"Black Ray"!

Friends,
I was fortunate over this weekend to have witnessed two magnificent performances. First, by Jamie Fox in "Ray" and second by "Big B" in "Black". This was more than a treat for the weekend.
 
Enough has been said about both these performances in our group, but I need to put in my 2 pennies.
 
Ray: He has simply lived his role. I have seen some brilliant blind roles ("Scent of a woman" by Al Pacino, "Sparsh" by Naseeruddin) and thought nothing would surpass that level. But I was pleasantly proved wrong. His overall posture, speaking style, whims and eccentricism that comes with being a handicapped person was so powerfully portrayed, it all can only be seen to be believed.  But more powerful was his carrying of his past which was obviously so effectively shown by the director. Jamie has shown all these colors in the character with élan. But what remains with me from the movie is the actress (Sharon Warren)who played his young mother.  Ray's relation with his mother and her insistence on him becoming independent which comes more from the struggle she has to put up for their existence than anything else was just outstanding. The particular scene where young Ray who has lost his sight learns to 'hear' and 'feel' things around was absolutely marvelous. The music in this movie was also so outstanding, I have to make an attempt to get my hands on a "Ray Charles" CD.
 
Black: Mr. Amitabh Bacchan at his best ladies and Gentleman. For the first time in his (and my) life I have seen AB without being AB! He was Mr. Debraj Sahay from start to finish. This is no secret that I am a die-hard Bacchan fan, but most of the movies in which I have enjoyed him (including recent ones like "Dev" by Govind Nihlani), he still was Bacchan playing that role (bigger than the screen with his usual charisma). But in this movie he is just Debraj Sahay period. Also, I had never seen him playing an eccentric person before. To his credit he has always played a 'normal' guy (unlike the Kamal Haasans or Nasiruddins of our industry who get the justified accolades for playing extra ordinary characters) and still showed all his repertoire in those roles.
But here he got a role which demanded more than just putting up the character, it needed a convincing enactment of the character beyond what meets the bare eye. Bacchan has done it to perfection. Honestly Rani also has done quite remarkably well and so did others, but Bacchan was so marvelous I need to make an attempt to remember who else was in that movie! His expressions when she clears her college interview or when the young Michelle learns the words were quite marvelous. We always wondered how would Bachan perform in roles which need more than just the ordinary man. He has given me the answer which surpassed all the tall expectations which he already creates. Mark my words, Bacchan getting old is a very very good thing for Hindi Cinema. Hindi Cinema is going to witness some fabulous performances it had never seen before.
Pramod mentioned yesterday that Bacchan has reached "Morgan Freeman" heights. I think (believing I'm not being blind in his admiration) Bacchan has surpassed that height in this movie. I can't imagine MF playing this role. He has his own grace and poise. Even when he performed the prisoner in Shawshank Redemption, he carried that poise with him. Bacchan has a very similar poise (growing by every movie mostly due to his age). But he was successful in foregoing even that for this role which was so incredible. All and all it was a good movie, but like it happened with "Ray" the performance simply outgrows the movie.
 
I *highly* recommend, you don't miss any of the two movies mentioned above.