Black Friday

Anurag Kashyap went through hell twice for both his films to get released. The first one, Paanch, was being blocked for excessive violence and bad language or some other such hogwash. After a long wait, I got to watch it at a film festival in the Siri Fort Auditorium in Delhi. My reaction was: thats it? All that hullabaloo for this this film with a couple of logic-defying corkscrew twists at the end? The violence was nothing; I cant even remember any now. As for the language, I cant remember anything I found violently offensive lots of movies get passed by the censor board nowadays even with their mother-sister gaalis (eg. Gangaajal, Omkara, etc). In fact, I do remember that the dialogue in Paanch was sharp and witty, and the acting, faultless.
As for Black Friday, it was ready long ago, maybe almost two years. Having finally watched it, I now feel its one of the most important films for our country. You can universalize its themes, sure, but in the context of the true events its based on, its even more vital that we Indians use it as a mirror to look at ourselves. But about the movie itself first.

The Film as a Film

Black Friday was originally a book by S Hussain Zaidi, published in 2002, a good 9 years after the Mumbai blasts. More than 300 people were killed and over 1600 injured on March 12, 1993. Were shown recreations of a few of the blasts, but thankfully in hues of saturated blue not many people would be able to take the sight of so much blood and maimed and mangled bodies. Like the book, the film is divided into chapters. As a film, I would divide it into three acts following the blasts investigation, pursuit of suspects, and unraveling of the conspiracy. The always-reliable Kay Kay Menon, who was also the lead in Paanch, plays DCP Rakesh Maria, who led the investigation.

I havent read the book, but Black Friday is a masterpiece of screenwriting. Apart from about 15 minutes in the middle act which I feel was slightly redundant, the movie is engrossing throughout. The fact that its all based on facts adds to the interest level. In fact, Anurag Kashyap also intersperses the film with several well-placed real-life clips from TV reports, including an interview with Pakistan envoy Riaz Khokhar.

The Acting

One vital thing which most Indian directors overlook is the importance of walk-on, one-line actors. For eg, in Lage Raho Munnabhai, when Sanjay Dutt tells the chaiwala kid in the library about seeing Mahatma Gandhis ghost, the kid says Sab yede aate hain yaha pe! What a great line! Imagine how much less impact it wouldve had if some lousy brat had ruined it. When a great actor has a two-line exchange with a non-actor, the scene is already half diluted. Having myself hunted for actors while doing school and college level plays, I can tell you finding good actors is no mean task. Which is why I cannot stress enough how truly I appreciate the efforts Anurag Kashyap must have undertaken to find such a huge cast of solid actors, even for the small roles. The expressions on some of the bomb blast victims are so real you might end up thinking theyre the real thing. If acting awards were given to films on the basis of the total performances of the full cast, Black Friday would probably win every award in the world this year.

Aditya Shrivastav, who plays Badshah Khan, the bomber whos the main focus of the second act, will never be a lead hero he doesnt have the looks but boy can he act! Ive seen him in quite a few films previously I think he was the cop in Satya whos on the heros trail but this is his longest role yet. I cant remember if he was in Paanch.

And yes, Pawan Malhotra! Based all the performances Ive seen so far this year, my vote for best actor goes unreservedly to Pawan Malhotra, who plays Tiger Memon, the main brain behind the blasts. The trouble is, hes not likely to win awards for portraying a real-life murderer responsible for killing over 300 people, unless its in the slightly silly best villain category. Forest Whitaker may have won the best actor Oscar for playing Idi Amin, a real-life tyrant responsible for killing thousands, but unless the National Awards get serious again, Pawan Malhotras simply amazing performance is likely to be unrecognized except within the acting fraternity itself. Loud performances are easy, folks. Playing larger than life figures like Mogambo or Dr Dang isnt really a big deal. Subtle acting is much, much tougher. If youve ever done any form of acting in your life, you might understand my recommendation of Pawan Malhotra when you watch Black Friday. But Im sure Shah Rukh Khan and Abhishek Bachchan are going to corner all the acting awards next year for Chak De India and Guru. Thats okay, too cant be helped.

A lot of Black Fridays impact comes thanks to its uniquely flavoured background music, which is rendered by Indian Ocean. I have both their albums, Desert Rain and Kandisa. In fact, my band used to play a short version of Ma Rewa.

Id heard the songs of Black Friday over two years ago. When I finally watched the movie, I realized what a stroke of genius it was on Anurag Kashyaps part to leave them the task of composing the music. Its the Indian Ocean touch which keeps the movie firmly grounded in realism; an Amar Mohile or Salim-Suleiman score wouldve been too dramatic and unnecessarily filmy for Black Friday.

Most people go to films for a 2-3 hour escape from life. Thats true of most places, and I think its especially true of India. When a person with limited means has to squeeze out money and time for a few hours of entertainment to escape the drudgeries and difficulties of life, its unlikely hell take very kindly to something which reminds him, with stark realism, that life is indeed tough and bad things do happen. Then, most college and school kids, the bulk of cinema goers, dont want to know that lifes got unpleasantness as well. They just want to have glimpses of the dream world they imagine is in store for them. Black Friday would be appreciated mostly by mature people, most of whom dont necessarily crowd theaters.

Why Black Friday should have been sent to the Oscars

(Instead of typing Black Friday again and again, I thought of using an abbreviation like DDLJ or KKHH. Then I realized BF isnt a sensible acronym. Imagine street demonstrations with people shouting Send BF to the Oscars!)

Eklavya was supposed to be a mainstream movie and Black Friday the art movie. Ive seen both. Its the other way round. Black Friday is engrossing, even though its the longer of the two, while Eklavya feels like a ponderous, pretentious art film. I dont really know what about Eklavya can be called uniquely Indian stories of palace intrigue have been around long before Caesar said Et tu, Brutus. Barring a couple of references to the caste system and democracy and dharma, theres nothing about the Indian ethos to show, really. On the other hand, Black Friday is as Indian as can be, and the way it shows three sides of the story can serve as an important history lesson to any nation. This line spoken by Kay Kay Menon gives the moral of the story: Har woh aadmi jiske paas kuch nahi hai karne ko, dharm ke naam par ch**tiya banta rahega.

Should it really have been stuck with the censors so long?

I honestly dont know whether any scenes have been removed I havent heard of any cuts. But nobody with a reasonable, mature mind should have a problem with the movie. It simply pulls the lid off the workings of the minds and the events that led to the horrific day of March 12, 1993. It doesnt try to be politically correct, either. Neither the DCP nor any of his team going after the Muslim terrorists is shown to be a Muslim himself. And no stupid terms like border ke uss paar. The bombers are shown to be trained in Pakistan by Pakistani military men.

Black Friday is well balanced, people. Chew on this its based on a book by a Muslim and directed by a Hindu. So there.

Har woh aadmi jiske paas kuch nahi hai karne ko, dharm ke naam par ch**tiya banta rahega.

Religion brings peace of mind. Maybe. For rational people, Im sure it does, but I wonder if all those kar sevaks who brought down the masjid had any mind at all, for theyd have at least thought of the consequences if they did. Ditto for all fools whore brainwashed into jihad and stuff like suicide bombing. I dont know if they find peace of mind, or whether forensic experts only find pieces of their mind scattered all around. Watch George Clooneys Oscar-winning Syriana to get a glimpse into this jihadi brainwashing process.

Har woh aadmi jiske paas kuch nahi hai karne ko, dharm ke naam par ch**tiya banta rahega.

Remember this, folks. Dont let your religion get in the way of you becoming a good person. Your religion is simply the dynamic product of what a few men (no women, in all probability) at the top decided in some meetings a few centuries ago, thats all.

We have many identities to choose from, especially us in India. Personally, I prefer being a good human being before anything else.

Hell, this was supposed to be about Black Friday. Get the DVD or CD if you havent already. Its a must, must, must watch.

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind Mahatma Gandhi

Bottomline

You might not like this movie if: Not liking is not the point. The point is you should watch this movie. Itll provide more important lessons than the claptrap about 17^th century art and architecture we had to study in school.

Indias entry for the Oscars: Black Friday vs Chak De India vs Eklavya = Manchester United vs Chelsea vs Municipality Chairmans XI.