Black Friday

It is very rare that I catch a film on the first day of its release, but I managed to watch Black Friday first day, first show and must say it was worth it.

I don't think I have seen a film where characters play real people and are even called by their real names. Not just that, the locations too are real. Restaurants and hotels too are not only identified by their real names but the scenes involving them are even shot there.

Also, the film does not editorialise and gives (as we journalists say while writing a story) all versions. The police are shown not only making arrests but also making mistakes by picking up innocent people. The bombers' reason to carry out the blasts and the eventual change of heart of one bomber is brilliantly done.

But, the surprise package clearly was this talented long time telly actor Pavan Malhotra as Tiger Memon. While he has played brief roles in Hindi films and I always felt he was wasted in many, in Black Friday he stands out, as the scheming right hand man of Dawood Ibrahim. And, did the filmmaker by any chance get the real Dawood to act in the film? For a minute I thought it was the real Dawood or a computer generated image of the don. (Google search gives me his name as Vijay Maurya).

More than anything else, I felt the film was well researched and I stepped out of the theatre a better informed person.

(pic of Pavan Malhotra as Tiger Memon in the film. source:indiafm.com)