Black - Miracle Worker Of Hellen Keller!

Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Rani Mukherjee, Ayesha Kapoor, Shernaz Patel, Dhritiman Chatterjee, Nandana Sen

Black is the journey of bringing light into darkness, color to life, and sound and sense to nothing. It is based on the life of Helen Keller and her teacher Anne Sullivan. It will bring inspiration to the blind, deaf and many a human being.
The true story of Annie Sullivan's efforts to draw Helen Keller from her world of darkness and silence has been earlier made into a classic drama and movies. In 1962, William Gibson's drama, The Miracle Worker; In 1962, the movie “Miracle Worker” which won Oscar nomination for director Arthur Penn, and Oscars for Anne Bancroft (who played Anne Sullivan) and Patty Duke (who played Helen Keller); In 2000 “Miracle Worker” was made again with Hallie Kate Eisenberg as the young Helen and Alison Elliot excelling in the role of Annie Sullivan. Now Black in 2005 is yet another inspiration from the great life of Helen Keller (1880-1968).


In Black, Sanjay Leela Bhansali adds another dimension by showing the student-teacher relationship as it grows through the student’s adulthood, and the role reversal of the student into a teacher for the now senile ex- teacher.

The miracle worker in Black is Debraj Sahai played by Amitabh Bachchan. The blind and deaf girl, Michelle McNelly, is played by young Ayesha Kapoor, and later by Rani Mukerjee. The movie replicates all scenes of Michelle McNelly’s childhood from the Helen Keller’s story. It transcends after Debraj opens up Michelle’s dark and silent world to knowledge and understanding.


Michelle’s blind and deaf journey from ignorance and wild destructiveness to education and independence is a vision and dream come true for Debraj. In the end, his elation of success comes only after Michelle reaches out in him and breaks his shackles of darkness to draw out his memories, which he lost to Alzheimer’s disease.
The movie exemplifies many overpowering emotions, and extremely well handled scenes. Michelle’s thirst for knowledge, including her desire to understand a kiss is conducted in an aesthetic manner. Amitabh Bachchan’s acting is absolute. He is an actor who can get into any role and epitomize it, but here, he draws upon every emotion for an impeccable performance. Rani Mukerjee shows great depth and come out as a soulful actress, except her Charlie Chaplin walk. Ayesha Kapoor excels in her role. Her portrayal of the conflicts of a blind and deaf child is very convincing. All characters and actors in the movie are perfectionists.


Black, the movie is beautiful. But Sanjay Leela Bhansali blemishes it by not publishing the fact that the role of Michelle McNelly is based on the true life of Helen Keller and that Debraj Sahai is an inspiration of Anne Sullivan’s role in Keller’s life. As a matter of fact, it is insulting to the audience by not acknowledging this true story. This truth would have brought out more light to the life of those in dark and depths of vacuum. It would make the audience believe that this miracle is possible!

Also on http://www.sawf.org/bollywood/reviews/blackreview.asp?pn=Bollywood&cn=32

Morning Raga

Cast: Shabana Azmi, Prakash Kovelamudi, Perizaad Zorabian, Nasser, Lilette Dubey
Direction: Mahesh Dattani

Morning Raga is a short and sweet movie. It brings a synthesis of the traditional and modern, fusion of classic carnatic music and jazz, simple English language interspersed with comic snippets in Telegu, and countryside village setting alternated with trendy coffee shop culture.

The one and half hour movie revolves around three characters, one accident and some melodious music. Swarnalata (Shabana Azmi), Abhinay (Prakash Kovelamudi) and Pinky (Perizaad Zorabian) are connected together by a bus and car collision on the bridge, which happened 20 years ago. Swarnalata loses her son and gives up her singing ambitions after the accident due to guilt, fear and penitence. Abhinay loses his mother (Swarnalata’s music accompanist) in the accident, but has inherited her musical talent. Disappointed with his career, he seeks to make a mark in music and add a dimension to life. In spite of the constant nagging and denigration by his condescending father who has no love for music, he starts a band. He soon realizes his music lacks depth and soul and seeks Swarnalata to add the missing note in his music. Pinky, an urbanite, friend and band member is flimsily threaded together because of her father, whose drunk driving caused the collision. She wants to seek redemption by doing her best towards the village people connected with the accident. Together they make fusion music; realize their dreams; gain new relationships, and revive themselves; how they succeed to do it is the story.

Mahesh Dattani is known to carve stories where there are moral choices in human relationships. He believes tension forms a strong base of relationships which gives intensity to his characters. Here too
Shabana Azmi’s, Prakash Kovelamudi’s and Nasser’s characters reflect this in their performances. Lilette Dubey as pinky’s mother also brings color and some charming moments to the movie.

In spite of the storyline being weak and predictable, the sublime music and the fresh and simplistic approach make the movie interesting.

Also on http://www.sawf.org/bollywood/reviews/morningraga.asp?pn=Bollywood&cn=33

Bunty aur Babli- Notorious Romantics

Director: Shaad Ali Sahgal
Producer Yashraj Films
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Rani Mukerji, Amitabh Bachchan
Screenplay Aditya Chopra

Are you seeing what I am seeing? Are you listening to what I am listening? Are you thinking what I am thinking? Then let’s con them ….

I am Bunty - dreamy eyed, think big, live adventurous, get fame, and enjoy life, kind of guy; also known as Rakesh when I am not conning. I come from Fursatgunj, a small town in U.P. Born to simple people who live life without complications and not many aspirations; I get away for bigger dreams.

I stumble across in my journey with a runaway girl with dreams from another small town –Pankinagar. Aspiring to be a beauty queen, she has designer ideas, naïve heart and big dreams. I christened her Babli for her conning role, otherwise she is Vimmi.
Together we make a great couple. We have some great scam ideas, interesting plots, charming personalities , excellent performances and thrilling moments, Bonnie and Clyde (1967 Hollywood movie) may have been our inspiration but we have more fun, more thrills, more song and dance and of course not a tragedy.

Abhishek Bachchan as Bunty did an awesome job; each con role is unique, enacting many of Amitabhs roles in older movies. He is starting to even look like his father. Each con act is entertaining and hilarious besides being well choreographed with appropriate 70’s songs in the background to accentuate the situation. Rani Mukerjee as Babli/Vimmi is her bubbly self through out. Probably has inspired a new fashion for short shirts with deep necklines on bulky salwars. Amitabh Bachchan was wasted in a small role; his presence was to only capitalize on the double Bachchan phenomenon. Some of the scenes with Bachchans together are overkill. Amitabh’s rap number in the end though was an interesting genre in Hindi cinema. Aishwarya in an item performance was neither scintillating nor enthralling. Her dress sense should take into consideration of her long torso. All the songs in the movie have meaningful and eloquent Gulzar lyrics and pulsating music. Dhadak Dhadak, Kajra-re, Bunty aur Babli, BnB - rap, and Nach Baliye are vibrant catchy numbers.

Bunty aur Babli, packed with adventure, thrills and fun, is good entertainment for the whole family. But lastly I hope it doesn’t become an inspiration for easy money scammers.

Also on http://www.sawf.org/bollywood/reviews/buntyaurbabli.asp?pn=Bollywood&cn=35

Rang De Basanti - - A Colorful Graffiti of Present day Youth Spirited with Revolutionary Patriotism.

Director: Rakesh Omprakash Mehra
Script Rensil D'Silva, Prasoon Joshi and Kamlesh Pandey.
Cast: Aamir Khan, Alice Patten, Madhavan. Soha Ali Khan, Atul Kulkarni, Siddharth, Sharman Joshi, Kunal Kapoor, Anupam Kher, Mohan Agashe.

Primary Audience: Young and old Adults
Genre: Drama; Biography; Based on a Book
Movie Overall Rating: ***** (4 star out of 5)

Rang De Basanti cannot be described in a line but the nearest I can go is:
A colorful graffiti of present day youth spirited with revolutionary patriotism. It's a movie about free-spirited but discontented youth, skeptic about their anonymous future; It's a movie in memory of the bold sacrifices of Chandrashekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Ashfaqullah Khan, Durga Vohra and Ramprasad Bismil; And also a non-jingoistic/non preaching movie about reformist patriotism to create a better country and better life! All this is brilliantly crafted together with infectious enthusiasm and exuberance, distinctive characters, extraordinary performances, perfect balance of fun and seriousness, excellent script, editing and direction, and adrenalin charged songs. Rang de Basanti is a thinking, an awe inspiring, soulful, beautiful masterpiece in graffiti!

The story begins with British born Alice Patten (Sue) coming to India to make a documentary about the Indian revolutionaries based on the diary of Sue's grandfather, James McKinley, a jailor to Azad, Bhagat, Ashfaqullah and Ramprasad Bismil. With the help of her Indian contact –a Delhi University student Soha Ali Khan (Sonia) she finds the actors for her movie. The actors Amir Khan- (DJ/Azad), Siddharth (Karan/Bhagat Singh) Sharman Joshi- (Sukhi/Rajguru), Kunal Kapoor (Aslam/Ashfaqullah Khan) and Soha Ali Khan (Sonia/Durga Vohra) are initially indifferent and playful about the characters but soon absorb the roles and change their personal outlook about what's going on around them. For Ramprasad Bismil, she chooses Atul Kulkarni (Laxman Pandey) a radical Hindu youth leader, much to the chagrin of others. His patriotism which is tainted with hatred for the Muslims soon alters to compassion for every good citizen and true belief in justice.

The frustrations felt earlier by the characters from their inability as common citizens to make a difference is transformed into bold action to justify truth and expose the corrupt bureaucracy and politicians after the tragic death of their friend , Madhavan (Ajay Rathod) a Flt. Lt. of the Indian Air force in a faulty MIG-21 mishap .

Rakesh Omprakash Mehra executes the movie beautifully by interspersing contemporary setting with pre-independence struggle with fluidity. The merging past and present is smoothly handled by sepia and color tones. The script writing and editing are flawless, the script being perfect and tight. The first half of the movie ropes us in its crew with frivolous fun while the later half shakes us with their decisions to make a difference to society.

Aamir Khan is exceptional, perfecting every nuance of his character- DJ, the desperation and frustration cloaked with a cheerful, carefree attitude; the Punjabi dialect; the 'bindas' song and dance moves; and the taut proverbial dialogues. The rest of the cast also had brilliant performances especially Atul Kulkarni who epitomizes his role as a radical Hindu here, opposite to his performance as a misunderstood Muslim citizen in his earlier movie 'Khakee'; Siddharth, the South Indian actor as the not quite vocal, thinker and doer, in discomfort with his fathers illegitimate wealth and reputation makes a remarkable debut in bollywood; the handsome Kunal Kapoor as the bohemian Muslim from a conservative family reflects the image of many a Muslim youth, painting his expressions well (especially in scene: A non-drinker himself, he is not very comfortable to introduce his drunk friends to his parents, which he is sure will cause misjudgments and misunderstandings); the cute Madhavan goes patriotic with some philosophical dialogues which carry through the movie, making a notable special appearance.

A. R Rehman's music reflects the passion, verve, enthusiasm and energy of the movie. The title song Rang De Basanti, with its catchy Dinga dinga ding; Paathshala…loose control; Indo-Arabic Khalbali, and Roobaroo all have infectious exuberance.

Lastly I would give you all an extra thought to think after you see the movie. - A what if? What if Sue McKinley was making a movie about the non-violent pre -independence freedom fighters like Gandhi, Nehru and Moulana Azad, would the characters have led the movie to a different ending!

Also on: http://www.sawf.org/bollywood/reviews/rangdebasanti.asp?pn=Bollywood&cn=36

Umrao Jaan- 2006 – A saga remade. 1981 version remains a legend!

Cast: Aishwarya Rai, Abhishek Bachchan, Shabana Azmi, Sunil Shetty, Kulbushan Karbanda.
Direction: J P Dutta

Primary Audience: Adults
Genre: Based on a Book; Drama; Romance; Biography.
Movie Overall Rating: ***** (1 ½ or 2 star out of 5)

Review: Birjis Adeni Rashed

Umrao Jaan 2006 and Umrao Jaan 1981 are two different renditions of the author Mirza Ruswa’s novel. Both had beautiful actresses, Mujra sequences, dazzling settings, exclusive costumes and jewelry, romance, jealousy, sadness behind the glitter, victimized lives, melancholic romanticism, and same story but with variation. The comparison stops there. Rekha’s Umrao Jaan-1981 had more ‘Ada’, passion, ardor, magic, poetry, beautiful music, memorable songs, soulful performances, poignant sequences, rich language and impressive settings, and of course the enigmatic Rekha.

Umrao Jaan - describes the story of a 'Tawaif' or courtesan or cultured prostitute, in a world of ‘khotas’ or parlors of those days. The khota’s were not whorehouses, but exclusive entertainment for a select few patrons to imbibe in beauty, culture and intellect. The tawaif were taught to entertain the high and elite society or the crème de la crème, with their poetry, art, dance, music, fine wine...literature, politics and more. The closest the story of Umrao Jaan can come to in contemporary literature would be the 'Memoirs of a Geisha'. The Geisha comes closest in definition of a tawaif too.

Umrao Jaan -2006 is a romantic tearjerker with the beautiful Aishwarya Rai and the dashing nawab Abhishek Bachchan. This movie adopts the new generation of attitude along with the advanced and improved technology in making this period film. Hence our Nawab is feisty riding horses instead of buggies, dressed in rich angarkhas and shawls, willing to give up fame, wealth and family pride for love. Aishwarya, always color coordinated even to the contact lenses of the eyes, wearing exquisite jadawi jewelry and brocade silk and gota dresses with semi precious stones, dolls a combination of sassy, possessive and jealous but naïve and forgiving image. The Umrao Jaan story gets tailored into a typical bollywood hero, heroine and villain movie!

The movie starts with a very farcical Ruswa giving you poor expectation level for the film, I guess after that, the movie improves in performance or was it that after reducing our expectation level, we started to appreciate anything better than the first scene! Umrao Jaan Ada narrates her sad tale to Ruswa starting from her Abduction and her sale to the Khota mistress Khanum begum( Shabana Azmi plays the same role her mother Shaukth Azmi did in 1981 version with authentic flair, a diabolical combination of charm with condescending attitude) ; Her religious and literary upbringing with the Maulvi/ tutor and his wife who guiltily realize the purpose of their finishing school; The unwarranted jealousy for her fellow dancers and her self doubt; Her commendation as a dancer, her romance, her experience of passion, leading to her adorned as the’ jaan’; Followed by her lovers cynicism, society’s scorn and denigration , ending with her jaded present.

The movie has many minuses than pluses. The Umrao jaan 1981 had beautiful numbers that are memorable even till today. Dil cheez kya hai…; In Ankhon Ki Masti…; Yeh kya Jagah hai doston… couldn’t be revived in the new movie. Pooch Rahen Hai from 2006 falls flat in comparison to Yeh Kya Jagah Hai Doston. The song Salam was ok, but Agle Janam mohe bitya …was a touchy tear jerker and had depth. Pehle Pehel – the song revolves around how Umrao became the ‘Jaan’! Infact the 2006 movie gives more importance to the love, passion, affair, heartbreak etc where as Umrao Jaan 1981 was a broader movie with a bigger canvas and larger elements. The next minus were the dances. They didn’t have authentic khatak motions or emotions. Aishwarya seemed to do Bhartyanatyam meets Khatak numbers! Another large minus was the inappropriate choice of actors. The Ruswa character needs to go through a decade of acting school before he should come in another movie. Sunil Shetty wording out Urdu was utterly incongruous. Many small role actors were extremely amateur. Aishwarya though seems to make a lot of effort; she failed to deliver like Rekha in Umrao Jaan. Was it confidence of her good looks or foolishness which made her accept this role! Abhishek carves a angry young nawab character instead of emulating Farook Sheik which gave his character a stronger personality! To add to the negatives, the movie was also anachronistic - story and time don’t match! I am not sure if bore wells, an important element in the movie existed in the pre- mutiny/ghadar era when this story supposedly took place!

J.P. dutta after having directed excellent movies like Ghulami, Refugee, and Yateem.... heavily blundered in this melancholic romantic movie. He should stick to the violent stories.

Kaun Umrao, Kiski Jaan, Kaisi Ada … Ruswa’s first lines encapsulate this movie too!