Based in large part from 1962's The Miracle Worker, Sanjay Leela Bhansali's obsession with Helen Keller (he also directed Khamoshi: The Musical, a 1996 film about a deaf-mute couple) brings us one of the finest Bollywood movies to date. Black is the adapted story of deaf/blind mute Keller's life story, set in an Anglo-Indian family in the early decades of the 20th century. Michelle McNally, played by the astonishingly talented Rani Mukherjee, is the afflicted child, allowed to do as she pleases by her desperate parents until the remarkable Debraj Sahi (Amitabh Bachchan in a truly scenery-chewing role) forces her to learn and to understand the world around her. There are no musical interludes, no soap opera-esque moments from Bhansali. It is written and produced so well it could easily pass for a European art film.
Michelle, born blind and deaf, lives a fortuitously privileged life with her well-off parents. Not knowing how to deal with her, but unwilling to send her to an asylum, her parents let her do whatever she wishes. She smashes things, disturbs casual dinner arrangements and acts like a wild animal. Though this behaviour is tolerated, her parents eventually find a teacher willing to take her on: the mercurial Debraj Sahi. Sahi brings with him a completely different approach, often using a more physical and exploratory tack, and refuses to let Michelle run around. Eventually he manages to break through her darkness and begins to show her the world around her, the world she cannot see or hear.
While Bachchan, a highly capable actor who I would love to see move beyond Bollywood, plays Sahi in a loud, bombastic, explosive manner, Mukherjee is a revelation in the role of Michelle. There can be few actors in the world who could have as intelligently and respectfully played a role as difficult as this. Mukherjee's approach to dealing with her character's disabilities is revelatory, mastering both the unique sign language of McNally and the tremendous dignity that she embodies. Her younger version, played by newcomer Ayesha Kapoor, is the perfect foil to Mukherjee. Wild and rambunctious, she is what Ring's Sadako would be had they been able to capture her in a room and insist she eat with a spoon.
In many ways Black could herald the start of a new, more traditional take on cinema from Bollywood. Stripped of their musical interludes and with a more serious and professional tone there is no reason India cannot start producing films the rest of the world will admire and, more importantly, want to see. Acted half in English, half in Hindi, and with truly challenging roles for both the male and female actors, it is a highly accessible movie. Indeed, Mukherjee probably has one of the first female roles in Bollywood history that requires her to do more than look attractive and surprised at the same time. If this is the new face of Indian cinema, then it is a face the rest of the world will need to pay attention to. |
