Black & White (2008)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Subhash Ghai

Writers:

Sachin Bhowmick (screenplay)
Subhash Ghai (screenplay)

Release Date:

7 March 2008 (India)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

In search of harmony

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Hindu | Muslim | Jihad | Terrorist | Rain

Cast

Anil Kapoor	...	Prof. Rajan Mathur Sen Gupta
Anurag Sinha	...	Numair Qazi / Mahmood Albak
Shefali Shetty	...	Roma R. Mathur Sen Gupta (as Shefali Chhaya)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Arun Bakshi	...	Naeem Shaikh
Milind Gunaji	...	Hamid
Mushtaq Khan	...	Mohanlal Agarwal - MLA
Akash Khurana	...	Wazir Shah - Rajya Sabha Member
Aditi Sharma	...	Shagufta
Manmeet Singh	...	Kirtan Singh
Sai Tamhankar	...	Nimmo Kirtan Singh
Habib Tanvir	...	Quazi Saab

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi | Urdu | Bengali

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Filming Locations:

Delhi, India

Company:

Mukta Arts

Soundtrack:

Yeh Hindustan Hai

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.