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Amitabh Bachchan, Rani Mukherjee, Ayesha Kapur, Shernaz Patel, Dhritiman Chatterjee ... see more see more... , Nandana Sen

This is the tender story of two soul mates: eight-year-old Michelle McNally, born to an Anglo-Indian family and deaf-blind after an illness at the age of eighteen months; and 48-year-old Debraj Sahai,... read more read more... an eccentric alcoholic and teacher to the deaf-blind. Debraj takes on the task of teaching the bright but violent Michelle. His unorthodox approach eventually succeeds, but he is diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease just when he is beginning to make progress with his student. Now, the roles are reversed, and it is Michelle who must help Debraj fight the devastating effects of Alzheimer's.

Flixster Users

90% liked it

8,076 ratings

Critics

80% liked it

5 critics

Unrated, 2 hr. 4 min.

Directed by: Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Release Date: February 4, 2005

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DVD Release Date: May 10, 2005

Stats: 729 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (729)


  • December 14, 2010
    I do not understand why this movie recieved so many awards. To base a movie on such famous and well-known tale is cliche. All I saw was a guy who's trying be Al Pacino, lead actress who can not act and NOT likable. (I know she's supposed to be blind, but what's up with Charlie Ch... read moreaplin walk?) The music score cracked me up and all that emotional drama over every gesture! The movie went completely overboard!!
  • September 13, 2010
    Nothing short of awesome. This is another outstanding Bollywood film. About a girl who is deaf and blind, and a man who spends his life (40 Years) teaching her so she can become independent. All acting is over the top. More American Directors should watch this and try to match th... read moree quality of this film rather then the simple trash they turn out. 5 Stars
  • April 17, 2009
    Here's a fantastic movie that follows the life of one woman who struggles to fit in with her family and the rest of the world. Despite her being deaf and blind, Michelle had much to overcome even in childhood when all she has ever known was darkness. She had obstacles to overcome... read more, and endure when she first meets Mr. Debraj Sahai. As long as she had her teacher, she worked very hard to achieve every possible hurdle on her road to independence and self-sufficiency. As Mr. Sahai details, he had never taught the word 'impossible' and so this enables Michelle to strive further. Great cast- Amitabh Bachchan and Rani Mukherjee stars. Great music. Definitely worthy!
  • November 30, 2007
    Based on the story of Helen Keller, the story follows the girl like Keller, an extremely difficult role to act, going all the way to college with so much struggle until her mentor became really old and suffer from Alzheimer. Many real teaching methods have been applied to the fil... read morem. It's good for people who wish to become a teacher or a family counselor in the future. A must watch!
  • April 6, 2011
    Good movie, good message but it has some flaws. It's like the Bollywood remake of ''The miracle worker (1962)''. Tough Its hard to call it a Bollywood movie... Its language is English. All Hindus in the movie are Christian. And there are no dance scenes !!!
  • June 20, 2008
    This is by far the best character role that I have seen Amitabh play. Rani Mukherjee was superb, and at times I felt she excelled Amitabh. The story is pretty simple and has been time tested in Hindi movies, but the overall presentation in the movie leaves an unforgettable impres... read moresion on ones mind. The photography in this movie is simply outstanding and it seems that Bollywood has finally emerged from its cookie-cut masala formula and getting ready to make a niche in world movie industry.
  • July 27, 2007
    All I can say is wow! It echoes "The Miracle Worker" but only for a moment and then goes on to some wonderful acting and I love the lighting/sets etc
  • March 14, 2007
    A grt artistic movie, with really artistic performance of Rani. A blind girl by birth with mental problem, lives among her family, her siblings, makes friends, goes to school, gets education and finnaly graduates at the age of 40s, but she does graduate. She does get her degree a... read morend does prove she made it, just like the rest of students who get every previlliage of their abilities unlike her. This movie really displays a grt piece of art from Amitabh as a master who teaches the little girl how to live and how to fight with her disablitity. A really interesting movie by Sanjai Leela Bhansali.
  • September 3, 2006
    Performances are some of the best in the Indian film industry. A box of tissues needed throughout the movie....you might even use the whole box!
  • July 16, 2006
    An incredibly sad, but inspirational and beautiful story. It is VERY moving and well done.

    At first, I thought it a bit too theatrical, but that tone or style calmed down after about 20 minutes and it became magical.

    I am now a fan of Amitabh Bachman. He reminds me very m... read moreuch of Al Pacino. And he may very well be just as great; I can't wait to see more. Also Mukherjee's performance was amazing too. Everything about this film is fantastic. I even really enjoyed the score.

    The Indian language is very strange. They revert to English in the middle of a sentence and them back to Indian (or whatever the language is called). I really wish the extras on the DVD were subtitled, because I could only understand about 1/3 of the Q&A session with the actors and the director.

    I highly recommend this to all. I will also see more films from director Sanjay Bhansali very soon in the future.

Critic Reviews


Jeffrey Chen
October 8, 2008
Jeffrey Chen, Window to the Movies

It's the details that make the whole thing work, from the performances ... to its deadly honest observations that Michelle's disabilities would create obstacles that would reach far beyond her loss of... Full Review

Mark R. Leeper
May 15, 2007
Mark R. Leeper, rec.arts.movies.reviews

Bhansali built a visually beautiful film around the story of "The Miracle Worker." It is hard to imagine such an elegant and satisfying film coming from the Bollywood system. Full Review

Derek Elley
March 26, 2009
Derek Elley, Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

April 28, 2005
Hollywood Reporter

No review available.

Liam Lacey
February 4, 2005
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

Click to read the article Full Review

April 1, 2006
Empire Magazine

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April 30, 2005
Future Movies UK

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Urban Cinefile Critics
October 18, 2008
Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile

Click to read the article Full Review

Carol Cling
September 23, 2006
Carol Cling, Las Vegas Review-Journal

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February 9, 2006
Time Out

Click to read the article Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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