MUMBAI: The Sanjay Leela Bhansali film ‘Black’, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Rani Mukerji, released 16 years ago on February 4. Rani, who essayed one of the most challenging roles of her life in the film, surprises you by saying she was initially reluctant to do the role. “At first I was reluctant to do the film when Sanjay offered me the role. Not because I had any doubts about the film or the character as such, because working with Bhansali is a dream for any actor,” recalled Rani.
She plays the specially-abled girl Michelle McNally, born with visual and hearing impairment. The story traces her bond with her teacher, played by Big B. “I had already been a huge fan of his work after watching ‘Devdas’. So, for me to get an opportunity to work with Sanjay was huge. However, as an actor, I wasn’t very confident that I would be able to pull off the role that he was offering me. I discussed this with Sanjay and asked him, ‘are you sure you are asking me to do this role, I think it is a very difficult part, something which I have not even envisaged ever in my life’,” said Rani.
She was “quite intimidated” at first but it was entirely Sanjay’s belief in her that helped them make ‘Black’. “When he told me that he believed I would be able to pull off the character and that he would be there with me at every step guiding me through the role, and give me as much help as is I needed to basically study the character of Michelle McNally through the real people who are speech, sight and hearing impaired, I felt confident,” said Rani.
“Sanjay fulfilled his promise because I actually went through intense training and learning the sign language and interacting with all the impaired people for six months and that’s how I was able to then get into the character of Michelle,” she added.
Big B feels ‘Black’ was way ahead of its time. “It has been 16 years…since Debraj Sahai. Black…a movie way ahead of its time. Every dialogue, every instance in the movie was so beautifully crafted that it has engraved its existence in everyone’s heart, including mine. #16YearsOfBlack #RaniMukerji #SanjayLeelaBhansali,” Amitabh Bachchan wrote on Instagram.