The true colors of a fundamentalist ideology deep rooted in the mind of young man, a suicide bomber, has been deciphered in ‘Black & White’. Earlier this year, we had ‘Halla Bol’, which also lied very close to the edges of a sermonizing lesson about a showbiz obsessed person fighting a war supported by a dacoit turned social reformer. Sometime back we also had ‘Dhoka’, which told the story of a young woman falling prey to the heinous trapping society and a young man, who turns wild seeing his sister being compromised at the hands of the very law that is supposedly instrumental in their protection. ‘Black & White’ would have become a purely terrorist rehabilitation camp, had it not been handled so well at the experienced hands of an able director. The movie searches for the very fact that lies in the subconscious of every young man, a yearning to live a complete life, a secured life with a bright colorful future. Most young people take wrong steps during this age that is so vulnerable to fall a victim of a strange hyper critic society.
Rating: 3/5
Anurag Sinha in Black and White
Definitely not the kind of movie you expect from the dream-merchant showbiz oriented Subash Ghai. Even if I would not exactly expect the audience to pat his back for this one, but it really was effective to put the point across. Now, when we have directors trying out the sensitive social issues, it was time for him to come up with something other than the masala movies that he has given us. Black & White would have become a very thought stimulating movie save for the fact that the loose strands do peek out more than once in the movie and the last part seemingly giving you the feeling of being in a dream sequence. So, we may not have a money shower on the director but he deserves a humble acknowledgment of coming up with something different this time.
Anurag Sinha in Black & White
The movie talks about changing the very heart of terrorists, changing a complete breed, by focusing on one, who finds himself caught in the emotional sabotaging situation of standing between two extreme ideologies. An Afghani Jihadi a suicide bomber, lands up in the lap of Delhi’s most bright and secular places, the colorful gullies of Chandni Chowk. It is this young lad’s fight to choose between the two extremes of fundamentalism and secularism, represented by the two colors black and white that has found itself a place to be built into an emotionally stirring drama by Subash Ghai. The scowling and somber faced lad has come to Delhi with the mission to blow up Lal Quila on the Independence Day, when it is packed with people who come to salute a nation, how very appropriate for an extremist to annihilate peace. He has exactly fourteen days to learn what precisely this bird named peace is before he accomplishes his mission. He spends the days in the guise of a Gujarat riots’ victim and wins the empathies of an Urdu Professor, who teaches Urdu shayari and kalams at the local university and his social activist wife. Despite being a Hindu, the Urdu professor, always clad in a clean white attire can take the so-called Muslim fundamentalists for a ride with his accurate pronunciation and articulation of the language and deep knowledge of Koran. The fiery and sharp tongued wife is an extension to the secular thoughts of the professor, who fights for the cause for anyone who is at the receiving end, no matter whether that person bows in a temple or a masjid. We also have an intelligent poet who poses as the very face of a worshiped refinement, a class above the religious warfare. The world that these people inhibit might be an imaginary place but the fight is no doubt real. The love and non-judgmental attitude and tolerance in the air prove a mightier sword that an atom bomb. The solemn manner the terrorist is reformed in this movie opens a path for a new light that the very act to fight a religious war sounds conceited and fake.
Anil Kapoor, Shefali Shah, Anurag Sinha in Black and White
Now, I think everyone would just fall in love with the strong unblemished voice of Anurag Sinha who plays Numair, the suicide bomber. He gets very less dialogues to deliver but that doesn’t stop one from loving it. He could have done better with a little less serious look. The ever lasting scowl with the black Pathani kurta becomes a permanent feature that the film industry has associated with the terrorists. Subhas Ghai could have tried something better with this guy’s talent. Anil Kapoor as Rajan Mathur, the Urdu professor, delivers a class act. He was severely restrained and we all acknowledge the performer that he has been through out his career. He has the dignity and elegance that an immaculate veteran actor should ideally have. The composed and balanced note of the character that he plays has got the perfect justice. Shefali Shah, as Roma, dons the cap of the social activist and homely counter part of the professor. She gives an outstanding performance and still shows chances for more inherent talent. She is spontaneous and gets into the role with an untarnished shimmering poise and grace. The theater personality in Habib Tanvir takes a high leap as the all genteel poet Gaffar Bhai. He has some talent that needed to break loose but a little more moderation would have helped. We also have a love interest for our reforming terrorist, a typical Delhi-Chandni Chowk girl, played with little oomph by Aditi Sharma. Her performance is that of a complete novice so not getting much attention.
Aditi Sharma in Black and White
The music by Sukhwinder Singh is a so-so affair, nothing amazing or splendid about it. The duo Subash Ghai and Sukhwinder Singh seem to have failed to recreate history after ‘Ramta Jogi’. The screenplay is a complete miss; Ghai could have made it better with some more punch in it. Cinematography with camouflage of shots depicting military chasing terrorists and such stuff are nothing superb to speak of. Over all what makes the movie a decent watch is the way the plot has been developed with the simple attitude from the actors. Go for it with an instinct for a watch that has nothing to do with the usual Subash Ghai type romance.
Rating: 3/5
— Mahua Ray for Hamara Photos
Also See: Music Launch of Black and White Photos
