
Three years after his last directorial venture
bombed at the box office, director Subhash Ghai has definitely reinvented
himself and how?
Very unlike all of Ghai’s films till date Black and White is devoid
of all grandeur, music videos and big star power. Leave aside the veteran
Anil Kapoor, the entire cast is fresh. Living up to his image of launching
new comers, this time Ghai has given the industry two very promising actors:
Anurag Sinha and Aditi Sharma.
Anil Kapoor plays Rajan Mathur is a Professor in Urdu literature in Dr.
Zakir Hussain's College. He resides in Chandni Chowk with his activist
wife, Roma Mathur (Shefali Shah). Shefali does justice even to her small
role in the film.
Professor Mathur comes across a young boy called Numair Qazi (Anurag Sinha)
who introduces himself as a victim of communal riots in Gujarat. But in
actual fact, he is a suicide bomber commissioned by a Muslim fundamentalist
group to detonate a bomb near Red Fort on 15th August. During his fifteen
day roller coaster journey, Numair manages to take shelter in the Professor's
house and wins the trust and fondness of the couple. While helping Numair
to get an employment entry pass for 15th August celebrations at Red Fort,
Professor Mathur introduces him to the warm and loving people of Chandni
Chowk who coexist with fun, music, love and colorful events and festivals
irrespective of their religion.
Numair is astonished with some of the characters he meets in Chandi Chowk.
These include Shagufta, a modern Muslim college girl, the Professor's
sharp-tongued wife Roma, Rahat, a Sufi pop singer, Miya an 84-year-old
who is full of patriotism and the fun loving Sardar Kirtan Singh. But
for Numair, he must keep his mind focused on the mission as he struggles
to carry out his orders from his superiors.
Anurag does a brilliant job of playing a suicide bomber in his debut.
While the cinematography is wonderful so is the soulful music by Sukhwinder
Singh. The film is a great comeback for Ghai-the director. With patriotic
undertones, this film is a must-watch.
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