BY ASHWIN VARDE
Classics happen. They are never created. That is one golden fact every filmmaker in the Hindi film industry needs to come to terms with. Let us take a look at some of the most talked-about and acclaimed films: Guide, Pyaasa, Shri 420, Mother India, Mughal-E-Azam, Sholay, Deewar, Amar Akbar Anthony, Satya and Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge to name a few. They became legends because they were made straight from the heart. But anyone who has tried to ‘create’ a classic has always fallen flat on his face. K. Asif tried to recapture the magic of Mother India with his forgettable sequel, Son Of India, which I’m sure not many have even heard about. Or Kamal Amrohi who tried to create history with Razia Sultan. Even Ramesh Sippy could not repeat the same magic of Sholay with Shaan, and this despite the fact that the latter was a far better film in purely technical terms.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Black is a skillfully crafted movie. The casting, technical aspects, production values – almost everything about the film is perfect. And that’s exactly what makes it look so plastic. It’s like Aishwarya Rai – she’s flawless in every respect and yet has a tough time connecting with the audience.
A subject as vulnerable as Black should ideally have had a moving or endearing moment once every fifteen minutes. But it doesn’t. Not once does the film choke you with emotion or even succeed in bringing a solitary tear to your eyes. But at the same time, the finesse of the film, the power of the lead performers and the overall impact overwhelm you. It is a work of art, but one of those which does not have a soul and hence, does not appeal to the human heart.
It’s clear that Bhansali has made this film keeping in mind the international market – he and Rani have been saying in interviews that this is truly India’s first universal film. But I really doubt that. A subject like this may have something new for the Indian audience but, abroad, there are countless films that have dealt with similar themes: and in an infinitely better manner.
Firstly, the one factor that everything’s going gaga about – the look of the film – will be thoroughly ignored by the West. Well, even some of their most mediocre films are just as good- looking. Secondly, the performances will be a huge drawback, particularly Amitabh Bachchan’s. Bhansali, at times, has left the man on his own and the actor does go overboard with his histrionics more than once. Hollywood is not used to such loud drama.
Thirdly and most importantly, as I said earlier, films based on subjects like this (relationships between teacher-student, father-son, mother-daughter, etc.) have been far too many. How can Black even compare with the might of movies like Life Is Beautiful or Cinema Paradiso?
Somehow, Bhansali has succumbed to the same syndrome he suffered during Devdas. Grand sets, great cinematography, phenomenal production values were all there but the end result was a film that looked good. And, just that. Compared to Black, I would rate films like Sai Paranjpe’s Sparsh (where Naseeruddin Shah played the role of a blind teacher) or Gulzar’s Koshish (where Sanjeev Kumar and Jaya Bhaduri were a deaf-mute couple) far, far higher. They didn’t have the grandeur of Black but the films were so delicately crafted that we carry their memories within us even today.
Bee Gee’s Note: Ashwin Varde, the Editorial Director of Magna Publishing, just hated Black. This is his reaction to the article written by Saibal Chatterjee that follows right after this sentence.
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