Black Movie Full Movie

[Gibert Chisholm]

Blackis a 2005 Indian English- and Hindi-language drama film co-written, directed, and co-produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. It stars Amitabh Bachchan and Rani Mukerji in lead roles, with Ayesha Kapur, Shernaz Patel and Dhritiman Chatterjee in supporting roles. The film narrates the story of Michelle (Mukerji), a deaf-and-blind woman, and her relationship with her teacher Debraj (Bachchan), an elderly alcoholic teacher who himself later develops Alzheimer's disease.

In 2003, Bhansali announced the production of his new project, Black. Its idea first came up when he met several physically disabled children while shooting Khamoshi: The Musical in the 1990s. The story was inspired by the activist Helen Keller's life and her 1903 autobiography, The Story of My Life. Principal photography was done by Ravi K. Chandran in 100 days from mid-January to April 2004, taking place in Shimla and Film City. Omung Kumar was the production designer, while Sham Kaushal was the action director. After filming, it was edited by Bela Sehgal. The soundtrack and score were composed by Monty Sharma.

Michelle lost her eyesight and hearing after recovering from an illness at age two, and grows up as a violent, uncontrollable child. Her parents, Paul and Catherine, are at their wits' end trying to control her until Debraj, an elderly alcoholic teacher, enters their lives. Debraj takes it upon himself to build Michelle into someone who can express and communicate. He uses harsh methods initially disapproved by Michelle's father, who asks him to leave. Debraj stays while her father is away on a business trip, teaching Michelle a few words and better manners. He packs his bags when Michelle's father returns. Right before he leaves, Debraj gets frustrated seeing Michelle back to being insolent. He throws her into a fountain of water. It causes her to take to Debraj's lessons; she finally understands what water is, and can recognise her parents and vocalise the first syllables of small words. It convinces her parents to retain Debraj.

Many years later, Michelle has grown into an expressive woman who is even able to dance and expertly sign. She gets admission to pursue a bachelor's degree with Debraj's help, moving away from home and lives with Debraj and one of her maids. Over the next two years, she struggles to gain her degree, failing year after year, but maintains her spirit. One reason is that she must rely on Debraj for interpretation of the material but the principal helps by preparing the first-year course of study in braille. Debraj begins to succumb to Alzheimer's disease, at one point forgetting Michelle and leaving her stranded during a celebration. Therefore, Debraj decides to leave her.

Twelve years later, Michelle manages to gain her degree and with her proud parents looking on, gives a speech at graduation. She does not wear her graduation robe, insisting she wants Debraj to be the first one to see her in it. Debraj is now in a mental hospital due to his near-inability to remember his past and even how to speak. Michelle visits him wearing her robe; this causes glimmers of memory to return as Debraj realizes she has graduated. As the window opens to the rain, Michelle reaches out to it with Debraj's hand in hers, and the pair say the first syllable of "water", reminiscent of the first time Michelle understood the meaning of words when Debraj threw her into the fountain. The film ends with a scene of Michelle among a crowd of people dressed in black carrying candles toward a church.

Bhansali revealed that he was inspired by American activist Helen Keller's life story. However, he stated that he only used it as a reference and the film was "a completely original piece of work".[14] Additionally, Bhansali also read Keller's autobiography The Story of My Life and other related books, including Geraldine Lawhorn's On the Crossroads (about a deaf-and-blind musician). In an interview with The Hindu, he said, "I was fascinated by the ways in which teachers and parents struggled to reach out to the hearing-impaired children. How do you start the communication? How do you keep it going? What takes other children a year to learn takes 10 years for them to absorb."[11] In addition, some sources claimed that it served as a remake for Arthur Penn's The Miracle Worker (1962), but Bhansali denied the reports.[15] Others claimed that the film was based on Prakash Kapadia's Gujarati play Aatam Vinjhe Paankh, which was inspired by The Miracle Worker.[16]

Bhansali chose the word black for the film's title; according to him, black is his favorite color and he felt it has a "universal resonance".[12] He explained how the color's monotones and shades were "very attractive if used intelligently", and it was "the best element ... that ... doesn't overshadow the characters or narrative".[17] He added that it was "a powerful striking colour which describes the film's sensitivities", and defined his mood and temperament.[12][18] "I wear black clothes most of the time. The colour calms me. When I decided to make a film about the world of the sightless, Black was the title that came to mind immediately", he said when interviewed by Sify.[19] The same title had been registered by the actor Kumar Gaurav before, and Bhansali asked him to relinquish and gave the title for his next project. According to an article published by Screen in November 2005, Gaurav saw that the film was "bold and path-breaking"; consequently, he finally gave up the title. As gratitude, Bhansali credited Gaurav's name in the opening credits of Black.[16]

Bhansali told The Telegraph that Keller's life was an "exemplary to all of us", believing that he had "personally learned so much from her"; he stated that he learned "the value of a teacher in any student's life".[15] Journalists asserted that his involvement in both Black and Bajirao Mastani (a period film about the Peshwa Baji Rao I and his second wife Mastani) proved his ability in two opposite film genres; he expressed: "It is a conscious process of rejuvenation as a filmmaker. I have to reinvent myself as a creative person."[12] He then described the former film as "an uplifting tale on the triumph of the human spirit",[20] and it was "about feeling, not speaking".[15] Furthermore, he added, "Black is about the love between a girl and her teacher. They teach each other the dignity of living. To call Black a love story is a true compliment. Black is a pure love story."[15]

On the same day of the film's announcement, Amitabh Bachchan and Rani Mukerji were officially cast in the lead roles.[12] Bachchan featured as Debraj Sahai, a role which he described as a "brilliant teacher but an alcoholic", and he took it as an attempt to avoid typecasting.[21] Bhansali, who is a "diehard fan" of him, said that he actually wanted to cast him (and his wife Jaya) in Khamoshi: The Musical. However, that was the time when Bachchan took a hiatus from his acting career. Bhansali eventually cast Bachchan in Black, after the actor watch his previous work, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999).[20] Bachchan had big expectations with Black, as he said in an interview to the Deccan Herald, "I feel the Indian audience should like this film."[21] He praised the "fascinating" and "unusual" screenplay of the film, stating, "To be very frank, I would have said 'Yes' even without listening to the script."[21][22]

To prepare for his part, Bachchan underwent special training before the shooting. He visited schools for physically disabled children and learned haptic communication, which he found to be "very weird because we can not see, hear or talk", from them for six to seven months; he read some books related on it.[21][23] Also, he did extensive research about Alzheimer's disease and what happens after a person being affected by it.[21] He thought that it "was the most-challenging role... It is a first-time experience because there is not even a single scene in this film that I felt I have done before."[24]

Meanwhile, Mukerji got the role of Michelle McNally (which Bhansali wrote specifically for her) and confirmed her involvement in the film in July 2003.[25][26] She spoke positively of her rapport with Bachchan, and stated that she felt "humbled" with the actor, describing him as "a very modest person, very sweet, a father figure".[27] Same as Bachchan, she accepted it to avoid the typecasting in romantic roles.[28] Mukerji revealed that she was initially reluctant to play the part, when Bhansali read the story Black to her in June that year, because of the "challenging" subject and she had no reference to do it.[25][29][30] She confessed, "I was scared when I heard the script. I wondered how I will play this character."[25] In preparation, she also met children with physical disabilities, this time, at the Helen Keller Institute in Mumbai and practiced sign language there for six months.[30] According to Mukerji, her interaction with them helped her to "gain sensitivity towards their reactions, aspirations and hopes".[28] Moreover, she had to learn braille and found the experience was "like speaking with my hands and my fingers."[31] In spite of that, she said that the film "has made me realize that those who are physically or mentally challenged are actually much stronger than normal, successful human beings."[30]

The child artist Ayesha Kapur made her debut with Black, playing the version of Michelle. She learned sign language for prepared her brief role as well as Mukerji. Media reports stated that it was "the most difficult character ever written for a child", but Kapur refused that by saying, "I don't know how I played Michelle. I just did it. It wasn't that difficult, really."[32] Shernaz Patel, who had only one film experience in Mahesh Bhatt's drama Janam (1985), portrayed Michelle's mother Catherine "Kathy"; she was cast by casting director Amita Sehgal on the basis of her work as a theatre actress. Nandana Sen played Michelle's younger sister Sarah, a role she described as "an emotional experience".[33] She observed of her part, "... she's a typical 16 year old ... You see her evolving in the film, from this oversensitive, moody teenager who is constantly hungry for more affection to a nurturing, loving, caregiver who deals with her sister's circumstances with a lot of love and understanding."[34] She found Black to be "a pathbreaking film, both in terms of content and style", and called her role "a breakthrough" in her acting career. For it, she learned how to communicate with sign language, four months before the shooting.[34]

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