INSTEP Magzine

Subhash Ghai deserves a standing ovation for venturing into a territory that would be considered uninviting for a Bollywood escapist entertainer. Black & White doesn't impress you merely because it's a daring deviation for the showman, it's a well crafted, finely written and packaged piece of cinema done more heartfully than most films in recent times that have merchandized Mahatma Gandhi in Munna Bhai tones of bubblegum philosophy.

You don't often come away from a film disturbed yet hopeful about the inflated dimensions of modern day violence and terrorism. But this is a film that leaves you with a hope of a better tomorrow. Subhash Ghai's Black & White is different from his previous movies since he known for big budget and usually high profile movies under his banner, however, in spite of being a new genre for him, coupled with a meager budget and newcomers cast, Subhash's direction and production did lend the movie the high prestige and excellence that could be the envy of any of today's filmmakers.

Despite a few loose strands and false notes, Black & White is a thought-provoking film that challenges the state's stereotypical formula to combat terrorism. And somewhere between its moments of light and shade, it holds a glimmer of hope and humanism: yes, fanatics can be cured, terrorists can be tamed, secularism may live long.

The story is ostensibly based on the headline-grabbing case of the terrorist attack on Parliament, when a Delhi University professor (SAR Geelani) was held responsible for his links with the terrorists. Like Geelani, Professor Rajan Mathur (Anil Kapoor) too teaches Urdu in Zakir Hussain College and unwittingly becomes associated with a suicide bomber (Anurag Sinha) who comes all the way from Afghanistan to blow up the Red Fort on Independence Day. Nomair Qazi, the bomber, poses as a victim of the Gujarat riots and wins the sympathy of the professor and his activist wife (Shefali Shah), as he takes up residence with his supposed grandfather (Habib Tanvir) in the bustling streets of Chandni Chowk. The jehadi has fourteen days to plan his suicide mission and conveniently uses the simple professor and his emotionally exuberant wife to gain entry in the high-security environs of the Lal Qila. But before that, he must learn the more important lessons of life. While helping Numair to get an entry pass for 15th August celebrations at Red Fort, Mathur introduces Numair to his Chandni Chowk friends and their ways of life. Luckily, the warmth and colorful lives of Old Dilliwallahs prevails on the suicide bomber and he has second thoughts on his mission, a bit clichéd but somehow, it works.

Among the performers, Habib with his emotional patriotic poetry and jovial optimism scores the highest marks, followed by Shefali who furnishes a feisty positivism to her role. Anil, last seen donning the buffoon's mask in Welcome, does a complete somersault. His character of a supremely secular Hindu devoting himself to teaching Urdu is wildly idealistic but well portrayed by him. As for debutant Anurag, in the central role of the closet-terrorist, he wears the sullen scowl as a passionate statement from the first frame to the last. However, to see what else he is capable of, we shall have to wait till another Friday.

A good movie overall however, Black & White is not without its weak spots. The romantic track between Numair and his potential lady love comes like a sore thumb and the reasons that change the fanatic's thinking aren't too convincing. Apart from this, from Shefali's brutal murder to her last rites coupled with Anil and Anurag's entry into the Red Fort, aren't dramatic enough to attract the viewer's attention. We wish Ghai had paid a little more attention to this. Also, the terrorists and the intelligence wing look as terrifying and intelligent as an episode of the long-running TV serial "CID". And what was the need to make Anil-Shefali's little daughter mute? Maybe Ghai wanted us to take the Black part of his film's title seriously!
All said and done, Black &White signifies the coming of age of a seasoned storyteller. Sure, he has made great entertainers that have tremendous recall value, but Black & White is a gutsy step. It's realistic, it's thought-provoking, it's topical, but not dark, depressing or preachy. As a storyteller, Ghai has handled the subject with maturity and a few scenes do leave an unforgettable impression. Watch it for a different experience!

-- Saba Sartaj K

*YUCK
**WHATEVER
***GOOD
****SUPER
*****AWESOME