Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Black starring Amitabh Bachchan and Rani Mukherjee in lead roles has been
selected as one of the 10 best movies of 2005 from across the world by the prestigious Time
magazine.
An unofficial remake of the 1962 US film The Miracle Worker , Bhansali's Black has been placed at
the fifth position by the magazine which put Germany's The White Diamond and Grizzy Man at the
top followed by Sweden's Saraband, America's Squid and The Whale and French movie Cache.
Black , described by the magazine as the "ultimate Bollywood love story", is about a deaf-blind girl
played by Mukherjee and her teacher enacted by Bachchan who introduces her to the world of words.
"This is an unusual film for India: no songs, a running time under two hours, and most of the
dialogues in English, yet it became a box office hit. It could also be a test for Western audiences
unused to the fever pitch of Indian melodrama; they may need a warning label - Caution: Extreme
Sentiment (May be Contagious)," the magazine said about the movie.
"Everyone else can dive right into the bathos and savour the brave, passionate performances of
Amitabh, who harnesses gravity and humour to his magisterial machismo in what may be his
greatest role and the two Michells (played by child actor Ayesha Kapoor and Mukherjee), who revere
and adore their teacher as the one man who matters," it said.
Friday, December 30, 2005 11:46 IST