Thank God it's Black Friday!

Thank God it's Black Friday!

Anurag Kashyap talks about the insecurities he's feeling now that Black Friday is finally releasing on February 9

Posted On Thursday, February 01, 2007


Sonia Chopra

A still from Black Friday
• Has it sunk in that Black Friday is finally releasing?
No, it's still sinking in. I know it's releasing for sure. But I am feeling very insecure. The insecurities are beyond whether the film will do well or not. I've seen how the world functions. People trying to pull you down; people using the film to their advantage... It started with Water, where I was the dialogue consultant.

• Are you referring to the protests that lead to the ban on Water?
What protest? The entire fracas with Water happened because of one single person called Rakesh Manjul who was asked to leave the film. He was the cultural representative of the government so he used his position – he took things out of context and got them published in the papers. The political party that protested against Water did not exist a day before it all happened. The party Kashi Sanskriti Raksha Sangharsh Samiti (KSRSS) was formed overnight. There were only 20 people protesting the entire time, and they got the film banned. We ended up being the targets.

• What happened with Black Friday?
A case was filed against us by the accused. They charged us with judging them before the verdict was actually out. So our film was not banned, it was postponed. Now the verdict is out, and the accused have been found guilty. We sent an appeal to the Supreme Court, so the film could be released. The film got cleared on October 29.

• What did you do when all your films from Paanch to Black Friday to Gulal got stuck one after the other, and people started calling you unfortunate and jinxed?
Either you get depressed, or you fight back, or you start afresh. I didn't fight back; I first got depressed and then started afresh (laughs). I had three anxiety attacks in three months and had to be hospitalised. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. But I am a survivor. The more the adverse the circumstances, the stronger I emerge. I became like that in my late teens. I've been abused as a child. I've had a tough life.

• But the money must have got stuck too?
Yes, that's when I started taking up projects for money. Now, I do one film for money. Like Main Aisa Hi Hoon, and now Shaka Laka Boom Boom. Others I do for myself – like Water, The Pool, Mixed Doubles, Meridian, and Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd. I don't even discuss money for these films. To compensate, I work very hard.

• In a way aren't you glad Black Friday is releasing now as opposed to 2004. The audience has changed now, and there is a sense of activism post Rang De Basanti.
I am just happy that Black Friday is releasing. But it should have released when it was made. I feel the audience would have accepted Black Friday even then. Yes, the activism fervor started with RDB, but it could have started with Black Friday.

• Is it true that Black Friday is being made into a TV series?
Yes, there is a plan. But it's not concrete as yet.

• You're editing No Smoking these days. How's it turning out?
It has turned out to be my most stylish film. The film is very much in the territory of Charles Kaufman. No one has ever attempted this kind of a script in this country. It seriously screws around with the audiences' mind.


Anurag Kashyap
• Is it on the lines of The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind?
Absolutely, it's completely in that genre. But No Smoking is a thriller/comedy. It's a state of mind.

• 2007 will be a very important year for you.
Yes, this will be the year of clearing my backlogs. Most of my stuck films will be releasing this year; and in 2008 I want to start afresh. About 19 films that I have been involved in will release this year, including Paanch and Gulal! I am the writer and creative director for Hanuman Returns – that is also something I am looking forward to as I think this film will take animation to the next level.