Black

Black (2005) is an Indian drama you can watch online on iFILM, directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. It follows a deaf-blind girl named Michelle McNally and the relentless teacher who spent years pulling her out of isolation.

Michelle grew up without sight, without hearing, without language. Debraj Sahai, played by Amitabh Bachchan, takes her on when no one else will — pushing past her violent tantrums to teach her to communicate, to read, to live. Rani Mukerji takes over as the adult Michelle, and the bond between these two actors gives the film its real weight. Then the arc reverses: Debraj develops dementia, and the woman he once promised to never forget must now try to remind him who she is.

Bhansali stripped away the usual Bollywood extravagance here — muted palette, almost no song-and-dance sequences. The film picked up the National Film Award for Best Hindi Film and swept the Filmfare Awards that year. It is one of the more quietly devastating things to come out of Indian cinema in the 2000s. Stream Black online on iFILM.