DVD Review: Black & White 
By Joginder Tuteja, May 17, 2008 - 14:31 IST
Movie Details
Cast: Anil Kapoor, Anurag Sinha, Shefali Chhaya, Aditi Sharma, Habib Tanvir
Director: Subhash Ghai
Producer: Subhash Ghai
Music: Sukhwinder Singh
Lyrics: Ibrahim Ashq
THE MOVIE
Black & White is a risky film to make due to it's sensitive theme. And in spite of such a risk, Subhash Ghai takes the plunge and to top it all, instead of roping in an established name, he chooses to take a newcomer Anurag Sinha under his wings. Not just a risk, in fact a double risk, considering the fact that one wrong move and the film could well have proved to be a big roadblock in the Showman's journey. But Subhash Ghai manages to succeed, even though not to the extent one would have desired.
There is a solid beginning to the film, which stays on from the very first minute to the entire first one hour. Anurag's introduction as a suicide bomber operating out of Afghanistan, the subsequent tension in the Indian intelligence, Anurag's mission plan for bombing Red Fort, his friends in Delhi helping him with his new identity, his confrontation with his own man regarding the meaning of being a true Muslim, the sequence of events which lead to him winning the trust of Anil Kapoor and Shefali Chhaya - everything makes Black & White a breezy entertainer for a good part in spite of the seriousness of affairs.
What also impresses most is the way Anurag conveys a lot just through his body language, eyes and mannerisms, with hardly a few dialogues to mouth. And the ones he mouths do have the intensity and passion in spite of him keeping the pitch of his voice down throughout his act. Now that's quite some good act which would make many film makers stand up and take notice of the young actor.
The area where acting fails is surprisingly from an actor of the caliber of Shefali Chhaya. She is fine in a scene or two, but the places where she tries to play the vivacious Bengali wife; she is a complete let down. Seriously speaking, she starts getting on your nerves. Anil Kapoor is good but that's about it; not excellent though. But then for an actor like him, it is only the written part that has to be blamed, rather than his conviction. Theater actor Habib Tanvir is given quite some footage, rather unnecessarily, so with hardly any significance to the film's plot except for giving that 'Hamara Hindustan' angle!
So what stops the film from being one of the most powerful/engaging dramas created by Ghai till date? Its penultimate reels where the film starts dragging and refuses to match the pace of the earlier portions. In fact, except for a sequence or two, especially the one where Anurag Sinha beats up Milind Gunaji (reminding of the Shah Rukh Khan-Amrish Puri climax sequence in Pardes, the ending turns out to be quite dull. Of course, the message of 'let a terrorist live if he has reformed so that he can tell the rest of the world about the goodness of life' is well conveyed, but the much expected dramatic punch is missing.
If at all this punch was present, Black & White could have been an ace up the sleeves of Subhash Ghai!
PACKAGING
The film comes in an ordinary paper case, though the design and the layout gives it an eye catchy look. The DVD comes sans any props or frills.
DURATION
The film comes in a single DVD pack with the film's duration being approx. 140 minutes.
SPECIAL FEATURES
The DVD doesn't come with any special features.
TECHNICAL DETAILS
- 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen Presentation
- Subtitles in English
- Dolby Digital 5.1 and Stereo
PRICE
Rs. 299/=
CONCLUSION
You want Black & White to be good. In fact really good. After all, it comes from a man who is aware that he has to move on with times and leave the Yaadein and the Kisna of his script database behind. He knows that the audiences have to be told something interesting and engaging and for that he chooses an unconventional subject - Terrorism - that doesn't quite have a universal appeal! This is why one feels tad sad after watching Black & White. Reason being that the film is fine but it could just have been far-far better.
Rating: **1/2
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