[go: up one dir, main page]

    Release calendarTop 250 moviesMost popular moviesBrowse movies by genreTop box officeShowtimes & ticketsMovie newsIndia movie spotlight
    What's on TV & streamingTop 250 TV showsMost popular TV showsBrowse TV shows by genreTV news
    What to watchLatest trailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily entertainment guideIMDb Podcasts
    EmmysSuperheroes GuideSan Diego Comic-ConSummer Watch GuideBest Of 2025 So FarDisability Pride MonthSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll events
    Born todayMost popular celebsCelebrity news
    Help centerContributor zonePolls
For industry professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign in
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • FAQ
IMDbPro

Black & White

  • 2008
  • Not Rated
  • 2h 14m
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
656
YOUR RATING
Black & White (2008)
A spy living in the house in disguise, who has a heart transformation.
Play trailer1:03
2 Videos
9 Photos
CrimeDramaThriller

A spy living in the house in disguise, who has a heart transformation.A spy living in the house in disguise, who has a heart transformation.A spy living in the house in disguise, who has a heart transformation.

  • Director
    • Subhash Ghai
  • Writers
    • Sachin Bhowmick
    • Subhash Ghai
    • Akash Khurana
  • Stars
    • Anil Kapoor
    • Anurag Sinha
    • Shefali Shah
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.2/10
    656
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Subhash Ghai
    • Writers
      • Sachin Bhowmick
      • Subhash Ghai
      • Akash Khurana
    • Stars
      • Anil Kapoor
      • Anurag Sinha
      • Shefali Shah
    • 9User reviews
    • 5Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 nominations total

    Videos2

    Black & White (2008) Trailer
    Trailer 1:03
    Black & White (2008) Trailer
    Black And White | Trailer
    Clip 1:03
    Black And White | Trailer
    Black And White | Trailer
    Clip 1:03
    Black And White | Trailer

    Photos8

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    + 5
    View Poster

    Top cast21

    Edit
    Anil Kapoor
    Anil Kapoor
    • Prof. Rajan Mathur Sen Gupta
    Anurag Sinha
    Anurag Sinha
    • Numair Qazi
    • (as a different name)
    • …
    Shefali Shah
    Shefali Shah
    • Roma
    • (as Shefali Shetty)
    Arun Bakshi
    Arun Bakshi
    • Naeem Shaikh
    Chaitanya Chinchlikar
    • Interpol Officer
    Pawan Chopra
    Pawan Chopra
    • Police Officer
    James Durston
    • Photojournalist
    Milind Gunaji
    Milind Gunaji
    • Hamid
    Pankaj Kashyap
    Pankaj Kashyap
    • Journalist
    • (as Pankaj Jha)
    Mushtaq Khan
    Mushtaq Khan
    • Mohanlal Agarwal - MLA
    Akash Khurana
    Akash Khurana
    • Wazir Shah - Rajya Sabha Member
    Jaimini Pathak
    Jaimini Pathak
    • Raahat
    Vikash Poddar
    • Mad person
    Nikita Rawal
    Aditi Sharma
    Aditi Sharma
    • Shagufta
    Sukrit Sharma
    • Jalaal
    Nawazuddin Siddiqui
    Nawazuddin Siddiqui
    Manmeet Singh Sawhney
    Manmeet Singh Sawhney
    • Kirtan Singh
    • (as Manmeet Singh)
    • Director
      • Subhash Ghai
    • Writers
      • Sachin Bhowmick
      • Subhash Ghai
      • Akash Khurana
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews9

    6.2656
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10

    Featured reviews

    5uncle_g1234

    Not the best from Mukta Arts

    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.
    7die_Heuchler

    Welcome back, Mr Ghai

    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.
    3inforaza

    The theme in Black & White is good – but it's very poorly executed!

    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.
    4angelshalz

    Hmmmmmmm

    "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.
    3sumanbarthakursmailbox

    Black & White is an amateurish effort from Subhash Ghai.

    Subhash Ghai's Black & White is an amateurish effort from a filmmaker clearly out of his depth as far as his subject matter is concerned. The film follows the story of a suicide bomber who seeks refuge in the home of an unsuspecting professor, while all along involved in a plot to blow-up the Red Fort. Loosely inspired by the Harrison Ford-Brad Pitt starrer The Devil's Own, Ghai's film explores the relationship between a terrorist and the couple who open their home and their hearts to him. Well-intended the film may be, but at plot level itself there's a fundamental flaw with Black & White, and that flaw is the writer-director's sheer inability to set the tone of the film. Opening on a note that's so pretentious you want to puke, Ghai uses redundant symbolism—like a child with a candle—to make a point that's been made so many times before. To top that, his every character is a caricature that spouts clichés instead of dialogues. Take Anil Kapoor playing the Urdu professor, for instance. How you cringe at those long sermons he delivers, and then his shameless hamming, especially in that scene where the professor returns home one night to discover a horrible brutality committed on his wife. Not that Shefali Shah, playing the professor's activist wife is much better. Hysterical for the most part, she's so over-the-top even in comic and supposedly emotional scenes, you want to remind her, this is film not street theatre where melodrama can be used to great effect. Newcomer Anurag Sinha, who plays the mysterious stranger with dishonourable intentions, has an arresting screen presence, undeniably, but straitjacketed in a loosely developed role he has little scope to really perform — unless you count his brooding and that 'angry young man' impression as a performance. Black & White falls like a pack of cards because it's meant to be a serious, even realistic film, a departure from Ghai's trademark masala musicals. But problem is the director is so unfamiliar and uncomfortable with minimalism that he cannot resist the urge to throw in some of his typical formulas, as a result delivering a film that is both confused and sloppy. Look at that presumably symbolic scene in which a deaf-mute child plays out a patriotic tune on her piano to a man just hours away from committing a ghastly act of terror. Or that supposedly comic scene in which an elderly poet makes repeated telephone calls to the professor's home late one night. Or even that indulgent dream song between the terrorist and the young student who's clearly falling for him. The sad thing is, for a film that was meant to address an issue, Black & White doesn't say anything that you don't already know. The film makes only token nods to patriotism, and if you ask me, I'd say the very themes of terrorism, patriotism and nationalism are just incidental to Ghai's story which is in fact, about the power of goodness and love which can convert even the serious non-believers. And that, my friends, let's not forget, is one of mainstream Bollywood's oldest and favourite themes. So you see Ghai never ventured too far from his comfort zone anyway.It's a miscalculation in every sense of the word, a film that makes Kisna and Yaadein seem watchable. When it comes to Subhash Ghai, I'd much rather watch his masala musicals any day.

    More like this

    Main Hoon Na
    7.1
    Main Hoon Na
    Do Dooni Chaar
    7.5
    Do Dooni Chaar
    Black and White
    5.0
    Black and White
    Kaanchi
    4.2
    Kaanchi
    Black and White
    6.7
    Black and White
    Pataakha
    7.2
    Pataakha
    Kalicharan
    6.7
    Kalicharan
    Kisna: The Warrior Poet
    4.6
    Kisna: The Warrior Poet
    Yuvvraaj
    4.1
    Yuvvraaj
    Khal Nayak
    7.1
    Khal Nayak
    Black and White
    5.2
    Black and White
    Yaadein...
    4.2
    Yaadein...

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Madhur Bhandakar was signed to direct the film but opted out. This made Subhash Ghaib unexpectedly take over the direction .
    • Soundtracks
      Yeh Hindustan Hai
      Performed by Udit Narayan

      Lyrics by Ibrahim Ashq

      Music by Sukhwinder Singh

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    FAQ16

    • How long is Black & White?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 7, 2008 (India)
    • Country of origin
      • India
    • Official site
      • Official site
    • Languages
      • Hindi
      • Urdu
      • Bengali
    • Also known as
      • Чёрное и белое
    • Filming locations
      • Delhi, India
    • Production companies
      • Mukta Arts
      • Mukta Searchlight Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross worldwide
      • $1,817,018
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 14 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Black & White (2008)
    Top Gap
    By what name was Black & White (2008) officially released in Canada in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb App
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.