"black" a review
so i went to the inox theatre here in panaji, capital of goa to see a much anticipated new movie called black. the inox theatres are the first multiplex theatres in india. they lack the charm of the old movie halls, but make up for it in a/c splendor and cozy armchair comfort, with a darn good snack stall serving everything from soft serve ice cream to samosas and dum maro dum biryani. of course you pay for it, tickets for one movie run around 100 rupees-two bucks (average price goes around 15-50rps).
"black" is kind of a re-telling of the hellen keller story. there are no musical numbers in the movie and it is only 2 hours long, including intermission. half of the film is spoken in english, and is very easy to follow. it stars the gorgeous and massively talented rani mukergee as a deaf, dumb and blind girl with rich and reluctant parents. her "magician" teacher is the great legend amitabh bacchaan of "sholay", "don", and probably over 300 other movies.
the first half of the movie shows "teacher"(his name in the movie) struggling to teach the young michelle (ms mukergee) how to eat with a spoon, spell, talk, and basically behave like a normal human being. of course the parents don't like his methods, cause they seem harsh-he has to sometimes slap her because she needs to be tamed. she is a wild beast who is brilliently portrayed by a new child actress. you can't tell she is acting. there's a whole scene reminicint of the "water" scene in the helen keller story where she learns her first words, water, mom, and papa, and teacher.
intermission. michelle is a young lady for the second half of the filum. she has learned much, but needs "cane" training to become independent. teacher has been with her 18 years and still faces many challanges. he helps her get into a normal university, but she fails year after year, giving up hope. "impossible is not a word i have ever taught her" teacher preaches to all the doubters, including michelle. the kicker is that teacher is getting old, and begins to develop senility, losing his memory, his voice, and his hearing. he has turned into michelle, now she must help him. of course she ends up graduating, it's quite a momentous occasion. and teacher spirals into confusion and than death. be prepared to give up lots of eye water for this one.
i liked this move a lot. both actors deserve awards for their portrayals, including the little girl who plays michelle as a child. on my 5 star scale, i give it a 4.
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well, folks, i'm rounding off another part of this trip. i'm leaving panaji today on a BUS-yes you heard it, a bus-for bombay again. panaji is not like the rest of goa. there isn't a beach here, just a very quaint french-like small city of only 90,000 people with not much to offer except cobblestone roads, great goan and punjab food, and gentle beggers. the goan people have their own look-they are truly a beautiful people, and most speak portuguese. i love the combination of the indian/portuguese food-pinto beans appearing in dhal, for instance, and i love the relaxed atmosphere. it's the only place in india where it's not a sin to drink beer or any other alcohol in public. women drinking in restaurants is normal, which shocked me at my first lunch. i highly reccomend this wonderful little city without a beach. it is surrounded by the mandovi river, so it's not totally dry. if ever you visit goa, don't limit yourself to western drug laden beaches. come to panaji!
see you in bombay-
bindifry
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