Black (2005 film)

Black is a 2005 Indian English- and Hindi-language 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 roles. The film narrates the story of Michelle (Mukerji), a deaf-and-blind woman, and her relationship with her teacher Debraj (Bachchan), an elderly alcoholic teacher who himself later develops Alzheimer's disease.

In 2003, Bhansali announced the production of his new project, Black. Its idea first came up when he met several physically disabled children while shooting Khamoshi: The Musical in the 1990s. The story was inspired by the activist Helen Keller's life and her 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 proved to a commercial success at the box office with a total gross of ₹666 million (US$15.1 million), thus becoming the eighth-highest grossing Bollywood film of 2005. It 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.

A recipient of numerous accolades, Black won three awards at the 53rd National Film Awards, including Best Feature Film in Hindi and Best Actor (Bachchan). At the 51st Filmfare Awards, the film won all its 11 nominations, including Best Film, Best Film (Critics), Best Director (Bhansali), Best Actor, Best Actor (Critics) (both for Bachchan), Best Actress and Best Actress (Critics) (both for Mukerji), thus becoming the most-awarded film in the history of the Filmfare Awards at that time. It also became the fifth film to win all 4 major awards at the Filmfare Awards (Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress). A Turkish remake, Benim Dünyam, was released in 2013.