film which will touch a chord with everyone in some way. I like the simplicity with which Harish Sir writes his stories and fleshes out his characters.
The 28-year-old actress, who went to study at Columbia in New York, has been working on her Hindi diction for nearly 6 months with Kulvinder Bakshish (The language coach who also trained Aamir Khan in Punjabi for ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’).
She has also been doing workshops together with the film’s actor Anshuman Jha.
Talking about the film being her vehicle as a leading lady, Ayesha said in a statement: “I am excited about getting back into acting and shooting for Hari Om. It’s a sweet, family film which will touch a chord with everyone in some way. I like the simplicity with which Harish Sir writes his stories and fleshes out his characters.
- 9/5/2022
- by Glamsham Bureau
- GlamSham
New Delhi, May 20: "Black" fame actress Ayesha Kapur enjoys shopping for accessories so much that she decided to make it her business and launched her own label - Ayesha Accessories.
"Ayesha (her company) is an inspiration for me and my mother Jacqueline, who is also the co-founder and MD of Ayesha Accessories, that grew out of the fun that we have while shopping for accessories," said the 18-year-old student-cum-entrepreneur.
As a teenager she splurged all over the world while accompanying her mother for her merchandising trips, except in India as no "girls-have-fun things" were available here.
After realizing.
"Ayesha (her company) is an inspiration for me and my mother Jacqueline, who is also the co-founder and MD of Ayesha Accessories, that grew out of the fun that we have while shopping for accessories," said the 18-year-old student-cum-entrepreneur.
As a teenager she splurged all over the world while accompanying her mother for her merchandising trips, except in India as no "girls-have-fun things" were available here.
After realizing.
- 5/20/2013
- by Anita Agarwal
- RealBollywood.com
To celebrate the 70th birthday of Mr. Amitabh Bachchan and also to pay tribute to his contributions as an actor, we have compiled a list of the ten greatest films which this Bollywood legend has starred in. We hope this will entice you to watch some, if not all these films if you have never encountered them before. This list has aimed to promote some of Amitabh Bachchan’s films where he has been able to demonstrate his wide-ranging abilities as a professional actor. This includes the years when he was dubbed ‘the angry young man’ of Hindi cinema, as well as some of the films where he has played comedic, romantic and senior characters. We hope that by highlighting some of his key films, this will verify for you why Amitabh Bachchan is widely regarded by many as one of the greatest actors to have emerged from the Indian...
- 10/11/2012
- by Bodrul Chaudhury
- Bollyspice
He popularised the line 'Tussi na jao' (Please don't go) as the cute Sikh kid in Karan Johar's 1998 hit 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hain'. Parzaan Dastur, now 17, plays the protagonist in new film 'Sikandar' and says he would love to take up acting as a career and work with Shah Rukh Khan again.'Acting is something I have been doing for long. I have loved doing it and enjoyed every moment of it. But that time (during 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hain') it was a hobby. If it turns out to be a career, I will love it because I just enjoy being in front of the camera. I enjoy taking commands from the director, performing and getting the appreciation,' Parzaan told Ians in an interview.Parzaan wants to act with Shah Rukh and Kajol again. They played the lead in 'Kuch Kuch...'.'I would love to...
- 8/29/2009
- Filmicafe
Ayesha Kapoor has admitted that she found it difficult to relate to her character in Sikandar. Kapoor, who plays a shy Kashmiri girl in Piyush Jha's film, revealed that she is far more modern because of her family upbringing. She told Ians: "It was hard for me to relate to my character in the film since I'm a completely different in real life. Nasreen, my character, is conservative. That's the (more)...
- 8/25/2009
- by By Sanjay Odedra
- Digital Spy
She earned rave reviews for her performance as a blind and deaf girl in the critically acclaimed Â.BlackÂ., but 14-year-old Ayesha Kapoor says she wasnÂ.t able to relate to her character of a conservative Kashmiri girl in her latest film Â.SikandarÂ..Â.It was hard for me to relate to my character in the film since IÂ.m a completely different in real life. Nasreen, my character, is conservative. ThatÂ.s the opposite of me,Â. Ayesha told Ians.Â.From a very young age, I have lived in an international community. My friends are from all over the world. I get to meet people from different cultures. ThatÂ.s made me quite modern. Also, I am half German, so my thinking is very different,Â. she added.Directed by Piyush Jha, Â.SikandarÂ. released Friday and has got mixed reviews. In the film, Ayesha plays protagonist...
- 8/23/2009
- Filmicafe
Movie Review: Sikandar; Star cast: R. Madhavan, Sanjay Suri, Parzaan Dastur, Ayesha Kapoor, Ketaki Thatte and introducing Arunoday Singh; Director: Piyush Jha; Rating: *** - An engrossing fare.
Parents less Sikandar (Parzaan) is a 14 year old boy who stays with his uncle and aunt in Kashmir. He is a passionate footballer player but is often bullied by his three school mates. The loner Sikandar becomes friends with Nasreen (Ayesha Kapoor) who is new in his school and town. At the same time terrorism activities are on the rise in the state with militant Zahgeer (Arunoday) arriving.
Parents less Sikandar (Parzaan) is a 14 year old boy who stays with his uncle and aunt in Kashmir. He is a passionate footballer player but is often bullied by his three school mates. The loner Sikandar becomes friends with Nasreen (Ayesha Kapoor) who is new in his school and town. At the same time terrorism activities are on the rise in the state with militant Zahgeer (Arunoday) arriving.
- 8/21/2009
- by realbollywood
- RealBollywood.com
Truthfully Ayesha Kapoor tells you she doesn’t watch too many Bollywood movies and doesn’t know any Hindi.
So when for her second film Sikandar she had to speak in Hindi and Urdu, she found an easy way out. “It was tough. For Black I didn’t have to speak at all. Back home in Auroville I got myself a Hindi coach.”
But Ayesha did something unheard of to master the lines. “I memorized the entire script, all my speaking lines in Sikandar. I realized there wasn’t enough time to learn Hindi, so I just memorized my entire.
So when for her second film Sikandar she had to speak in Hindi and Urdu, she found an easy way out. “It was tough. For Black I didn’t have to speak at all. Back home in Auroville I got myself a Hindi coach.”
But Ayesha did something unheard of to master the lines. “I memorized the entire script, all my speaking lines in Sikandar. I realized there wasn’t enough time to learn Hindi, so I just memorized my entire.
- 8/20/2009
- by realbollywood
- RealBollywood.com
Filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra inaugurated a photo exhibition of scenic Kashmir taken during the filming of Sikandar , a film written and directed by Piyush Jha produced by Big Pictures . The film is scheduled to release on 21 August , 2009 in India, Us, UAE with the film rights been sold in Israel, Malaysia, Sri Lanka.The entire cast of Sikandar was present at the inauguration of the photo exhibition – R Madhavan, Sanjay Suri, Parzaan Dastur, Ayesha Kapur, debutant Arunuday Singh along with Jha and producer Sudhir Mishra, who were ecstatic to bring their Kashmir ...
- 8/18/2009
- BusinessofCinema
Ayesha Kapoor who was last seen in ace filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 2004 release Black is now back in action with her upcoming flick Sikandar. Black not only earned her name and fame but she also got her first Filmfare Award (supporting actress). Now Ayesha is pretty excited about her new film Sikandar, .When I was offered the role for Sikandar, I was extremely excited because I had not done a film for so long. After doing Black, I was at home and continuing the usual routine; going to school...
- 4/10/2009
- GlamSham
Ayesha Kapoor who was last seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s 2004 release Black is now back in action with her upcoming flick Sikandar. Black not only earned her name and fame but she also got her first Filmfare Award (supporting actress for Black).
Ayesha speaks on her role and more, “When I was offered the role for Sikandar, I was extremely excited because I had not done a film for so long. After shooting Black, I was at home and continuing the usual routine; going to school, riding my beautiful horses and being just me. Acting had always been my passion; ever since I was a little girl,.
Ayesha speaks on her role and more, “When I was offered the role for Sikandar, I was extremely excited because I had not done a film for so long. After shooting Black, I was at home and continuing the usual routine; going to school, riding my beautiful horses and being just me. Acting had always been my passion; ever since I was a little girl,.
- 4/10/2009
- by realbollywood
- RealBollywood.com
It has never been done before. After seeing Sikandar, Piyush Jha's film on Kashmir militancy, Prasoon Joshi was so inspired that he wrote a song based on the film. And now producer Sudhir Mishra is so inspired by Prasoon's song on Sikandar that he has decided to incorporate it into the film, and also shoot a music video based on the song. Says Sudhir Mishra, "You're right. This has never happened before. Prasoon Joshi saw Sikandar. He fell in love with the idea and theme of the idea. And he offered to write a song. We thought we'd use the song to promote the film. But it was too evocative to not incorporate into the film." Now, Piyush Jha has shot extra scenes to accommodate Prasoon's song into the narrative. The song also recurs in the film's soundtrack. "It adds a whole new dimension to the film. Prasoon's song...
- 3/17/2009
- by Subhash K. Jha
- BollywoodHungama
It has never been done before. After seeing Sikandar, Piyush Jha's film on Kashmir militancy, Prasoon Joshi was so inspired that he wrote a song based on the film. And now producer Sudhir Mishra is so inspired by Prasoon's song on Sikandar that he has decided to incorporate it into the film, and also shoot a music video based on the song. Says Sudhir Mishra, "You're right. This has never happened before. Prasoon Joshi saw Sikandar. He fell in love with the idea and theme of the idea. And he offered to write a song. We thought we'd use the song to promote the film. But it was too evocative to not incorporate into the film." Now, Piyush Jha has shot extra scenes to accommodate Prasoon's song into the narrative. The song also recurs in the film's soundtrack. "It adds a whole new dimension to the film. Prasoon's song...
- 3/17/2009
- by Subhash K. Jha
- BollywoodHungama
Film: "Sikandar"Music Director: Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy, Justin-Uday and Sandesh ShandilyaLyricists: Prasoon Joshi, Neelesh Misra and KumaarSingers; Shankar Mahadevan, Kk, Yash Narvekar, Hrishikesh Kamerkar, Mehrajuddin, Shilpa Rao, Hamsika Iyer, Anusha Mani and Mohit ChauhanRating: **1/2 Director Piyush Jha's "Sikandar" has a soundtrack that has woven together different influences - Sufi, folk and even soft rock - as it brings together several composers and lyricists. Produced by Sudhir Mishra, "Sikandar" is set in Kashmir and stars Sanjay Suri, R. Madhavan and child actors Parzaan Dastur and Ayesha Kapur. The film's music is definitely impressive but only ...
- 3/10/2009
- Bollywoodworld.com
Big Pictures in association with Sudhir Mishra is presenting a one of its kind suspense thriller titled Sikandar this March. The film stars Parzaan Dastur, the adorable little Sardar from the film Kuchh Kuchh Hota Hai, now in his teens, Ayesha Kapur of Black fame as she makes her come back as a lead actress this time along with R. Madhavan, Sanjay Suri & Arunoday Singh in key roles. The film has been written and directed by Piyush Jha. Ayesha Kapur, Piyush Jha and Sudhir Mishra shared their experiences with...
- 2/23/2009
- GlamSham
Big Pictures brings two enthralling films back to back this March 2009. The suspense thriller Sikandar starring Parzaan Dastur (of Parzania fame) and Ayesha Kapoor (of Black fame) and the supernatural thriller 13B starring R. Madhavan and Neetu Chandra, the promos of which would be unveiled with Luck By Chance which releases worldwide on January 30, 2009. Big Pictures has a slate of 18 films for 2009 of which the three films above are planned for release in the first quarter. Directed by Piyush Jha, Sikandar is a suspense thriller. The story of a 14 year old schoolboy Sikander living in Kashmir with his uncle and aunt. One day, on his way home from a school football match, Sikandar finds a gun lying on the path which changes his life forever. Sikandar is a story about friendship, power, loyalty and triumph. Parzaan Dastur takes on the role of Sikandar after his heart wrenching performance in Parzania...
- 1/28/2009
- by Bollywood Hungama News Network
- BollywoodHungama
Big Pictures brings two enthralling films back to back this March 2009. The suspense thriller Sikandar starring Parzaan Dastur (of Parzania fame) and Ayesha Kapoor (of Black fame) and the supernatural thriller 13B starring R. Madhavan and Neetu Chandra, the first look of which would be unveiled with Luck By Chance, the directorial debut of Zoya Akhtar asserted to be released worldwide on 30th January, 2009. Big Pictures has a slate of 18 films for 2009 of which the three films abovementioned are planned for release in the first quarter....
- 1/27/2009
- GlamSham
Big Pictures, the motion pictures brand from Reliance Big Entertainment Ltd, brings two enthralling films back to back this March 2009. The suspense thriller ‘Sikandar’ starring Parzaan Dastur (of ‘Parzania’ fame) and Ayesha Kapoor (of ‘Black’ fame) and the supernatural thriller ‘13B’ starring R. Madhavan and Neetu Chandra, the first look of which would be unveiled with ‘Luck By Chance’, the directorial debut of Zoya Akhtar asserted to be released worldwide on 30th January, 2009. Big Pictures has a slate of 18 films for 2009 of which the three films above are planned for release in the first quarter.
Ecstatic about this New Year’s slate Rajesh Sawhney, President, Reliance.
Ecstatic about this New Year’s slate Rajesh Sawhney, President, Reliance.
- 1/27/2009
- by realbollywood
- RealBollywood.com
NEW DELHI -- The 51st Filmfare Awards -- India's most established awards show -- was held Saturday in Mumbai as the offbeat Black walked away with 11 awards including best film and best director for Sanjay Leela Bhansali. The awards, organized by Filmfare magazine, featured a special appearance on stage by Will Smith, who gave away the best actress trophy to Rani Mukherjee. Mukherjee plays a blind woman in Black, which explores her relationship with her guide, played by Amitabh Bachchan, who bagged both best actor and the critics award for best actor. Child actress Ayesha Kapoor (who plays Mukherjee's character as a child) won best supporting actress, while Black also took trophies for editing and cinematography. In his acceptance speech, Bhansali dedicated his award to "the deaf and blind whom I will call the warriors of darkness."...
- 2/28/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles
Black represents a major departure -- and major leap forward -- for the Bollywood film industry. Hindi films made in Bombay (or Mumbai as it is now called) invariably and without much imagination revolve around songs, dance numbers and love stories featuring stock characters. Black has none of that. Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali (Devdas) and his fellow producers mean to reach an international audience whose interest in Indian cinema has been sparked by Oscar nominee Lagaan and such non-Bollywood films as Bend It Like Beckham and Monsoon Wedding.
The good news is that Black, which opened in India in mid-February, has become a hit film, demonstrating that Indian audiences themselves are looking for less formulaic and more intelligent local films.
Black initially seems like a lift from The Miracle Worker in its story of a great teacher who is able to connect with and instruct a young deaf, blind and mute girl. One of the givens of Bollywood is its filmmakers' transparent willingness to borrow liberally from Western hit films. But Black moves beyond slavish imitation of Arthur Penn's film in so many ways that it most definitely stands as an original work.
For one thing, the teacher is not a nearly blind young woman but a much older man, full of bluster -- and often full of alcohol, too -- who is grimly determined to "break" this wild child so he can teach her first to behave and then to understand the concept of words and their meanings. The first act does more or less follow the plot arc of the 1962 film: The teacher struggles to gain the young girl's confidence before her parents can ship her off to a mental institution. This culminates in her understanding of the word "water."
Then the film forges ahead to the pupil's years at a university willing to accept her, where her teacher sits by her side in classrooms year after year signing to her the lecturers' words. The film also focuses on the difficulties of the young woman's sister, who resents all the attention received by her older sibling, and misplaced emotions arising from the fact the woman's teacher is of the opposite sex.
The biggest difference, though, comes in a framing device that lets the story be told in flashback from the point where the teacher is himself trapped in a world of blackness. Alzheimer's disease has ravaged his brain. So now it is the pupil who must teach the teacher the meaning of the word "water."
Just as Rain Man turned a handicap into a boxoffice wonder by casting stars Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman, so too Black's popularity in India owes much to the casting of Amitabh Bachchan, Bollywood's biggest star, as the teacher. Now an older man, Bachchan still commands the screen with authority, though Western audiences might find his acting a bit over the top. The entire movie, for that matter, relies heavily on melodramatic flourishes and a musical score intent on telling viewers what to think and feel at every moment.
The actresses who play the pupil -- Ayesha Kapoor as the young girl and Rani Mukherjee as the older woman -- are truly remarkable in conveying the anguish of a life spent in blackness and the grit and determination it takes to search for the light of education.
The girl's family are well-to-do Anglo-Indians who are Christian and live in a lovely, Raj-influenced home in the northern Indian hill town of Simla. Cinematographer Ravi K. Chandran and art director Omung Kumar turn that house and later the university into things of beauty by using sunlight streaming through windows and pleasing color tones, at times creating a monochromatic look.
BLACK
Applause Entertainment and S.L.B. Films
Credits:
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Writer: Bhavani Iyer
Producers: Sanjay Leela Bhansaali, Anshuman Swami
Executive producers: Gautami Bhatt, Aman Gill
Director of photography: Ravi K. Chandran
Production designer: Omung Kumar
Music: MontySharma
Costumes: Sabyasachi Mukherji
Editor: Bela Segal. Cast: Debraj Sahai: Amitabh Bachchan
Michelle McNally: Rani Mukherjee
Young Michelle: Ayesha Kapoor
Sarah McNally: Nandana Sen
Katherine McNally: Shernaz Patel
Mrs. Nair: Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal
Paul McNally: Vijay Crishna
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 124 minutes...
Black represents a major departure -- and major leap forward -- for the Bollywood film industry. Hindi films made in Bombay (or Mumbai as it is now called) invariably and without much imagination revolve around songs, dance numbers and love stories featuring stock characters. Black has none of that. Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali (Devdas) and his fellow producers mean to reach an international audience whose interest in Indian cinema has been sparked by Oscar nominee Lagaan and such non-Bollywood films as Bend It Like Beckham and Monsoon Wedding.
The good news is that Black, which opened in India in mid-February, has become a hit film, demonstrating that Indian audiences themselves are looking for less formulaic and more intelligent local films.
Black initially seems like a lift from The Miracle Worker in its story of a great teacher who is able to connect with and instruct a young deaf, blind and mute girl. One of the givens of Bollywood is its filmmakers' transparent willingness to borrow liberally from Western hit films. But Black moves beyond slavish imitation of Arthur Penn's film in so many ways that it most definitely stands as an original work.
For one thing, the teacher is not a nearly blind young woman but a much older man, full of bluster -- and often full of alcohol, too -- who is grimly determined to "break" this wild child so he can teach her first to behave and then to understand the concept of words and their meanings. The first act does more or less follow the plot arc of the 1962 film: The teacher struggles to gain the young girl's confidence before her parents can ship her off to a mental institution. This culminates in her understanding of the word "water."
Then the film forges ahead to the pupil's years at a university willing to accept her, where her teacher sits by her side in classrooms year after year signing to her the lecturers' words. The film also focuses on the difficulties of the young woman's sister, who resents all the attention received by her older sibling, and misplaced emotions arising from the fact the woman's teacher is of the opposite sex.
The biggest difference, though, comes in a framing device that lets the story be told in flashback from the point where the teacher is himself trapped in a world of blackness. Alzheimer's disease has ravaged his brain. So now it is the pupil who must teach the teacher the meaning of the word "water."
Just as Rain Man turned a handicap into a boxoffice wonder by casting stars Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman, so too Black's popularity in India owes much to the casting of Amitabh Bachchan, Bollywood's biggest star, as the teacher. Now an older man, Bachchan still commands the screen with authority, though Western audiences might find his acting a bit over the top. The entire movie, for that matter, relies heavily on melodramatic flourishes and a musical score intent on telling viewers what to think and feel at every moment.
The actresses who play the pupil -- Ayesha Kapoor as the young girl and Rani Mukherjee as the older woman -- are truly remarkable in conveying the anguish of a life spent in blackness and the grit and determination it takes to search for the light of education.
The girl's family are well-to-do Anglo-Indians who are Christian and live in a lovely, Raj-influenced home in the northern Indian hill town of Simla. Cinematographer Ravi K. Chandran and art director Omung Kumar turn that house and later the university into things of beauty by using sunlight streaming through windows and pleasing color tones, at times creating a monochromatic look.
BLACK
Applause Entertainment and S.L.B. Films
Credits:
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Writer: Bhavani Iyer
Producers: Sanjay Leela Bhansaali, Anshuman Swami
Executive producers: Gautami Bhatt, Aman Gill
Director of photography: Ravi K. Chandran
Production designer: Omung Kumar
Music: MontySharma
Costumes: Sabyasachi Mukherji
Editor: Bela Segal. Cast: Debraj Sahai: Amitabh Bachchan
Michelle McNally: Rani Mukherjee
Young Michelle: Ayesha Kapoor
Sarah McNally: Nandana Sen
Katherine McNally: Shernaz Patel
Mrs. Nair: Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal
Paul McNally: Vijay Crishna
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 124 minutes...
- 4/28/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles
Black represents a major departure -- and major leap forward -- for the Bollywood film industry. Hindi films made in Bombay (or Mumbai as it is now called) invariably and without much imagination revolve around songs, dance numbers and love stories featuring stock characters. Black has none of that. Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali (Devdas) and his fellow producers mean to reach an international audience whose interest in Indian cinema has been sparked by Oscar nominee Lagaan and such non-Bollywood films as Bend It Like Beckham and Monsoon Wedding.
The good news is that Black, which opened in India in mid-February, has become a hit film, demonstrating that Indian audiences themselves are looking for less formulaic and more intelligent local films.
Black initially seems like a lift from The Miracle Worker in its story of a great teacher who is able to connect with and instruct a young deaf, blind and mute girl. One of the givens of Bollywood is its filmmakers' transparent willingness to borrow liberally from Western hit films. But Black moves beyond slavish imitation of Arthur Penn's film in so many ways that it most definitely stands as an original work.
For one thing, the teacher is not a nearly blind young woman but a much older man, full of bluster -- and often full of alcohol, too -- who is grimly determined to "break" this wild child so he can teach her first to behave and then to understand the concept of words and their meanings. The first act does more or less follow the plot arc of the 1962 film: The teacher struggles to gain the young girl's confidence before her parents can ship her off to a mental institution. This culminates in her understanding of the word "water."
Then the film forges ahead to the pupil's years at a university willing to accept her, where her teacher sits by her side in classrooms year after year signing to her the lecturers' words. The film also focuses on the difficulties of the young woman's sister, who resents all the attention received by her older sibling, and misplaced emotions arising from the fact the woman's teacher is of the opposite sex.
The biggest difference, though, comes in a framing device that lets the story be told in flashback from the point where the teacher is himself trapped in a world of blackness. Alzheimer's disease has ravaged his brain. So now it is the pupil who must teach the teacher the meaning of the word "water."
Just as Rain Man turned a handicap into a boxoffice wonder by casting stars Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman, so too Black's popularity in India owes much to the casting of Amitabh Bachchan, Bollywood's biggest star, as the teacher. Now an older man, Bachchan still commands the screen with authority, though Western audiences might find his acting a bit over the top. The entire movie, for that matter, relies heavily on melodramatic flourishes and a musical score intent on telling viewers what to think and feel at every moment.
The actresses who play the pupil -- Ayesha Kapoor as the young girl and Rani Mukherjee as the older woman -- are truly remarkable in conveying the anguish of a life spent in blackness and the grit and determination it takes to search for the light of education.
The girl's family are well-to-do Anglo-Indians who are Christian and live in a lovely, Raj-influenced home in the northern Indian hill town of Simla. Cinematographer Ravi K. Chandran and art director Omung Kumar turn that house and later the university into things of beauty by using sunlight streaming through windows and pleasing color tones, at times creating a monochromatic look.
BLACK
Applause Entertainment and S.L.B. Films
Credits:
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Writer: Bhavani Iyer
Producers: Sanjay Leela Bhansaali, Anshuman Swami
Executive producers: Gautami Bhatt, Aman Gill
Director of photography: Ravi K. Chandran
Production designer: Omung Kumar
Music: MontySharma
Costumes: Sabyasachi Mukherji
Editor: Bela Segal. Cast: Debraj Sahai: Amitabh Bachchan
Michelle McNally: Rani Mukherjee
Young Michelle: Ayesha Kapoor
Sarah McNally: Nandana Sen
Katherine McNally: Shernaz Patel
Mrs. Nair: Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal
Paul McNally: Vijay Crishna
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 124 minutes...
Black represents a major departure -- and major leap forward -- for the Bollywood film industry. Hindi films made in Bombay (or Mumbai as it is now called) invariably and without much imagination revolve around songs, dance numbers and love stories featuring stock characters. Black has none of that. Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali (Devdas) and his fellow producers mean to reach an international audience whose interest in Indian cinema has been sparked by Oscar nominee Lagaan and such non-Bollywood films as Bend It Like Beckham and Monsoon Wedding.
The good news is that Black, which opened in India in mid-February, has become a hit film, demonstrating that Indian audiences themselves are looking for less formulaic and more intelligent local films.
Black initially seems like a lift from The Miracle Worker in its story of a great teacher who is able to connect with and instruct a young deaf, blind and mute girl. One of the givens of Bollywood is its filmmakers' transparent willingness to borrow liberally from Western hit films. But Black moves beyond slavish imitation of Arthur Penn's film in so many ways that it most definitely stands as an original work.
For one thing, the teacher is not a nearly blind young woman but a much older man, full of bluster -- and often full of alcohol, too -- who is grimly determined to "break" this wild child so he can teach her first to behave and then to understand the concept of words and their meanings. The first act does more or less follow the plot arc of the 1962 film: The teacher struggles to gain the young girl's confidence before her parents can ship her off to a mental institution. This culminates in her understanding of the word "water."
Then the film forges ahead to the pupil's years at a university willing to accept her, where her teacher sits by her side in classrooms year after year signing to her the lecturers' words. The film also focuses on the difficulties of the young woman's sister, who resents all the attention received by her older sibling, and misplaced emotions arising from the fact the woman's teacher is of the opposite sex.
The biggest difference, though, comes in a framing device that lets the story be told in flashback from the point where the teacher is himself trapped in a world of blackness. Alzheimer's disease has ravaged his brain. So now it is the pupil who must teach the teacher the meaning of the word "water."
Just as Rain Man turned a handicap into a boxoffice wonder by casting stars Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman, so too Black's popularity in India owes much to the casting of Amitabh Bachchan, Bollywood's biggest star, as the teacher. Now an older man, Bachchan still commands the screen with authority, though Western audiences might find his acting a bit over the top. The entire movie, for that matter, relies heavily on melodramatic flourishes and a musical score intent on telling viewers what to think and feel at every moment.
The actresses who play the pupil -- Ayesha Kapoor as the young girl and Rani Mukherjee as the older woman -- are truly remarkable in conveying the anguish of a life spent in blackness and the grit and determination it takes to search for the light of education.
The girl's family are well-to-do Anglo-Indians who are Christian and live in a lovely, Raj-influenced home in the northern Indian hill town of Simla. Cinematographer Ravi K. Chandran and art director Omung Kumar turn that house and later the university into things of beauty by using sunlight streaming through windows and pleasing color tones, at times creating a monochromatic look.
BLACK
Applause Entertainment and S.L.B. Films
Credits:
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Writer: Bhavani Iyer
Producers: Sanjay Leela Bhansaali, Anshuman Swami
Executive producers: Gautami Bhatt, Aman Gill
Director of photography: Ravi K. Chandran
Production designer: Omung Kumar
Music: MontySharma
Costumes: Sabyasachi Mukherji
Editor: Bela Segal. Cast: Debraj Sahai: Amitabh Bachchan
Michelle McNally: Rani Mukherjee
Young Michelle: Ayesha Kapoor
Sarah McNally: Nandana Sen
Katherine McNally: Shernaz Patel
Mrs. Nair: Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal
Paul McNally: Vijay Crishna
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 124 minutes...
- 4/27/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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