Black Eyed Sue

Black is a 2005 Indian drama film co-written, directed, and co-produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. It stars Amitabh Bachchan and Rani Mukerji in lead roles, with Ayesha Kapur, Shernaz Patel, and Dhritiman Chatterjee in supporting parts. The film narrates the story of Michelle (Mukerji), a deafblind woman, and her relationship with her teacher Debraj (Bachchan), an elderly alcoholic teacher who himself later develops Alzheimer's disease. The film, primarily in Hindi, also contains significant English dialogue. In 2003, Bhansali announced the production of his new project, Black. Its idea first came up when Bhansali met several disabled children during the making of Khamoshi: The Musical (1996). The screenplay was influenced by Keller's 1903 autobiography, The Story of My Life. Principal photography was done by Ravi K. Chandran in 100 days from mid-January to April 2004, taking place in Shimla and Film City. Omung Kumar was the production designer, while Sham Kaushal was the action director. After filming, it was edited by Bela Sehgal. The soundtrack and score were composed by Monty Sharma. Black released worldwide on 4 February 2005, and received widespread critical acclaim upon release, with praise for its direction, story, screenplay, dialogues, cinematography, production design, costumes, and the performances of the cast, with major praise directed towards Bachchan and Mukherji's performances, and Bhansali's direction and screenplay. The film grossed ₹409 million (US$9.27 million), and became the eighth highest-grossing Hindi film of the year. At the 53rd National Film Awards, Black won three awards, including Best Feature Film in Hindi and Best Actor in a Leading Role (Bachchan). At the 51st Filmfare Awards, it won all eleven of its nominations, including Best Film, Best Film (Critics), Best Director (Bhansali), Best Actor and Best Actor (Critics) (both for Bachchan), and Best Actress and Best Actress (Critics) (both for Mukerji), becoming the most-awarded film in the history of the ceremony at that time. It was also the fifth film to win the four major Filmfare categories: Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Actress.