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’ (Hidden).
‘Black’, described by the magazine as the “ultimate Bollywood love story”, is about a deaf-blind girl played by Rani 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.
“In so many Indian films the deepest searches are for romantic ecstasy and for reconciliation with the father figure. By addressing both these needs, ‘Black’ is more than a noble weepie; it is the ultimate Bollywood love story,” the magazine said.
Other films that made it to the Time list are Thailand’s ‘Citizen Dog’ at number six, followed by ‘The Constant Gardner’ of UK-US-Brazil-Kenya, ‘Once You’re Born’ of Italy, ‘Wallace And Gromit In The Curese Of The Were-Rabbit’ of UK and ‘Memoirs of Geisha’ of US.