Black Friday
Language: HINDI
Director:Anurag Kashyap
Producer:Jhamu Sughand, JSPL
Cast: Kay Kay Menon, Aditya Srivastava, Pawan Malhotra
Music: Indian Ocean
Lyrics: Piyush Mishra
Cinematography: N. Nataraja Subramanian
Editing: Aarti Bajaj
Black Friday is the story of the 1993 bomb blasts that took place in Mumbai. Based on a book by S. Hussain Zaidi, this docu-drama tries to recreate those events and the intense feelings that followed them. The documentary was screened in the US at the Indian Film Festival - Los Angeles on April 22. It was adjudged the Jury Grand Prize winner for "original storytelling, innovative cinematic technique and boldness of vision in tackling a complicated social issue."
We attending the screening of the movie at the Pacific Film Archive (Berkeley) as part of the San Francisco International Film Festival this past Sunday. The movie brought back sad memories and raw emotions that most Bombayites have struggled with for the past decade. I was in the middle of my 11th grade final examination at Ruparel College when I heard and felt the bombs explode all over the city. Mom and brother were at home - it was my brother's 12th birthday. Dad was at this office in South Bombay. The family was safe and unhurt, but the ghastly incident left scars that went much deeper.
Overall, the story stayed true to the events and presented multiple and conflicting points of view without ever being judgmental. The movie is currently banned in India and can only be viewed at international screenings.
