| Director | Sanjay Leela Bhansali |
|---|---|
| Budget | ₹20 crore |
| Box office | ₹66.6 crore |
Michelle McNally, a 42-year-old, Anglo-Indian woman living in Shimla, is "special" in more ways than one for being deafblind and mute. She inhabits a suffocating world of infinite Black -- where she is isolated in the darkness of her own existence, trapped by her inability to see, hear and speak. Michelle, her younger sister, Sara, and their mother, Catherine, find Michelle's long-lost former teacher, Debraj Sahai, near the fountain outside their house. Debraj is admitted to a mental hospital, where the doctor diagnoses him as the patient of incurable Alzheimer's disease, who has near-inability to remember his past and even how to speak. However, Michelle denies the statement and vows to help Debraj in regaining his normal mental health, in return for Debraj's kindness to help her discover her identity, which makes her feel human rather than someone inferior with a disability. The film then flashbacks to the past to Michelle's childhood. Michelle was a girl who tragically lost her eyesight, hearing and speech after recovering from an illness at the age of two. On the sheer will of her ferocious rage against destiny, Michelle grows up prone to violent outbursts for becoming more and more frustrated by the seamless, endless void in her life, where nothing reaches her and she reaches nothing. As a result, Michelle becomes a violent, uncontrollable 8-year-old child and her parents, Paul and Catherine, are at their wits' end trying to control her, especially after Catherine gives birth to Sara.
However, the light shines through the end of the tunnel one day. Debraj, an elderly alcoholic teacher for the blind and deaf in Dehradun, enters their lives and becomes a ray of hope for Michelle. Debraj sees himself as a magician and is a disillusioned eccentric man. He takes it upon himself to bring the young Michelle into the light and build her into someone who can express and communicate. Debraj even gives up salary, allowance and alcohol and only requests for time and trust to complete his mission. He uses harsh methods, although always for Michelle's long-term benefit, but Paul initially disapproves of the methods and orders Debraj to leave. Although Paul believes him to be gone, Debraj stays as the teacher while Paul is away on a business trip for 20 days. Catherine grudgingly approves of his continuation, given her fear of Michelle being sent to a mental hospital. By the 20th day, Debraj manages to teach Michelle some words and better manners, but he still has difficulty teaching her the meaning of words. When Paul returns, Debraj packs his bags and begins to leave, but at the very last moment, he gets frustrated with Michelle's continuing insolent behaviour, as he is walking towards the door with suitcase in hand. As a result, Debraj immediately takes Michelle out in the courtyard and throws her into a fountain full of water. At that moment, Michelle suddenly takes to Debraj's lessons and begins to understand the meaning of water. She is also able to identify her parents and can vocalise the first syllables of small words, causing Paul and Catherine to retain Debraj as Michelle's teacher.
22 years later, 30-year-old Michelle has learned a great deal, becoming a relaxed and expressive woman, who is even able to dance and expertly sign. Debraj convinces the principal of a university to grant her an interview, which Michelle successfully passes with assistance from Debraj's friend, Mrs. Nair, and receives admission to pursue a degree of Bachelor of Arts, the first blind-deaf person to do so at that university. Michelle moves away from home and lives with Debraj and one of her servants. Over the next two years, she struggles to gain her degree, failing year after year, but she still maintains her spirit. One reason is that she must rely on Debraj completely for interpretation of the material and studying. This problem is overcome by the principal of the college, who prepares the whole first-year Arts course of study in braille for Michelle. Another reason for the continuing failure of Michelle is that her typing skills are lacking and typing is her only way to write down what she knows during exams. However, she also soon overcomes this deficiency through another flash of increased competence when Michelle almost quits the university and gets into an argument with Debraj. At the same time as Michelle faces all her challenges with resilience, numerous other changes are also witnessed. Debraj begins to succumb to Alzheimer's disease, first forgetting the way out of the principal's office, and then forgetting Michelle and leaving her stranded during an ice-cream celebration for her improved typing.
Meanwhile, Michelle also reconciles with Sara, who turns out was always jealous of her parents' affection for Michelle throughout her life. After attending Sara's marriage, Michelle begins to wonder about love, which she has never experienced, and she even requests Debraj to kiss her on the lips. Debraj reluctantly does so but decides to leave Michelle himself because of this demand and the position she has put him in. In the present, which is twelve years after Michelle's enrollment into the college, she successfully manages to gain her BA degree, and with her proud parents looking on her, Michelle even gives a speech to the graduating class. Wearing no black graduation robe, she expresses gratitude to everyone and announces that she will only wear the robe so that her teacher may see her first. At the mental hospital, Michelle visits Debraj wearing her robe and glimmers of memory are seen returning as Debraj realises that she has graduated and even performs a victory dance.