Musings, Black, etc...

Hello everybody! I am back. Thatw as quite a break I took. But this ain't new for me coz I keep taking breaks often. Funnily enough all these days, I just didn't feel like posting at all. The thought of quitting blogging also came into my mind. Well, it was just not a thought. I gave it a good deal of thought. Then decided against it because this is a hobby I really enjoy and that I don't think I will ever quit it as such. Blogging is an integral part of my life now and that expressing my thoughts, opinions over here really matter a lot to me. So there would be extended breaks taken by me now and then just when I feel a little bit bored about it.

Ok, I HAVE SOOOOOOOOOOOO MANY THINGS TO DISCUSS ABOUT OVER HERE. Ok, I know many of you want to know about my Indo Pak experiences. Well, sorry guys, I dont think I would be posting anything major in this post. Will sure have a decent write up written by mid of April. Nevertheless I still have tons to say. Ok, I had my final submission today. It felt a bit weird that this was my last assignment that I would ever submit. 3 years of assignments, projects, submissions, presentation........ALL DONE, OVER, KHATAM, Finished. In a few days I would be graduating also. Things are changing in a speed that is really tough to fathom. Sometimes, I am like, hey life, wait a minute, let it sink in! But I guess from now onwards it is all about adapting oneself quickly because I know for sure the one thing that is going to be constant is change and I better get adjusted to it. Oh well...enough of my rambling.

Ok, now what prompted me to post here was Reiya's post on Black. She has reflected upon her thoughts on Black. I thought I will add my two cents too. I saw Black twice. First time it was with the Pakistani delegation. They were all dying to see a Hindi Movie in a THEATRE in MUMBAI. So we booked tickets for Black in Liberty. Black got me hooked on right from scene 1. I remember I didn't speak a word with my friend who was sitting next to me. Poor thing, she had loads to say about the movie but well i was engrossed. I was engrossed to such an extent that the scenes in the movie had an effect on me emotionally. I remember during the break, I just wanted to be alone, with myself. The movie drained me completely. The emotions were probably too much for me to handle. During the second half of the movie, I cried buckets. I simply let go of myself during the end. Oh well, it's another story altogether as to how everybody (my Paki friends included) ragged me to death coz I was the only sole person crying over there. :P:P

I have always maintained in this blog that when I see a movie, I see like any normal viewer. I really don't sit and analyse, "Wow, what an awesome shot, what a great camera angle" and the works. Whenever I watch a movie for the first time, I get completely involved with it. I allow the movie to take me for a ride. It is only during the second or third time that I watch the movie, can I be completely objective about it and can only then form opinions. Therefore I have always wondered how critics rate a movie immediately after watching it. I take time to form opinions. Or maybe this has got to do with the fact that I don't watch too many movies as such. I am sure a movie like Black might have left majority of the audience emotionally drained, confused or whatever. I wonder how one can really evaluate a movie like Black just by watching it once. Emotions tend to cloud proper decision-making and this applies to everything in life. Therefore I wonder how do movie critics rate, critique a movie just by watching it once? I think they are programmed to watch a movie in a certain way and that is what helps them. Hmmm....

But nevertheless, I went to watch Black for the second time. I was and still am to a great extent completely enamoured by the movie. I wondered if I would cry again. But surprisingly I didn't. Maybe it had to do with the fact that the last time I watched the movie wasn't a long time ago. This time however I came out oft he movie with mixed feelings. I think this has got to do with the fact that both my friends didnt like the movie the way I did. It never really occurred to me that the acting of Amitabh Bachchan went over the top. I still don’t think so. Yea, there were scenes wherein his acting was animated. But never once did he come across as irritating. What would be over the top acting would be Hrithik’s performance in Main Prem ki Deewani Hoon. I am not trying to compare Hrithik and Amitabh’s performance. Hell, No! I am just giving a reference to what irritating over the top acting would be like. There are eccentric characters like Amitabh’s character in real life too. If you see in India, almost all the art forms are mostly synonymous with over dramatisation. It is a genre in itself. If you see Bharatnatyam for example, a simplest of emotion or a reaction would be over dramatised. It has always been the case. But dramatisation I feel is ok if done in a proper way and not in an irritating way. Irritating would be the eye-brow twitching dramatisation in Saas-Bahu serials. But then, it sells. People love it. Melodrama is in the psyche of majority of the Indians if I can add. Most of us being the urban audiences and being exposed to a lot of Hollywood movies where subtlety rules, we might pan Black down. But I think this is our style just as subtlety is theirs.

Also, I think Melodrama was used to convey the anguish of the child who can’t see, can’t hear and hence can’t talk. To communicate is an inherent need of every human being. I can’t even fathom the anguish and the pain that a child like this might go through in real life. How many of us actually sit and think about what it might be like being Michelle. Melodrama was effectively used a tool. The film forces you to think so.

I thought the kissing scene between Amitabh and Rani was one of the most beautiful scenes I have ever watched. Michelle is like any normal teenager if one would discount the disabled side of hers. I thought it was but natural for her to fall in love with someone who was her sole link to the real world for a long time. He was the only male friend in a lonely world of hers. It was but natural for her to fall in love with him. The vulnerability was beautifully shown. I guess never has such a topic been broached by any Indian movie as such. It is challenging enough to portray the emotions of people who can’t speak, talk and hear. It is quite an effort to translate those emotions on screen and for that Bhansali deserves an ovation.

Also the scene wherein the child regards her mother “Ma” and her father as “Pa” is another lovely scene of the movie. I get goose bumps even thinking about the scene. And yea, Shernaz Patel was awesome. She was the perfect mom. Also the wonderkid Ayesha Kapoor, great find.

However one thing did trouble me when I watched the movie for the second time. I really didn’t like it when Amitabh hits the child. I agree the child was obstinate to the core. But still hitting a child is not the right way to go about it. I am firmly against hitting and spanking children. I am shocked at myself as to how this thing didn’t trouble me when I watched the movie the first time. I don’t know but is this a norm with the children who are visually challenged and mentally impaired? If no, then how do they deal with the kids. Hmm....

Also one of my very good friend Dodo starts blogging. YAYYYY! for that (drumrolls please:P:P) Do check her blog out, she surely does write well. Dodo, you really did surprise me :)

Dya guys remember this post of mine on Meena Mami? Well, guess what, I met her a week back. More on that in my next post. :)
Bye for now :)