Black & White

I saw at the beginning that it was a Mukta Arts movie. Given the history of the banner, that could lead me to expect a lot. Look at the sweet part Anil Kapoor got in Taal. And here's Anil again, with Shefali Shah this time. I always look forward to seeing her.

Short answer is that this movie isn't that good. The music is no more than average. The script is very awkward a good deal of the time. The plot asks a lot from your credulity. Just one blatant example is when they want to get the protagonist close to the Urdu professor, they fake a terrorist attack and then have him rescue the professor's cute young daughter. For that plan to work, the kid has to wander away from her parents. Since the kid isn't IN on the plan, they seem awfully lucky that she somehow gets separated on cue.

Anurag Sinha, who plays the terrorist, is certainly a kid with some potential, but how great it is doesn't show in this movie. Compare him with J. D. Chakravarthy in Satya and it becomes obvious what I mean. Satya had the same kind of protagonist, but the director did ten times as much with the same sort of personality.

Also, to me this is a different angle on the Dil Se story, but having Dil Se makes this movie look like a comedown.

It might be worth one look, but no more.

Okay, now I'm not exactly sure how to put it. I just returned watching the great showman's latest presentation "Black and White" and I am pretty muddled up because I have very mixed reaction to the film. Perhaps I am the only one contented out of the 17 who turned up for the show, or this film has been badly victimized of bad publicity and lack of good starcast. I say bad starcast because I am sure I felt exactly the same sitting there in the couch and watching the promos, but I did not know I would be proved so wrong once I watched the movie.

Kudos to Subhash Ghai for picking a subject like this who otherwise took great pleasure in doing musicals targeted towards NRIs. I suppose this is very different as it has very less to do about life outside India and speaks more bravely of matters that have not been quite able to grab the attention of big film studios. Not that Yashraj (phew!) did terrorist movies like Fanaa and Red Chillies did Main Hoon Na, but this latest attempt is more subjected and particularly tackling to the main theme of the movie – global terrorism. Kudos once again to a setting that not for once you realise you're being shown a "commercial" (mind the term here) movie, yet at the end of the day it leaves you feeling that it has hit the spot.

The movie served another good purpose to me as I was able to re-cherish my moments I spent in Chandni Chowk. I was there for a fortnight in 2005 so I was like "oh that's Shishgunj Sahib" and "look at the spot we had kulfis" through the movie. Quite mesmerizing though. However, I think Ghai has very well justified as why the movie should've been there and not anywhere else.

Character wise, debutant Anurag Sinha fits in very well – be it the first scene where he's shown recording a TV feed or the later ones where he shoots. His serious, calm look is very intimidating though charming. Good find, Mr. Ghai! Anil Kapoor shows he is a good actor and not someone irritating like in Tashan trailer. I mean, we were shown Tashan's trailer before the film started, and later when Anil appears in this Black and White movie – just look at his versatility. At times when Anil himself is into curves and six packs, it indeed takes a lot of guts to get grey sideburns and glasses and perform with equal dignity and vigour. The new girl does not convince and I doubt if she'll go very far. However, Shefali Shah once again proves her metal. A very good work there but the one who steals the show is undoubtedly the old poet who is both charming and inspiring. Milind Gunaji cannot be remembered for the role. Scenic wise it's again so-so. You can't expect lot of scenic beauty for hazy Delhi plus the pollution. Music is okay, not a very good choice for repeated listens. Nice driving of the story, but whatever that makes me feel like taking back all the good words I've said so far is the screenplay – believe me, I found it haunting.

I specially remember two over-the-top scenes: 1) where Anurag has to choreograph a shootout to win over Shefali Shah's confidence; and 2) the scene where Shefali dies and Anil Kapoor overacts. Notwithstanding that, I would definitely recommend this story to any sensible movie lover and ask them to try it at least once.

I expect more of similar works from the great Showman who finally seems to have realised that he is indeed falling down and needed to take some serious steps to reclaim his image in the industry.

I didn't expect much from this, just another film about terrorism. But saying that it was very good and heart-warming film. It wasn't against Muslim's or Pakistan as some movies, but showed what terrorists believe and that this world isn't simply black and white. The songs were nice to listen to, and the acting was overall quite good. The film didn't drag at places. Being a Muslim i liked the fact that the true meaning of jihad and how Muslim's should behave was shown. Overall a very entertaining movie which kept my attention throughout and had a really good message. For an Indian movie it was quite well made, but this is what is expected from a great director like Subhash Ghai.

"Black and White" directed by Subhash Ghai is about a Muslim terrorist from Afghanistan who aspires to come to India and cause a Hindu massacre. Anurag Sinha, who plays this role, looks as shady and dangerous as the role permits him to, from the moment he first steps out of that train ,into Delhi. He lives undercover in a friend's house, changing his identity so that he's not discovered. All the Muslims around seem to know his secret, although they don't know how mean and fanatical he is. This is a man purely acting on revenge, and not reason. Anyways, Anil Kapoor plays a kind-hearted professor that has a lot of tolerance. You can imagine when he is Hindu and has the Quran memorized. Now, the regular Indian clichéd plot of this movie would be that Anil Kapoor influences the terrorist so much with his compassion and love, that the terrorist doesn't end up bombing the Hindu temple and killing all those people. Although the movie works towards this ending, the terrorist doesn't. Sinha's face is pretty much that of a terrorist: his expression is dead serious. I can't imagine him hugging anyone or even smiling. It looks so ridiculous when Aditi Sharma (a Muslim girl who loves him) imagines them running around on a train, hugging and laughing at each other. The general fantasy and dreamy spirit that wells up inside of me when listening to such songs, wasn't there…it didn't work as well as I wanted it to.

Black & White is an attempt by Subhas Ghai to make a film on a real issue. Well…it is a case of "missed opportunity" for this popular director who needs to grow out of the usual "filmy" sensibilities to make realistic films on real issues.

MERITS of Black & White

1 – I like the idea of a murderer (in this case an Islamic terrorist) who is out on a mission to cause mayhem (bomb blast during Independence day) but changes his/her heart & mind when s/he comes in contact with people of the right kind.

DEMERITS of Black & White (unfortunately more Demerits than Merits)

1 – The story is very poorly presented by Subhas Ghai. It should have been as realistic, gripping and non-melodramatic like Satya or Company (two of the greatest films in Hindi cinema).

2 – Poor acting by the central character, Numair Qazi played by Anurag Sinha (in the role of an Afghan terrorist). He hardly injects fear or hatred in the audience. It is just plain ordinary acting. He also did not have the right looks.

Please compare this fellow's acting with J. D. Chakravarthy (of Satya), and you will know what I mean. Even Angad Bedi would have have been a better choice.

3 – Numair's men kill Anil Kapoor's wife in his house, but later when he discovers his murdered wife he behaves in a strange way. He cries in a very odd manner (in the presence of Numair). He does not even show any inclination to know WHO has murdered his wife and FOR WHAT (Numair knew who did it but stood silently still). He cremates her body without informing anyone.

Later we were informed in a rather casual and flimsy manner about the fact that Anil may've disposed of the body quietly in order to prevent Hindu-Muslim communal riot.

What infantile nonsense is this?

4 - Shefali Shah's (Anil Kapoor's wife) melodramatic acting "sticks out like a Sore Nose" in a 2-hour film based on a serious concept. Even in supposedly serious scenes she is melodramatic. Pathetic!

5 – It is strange that an established actor like Milind Gunaji is used very sparingly in the film.

6 – At the end of the film you may feel like it was "stretched" a bit too far than necessary, even though the film is just 2 hours long.

Even if you've not seen Black & White don't worry you have NOT missed or will not miss anything at all! Black & White is just a casual, bland and unconvincing attempt by Subhas Ghai to do something different from his usual masala films.

The fact is he is just not cut out to make the kind of realistic, to-the-point, and "non-filmy" films that a Ram Gopal Verma or a Vishal Bharadwaj can make.