‘Black Sunshine Baby’ Netflix Review - A Tribute to Aisha Chaudhary!

Black Sunshine Baby is a documentary featuring Aisha Chaudhary and her life while she fought her Immune disorder and terminal illness. The life of Aisha Chaudhary has been previously covered in the Bollywood movie called ‘The Sky is Pink’. This documentary is directed by Nilesh Maniyar and it has a run time of 1 hour and 25 minutes. Aisha Chaudhary left the world on January 24th, 2015 and the documentary was released on the same date on Netflix in 2023.

The documentary carries the heart-breaking story of Aisha Chaudhary who fought with severe illness from early childhood until the day she died. But she decided to live each day with such enthusiasm that she marked a presence in many people’s lives and the world. This documentary takes us through the artworks of Aisha Chaudhary which she left behind for everyone. Her writings, artworks/ doodles, images, graphics, interviews, and archived footage of her childhood and teenage years are what make up this documentary. This documentary is very special and certainly fills the viewers with emotions from the start till the end.

The documentary stars the Chaudhary family – Niren (Aisha’s father), Aditi (Aisha’s mother), and Ishaan (Aisha’s brother). Unlike the movie The Sky Is Pink, the documentary contains lots of raw moments that the family went through. The Sky is Pink has a more dramatized version of the events that took place, of course for entertainment purposes. The documentary is different from what we saw in the film. Black Sunshine Baby has focused more on Aisha, and her progress while she was aboard for the treatment. The documentary gives us the events in a detailed chronological order. The documentary gives us a detailed look into Aisha’s life, her friendships, her treatments, and most importantly her headspace and how she functioned and excelled as a human even while struggling with so many health issues.

The documentary dwells on what a family or a person goes through while dealing with such a situation. The different issues the diseases can contribute to are insane. From being not able to make friends, to being more ill because of the treatment, Aisha fought through it all and the viewers will be stunned to see how strong Niren and Aditi were during the most fragile times of their lives.

We see an amazing human inside Aisha through this endearing documentary. She made use of the years she was gifted in the best way possible reminding us how each day is a gift and to never take it for granted. From the beginning, we know where everything is going to end up. There is constant talk about death throughout the film. But what keeps us though despite knowing the ending is the cheerful Aisha and her family who have shown the courage to share the story about their daughter and raise awareness about these illnesses and their cures to other people.

The documentary has not only shown how Aisha and her family fought psychically but also how they fought mentally. If you have watched and loved ‘The Sky is Pink’ then this documentary is a must-watch. We get to see all the other sides of Aisha that the film has missed. The documentary surely has given Aisha the platform to tell the world her thoughts even though she might not be physically present in the world right now. Her family too got a platform to embrace her fights and also her little joys. Surely give this documentary a try because Aisha will never fail to pour emotions into your heart through her heart-warming life.

Final Score – [9.5/10]
Reviewed by - Poornima Balsu
Follow @BalsuPoornima on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times